These cookies are the perfect festive treat for the holidays! They’re buttery with a touch of almond and vanilla, full of tiny bits of walnuts, and rolled in lots of powdered sugar. These vegan snowball cookies are the perfect combo between crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth. I think you will love them!

Another look at the bowl full of vegan noel nutballs

So, you’ve never heard of snowball cookies before???

That is probably because these cookies have SO many different names! You may have also heard these called by the names of:

Noel nutballs
Wedding cookies
Butterballs
Russian tea cakes
Pecan/walnut sandies

I personally grew up knowing them as Mexican wedding cookies. As I got older, I started hearing them by the names of “snowball cookies” and “Noel nutballs.” It’s so funny that these cookies are called by THAT many different names! I choose to call them snowball cookies now because, well, they look just like freshly made, little snowballs!

A close up look at the inside of one of the cookies

These vegan snowball cookies require only 7 ingredients, and they’re effortless to make!

First, I beat vegan butter, powdered sugar, almond extract, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Then, I mix in all-purpose flour, salt, and finely chopped walnuts. I roll the dough into little balls, bake them, let them cool, and then double-roll them in powdered sugar. See, these vegan Noel nutballs are SO easy to make!

What do these cookies with a billion different names taste like!?

In my opinion, these cookies taste pretty similar to a standard sugar cookie, but with a touch of almond extract. The texture, however, is much more crumbly yet melt-in-your-mouth in comparison to a sugar cookie. I also think the vegan snowball cookies are much more fun to eat because they look super cute and they’re messy (in a good way)!

@chefsummerstorm
These have a million names. What do you call them? #vegan #veganrecipes #foodtiktok #chef #plantbased #baking #bakingrecipe #fypシ #4u
♬ Seventeen Going Under – Edit – Sam Fender

Looking for more HOLIDAY DESSERTS!? I got you!

If you make these vegan snowball cookies or any of my recipes, don’t forget to post a picture to Instagram, tag me @chefsummerstorm, and #gardengrub so I can see your recreation!

How to Make Vegan Snowball Cookies

Author Chef Summer Storm – garden grub

These vegan snowball cookies are the perfect treat for the holidays! They're buttery with a touch of almond and vanilla essence, full of tiny bits of walnuts, and coated in lots of powdered sugar. These cookies are the perfect combo between crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 12

Total Time 42

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 40 cookies

Equipment

Electric hand mixer or standing mixer

Ingredients

1 cup vegan butter, cold (I used the brand Earth Balance Original)
1/2 cup organic powdered sugar
2 tsps vanilla extract, 100% pure
1 1/2 tsp almond extract, 100% pure
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/4 cup plain, raw walnuts, finely chopped

For Coating the Cookies

1 1/4 cup organic powdered sugar

Instructions

Add the vegan butter, powdered sugar, and both of the extracts into a large mixing bowl. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat over medium-low speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the edges of the bowl as needed. Alternatively, you could use a standing mixer with the paddle attachment.
Now, add the flour, salt, and finely chopped walnuts into the mixing bowl. Beat over low speed until well combined, and the mixture has turned into a dough.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two large sheet pans with a piece of parchment paper.
Measure the dough into one tablespoon portions. Squeeze a piece of dough between your hand a few times and then gently roll it into a ball. Line the dough balls half an inch apart from each other on the prepared sheet pans.
Bake one pan at a time, on the middle oven rack, for 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. *After the cookies are baked, they're going to look ugly! But coating them in powdered sugar later on makes them look beautiful!
Allow the cookies to cool down COMPLETELY.
Sift the powdered sugar for coating the cookies in a wide shallow bowl. Roll the cookies in the powdered sugar until well coated. Place them back on the sheet pan.
After you've coated all of the cookies, you will notice some powdered sugar has been absorbed into the cookies. Coat the cookies in the powdered sugar for a second time.
Store the vegan snowball cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. If you plan to display these in a bowl or put them in baggies for gifts, I recommend adding in a dusting more of powdered sugar. This way, they don't stick to each other whatsoever, and they stay nice and coated.

Keyword chirstmas cookies, cookies, holiday cookies, mexican wedding cookies, snowball cookies

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

Tiparooskis

Welcome to the tip section of the vegan snowball cookies recipe! Here I provide my top tips to help you perfect the recipe. Sometimes, I also give substitute suggestions that I think you may find helpful.

If you HATE almond extract, skip it! Then, bump up the vanilla extract to 1 tablespoon instead of the 2 required teaspoons. Or, instead of almond extract, I think adding peppermint extract would be super fun, delicious, and even more festive!
If you aren’t a fan of walnuts, try out a different nut! Pecans are the next most common nut used in these cookies and would be my second choice. Almonds would be delicious, too!