Chocolate Snowballs are perfectly airy cookies that melt in your mouth with butter, coffee, and rich cocoa powder.
This Cookie Recipe is the perfect chocolate twist on our Classic Snowball Cookie Recipe. Try this version for the same amazing texture with rich, chocolatey flavor throughout.
Table of Contents
Sabrina’s Chocolate Snowballs Recipe
Chocolate Snowballs are the perfect dessert to add to your baking list this holiday season. The chocolate dessert balls are easy to make with butter, cocoa powder, brown sugar, and powdered sugar. After baking the buttery cookies, simply roll them in a layer of powdered sugar. The dusting of white powdered sugar on the outside is why they’re called snowballs.
Ingredients
- Sugar: For this recipe, you’ll use a combination of ¾ cup brown sugar and ½ cup powdered sugar in the cookies. The brown sugar makes rich and chewy desserts, while the light powdered sugar helps keep the Chocolate Snowballs airy. You’ll set aside 2 cups of powdered sugar to coat the cookies and make them look like snowballs.
- Espresso Powder: Adding 1 teaspoon espresso powder gives the cookies a light coffee flavor, which actually enhances the natural cocoa flavor.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Mix ½ cup cocoa powder in with the dry ingredients to give these cookies the perfect chocolatey flavor.
- Flour Mixture: 2 cups of flour will be sifted with 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon salt to form the flour base for the cookies.
- Wet Ingredients: You’ll mix ¾ cup unsalted butter, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and ¼ cup of whole milk ask your wet ingredients and the creamy base for your cookie dough. It is the perfect balance to keep your cookies moist and delicious.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment: Your trusty stand mixer will be the perfect tool to mix your cookie dough. If you don’t have one you can always use a mixing bowl and an electric hand mixer, or mix with a whisk.
- Measuring Cups and Spoons: You’ll need a set of measuring spoons and a measuring cup to measure out all of your ingredients. Be sure to measure carefully because when baking the accuracy will matter.
- Baking Sheet: A baking sheet or cookie sheet will be used to bake your cookies to perfection. You can use more than one baking sheet if you like, so you can prep one batch of cookies while the other is baking.
- Sifter: Use a sifter to blend the flour mixture really well. It will help each of your cookies have the proper rise, and the whole batch to be evenly baked.
- Medium Bowl: Rolling your cookies in powdered sugar is the last step in this recipe. Use a medium bowl to hold 2 cups of the sugar, and still have enough space to toss them around a bit.
How to Make Chocolate Snowballs
Time needed: 2 hours and 17 minutes.
- Prep Time
Make sure to take the butter out of the fridge about 30-45 minutes before baking so that it has time to soften.
- Snowball Cookie Dough
Add softened butter, brown sugar, and powdered sugar to your stand mixer. Begin mixing at the lowest speed using the paddle attachment. Once the mixture is just combined, you can raise the speed to medium-high and beat butter for 3-4 minutes until creamy. Then add the egg, vanilla, and espresso powder to the mixing bowl. Continue to beat until combined. Then sift the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda into a separate bowl. Set the stand mixer to its lowest speed, and add the sifted dry ingredients. Continue to slowly stir until the chocolate mixture is just combined. Cover the mixing bowl and put the chocolate dough in the fridge for 2 hours. Towards the end of the chilling time, you can preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Shape Dough
Use a spoon or tablespoon to scoop dough balls. Then use your hands to roll them into an even ball shape. Place the balls of dough on a cookie sheet with 1 inch between each of them.
- Cook Time
Bake for 7-9 minutes until the tops of the cookies no longer look wet. Then take the baking sheet from the oven.
- Powdered Sugar Coating
Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, then remove them from the baking sheet and gently roll them in powdered sugar. Let them continue to cool completely before eating Chocolate Snowball Cookies.
“Can Chocolate Snowballs be made ahead?”
These cookies are so easy to make ahead. The recipe already requires the dough to be refrigerated for 2 hours. You can make the dough a day or two ahead and just refrigerate them for longer, until you’re ready to bake them fresh.
Nutritional Facts
Recipe Tips & Tricks
Give these tips a try for the tasty, perfectly baked cookies every time.
- Chill the dough in between baking batches
- Chilling the dough is so the butter can cool and firm up. The Chilled butter will melt as the cookies bake and create air pockets, which make the Chocolate Snowball treats more light and fluffy. However, as you prepare the cookies for baking, the dough will warm up. Cover and chill the dough again while waiting for cookies to bake so the last batch is as fluffy as the first batch.
- Use a cookie scoop for identical Snowballs
- You can buy a cookie scoop at almost any kitchen supply store, home goods store, or even your local grocery store. A cookie scoop looks a lot like a classic ice cream scoop, but it will be a bit smaller. Scooping each ball of cookie dough out with this tool will allow for every cookie will be the same size.
What to Pair With Chocolate Snowballs
When you’re enjoying this festive holiday treat, be sure to enjoy it with other seasonal favorites. For the ultimate chocolatey dessert, you can enjoy the homemade cookies with Hot Chocolate or Peppermint Hot Chocolate. The combination of chocolate cookies and rich chocolatey drinks is a comforting indulgence perfect for Christmas Eve.
How to Store
- Serve: Make sure to let the Snowball Cookies cool completely before you eat them. Otherwise, the sugar coating will easily fall off.
- Store: To keep the cookies fresh, put them in an airtight container or cover them in plastic wrap and store them at room temperature. They can stay good for up to 2 weeks as long as they’re kept sealed.
- Freeze: You could also put Chocolate Snowball Cookies in a freezer-safe container to keep frozen for up to 6 months.
Ideas to Serve Chocolate Snowballs
You can package Chocolate Snowballs to send to friends and family as an edible gift. Make a gift basket out of them, or package them alongside more giftable desserts like Walnut Fudge, Peppermint Oreo Balls, or Peanut Butter Truffles. Bring a tray of chocolate snowballs to any party or potluck for a real crowd-pleasing treat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Freezing this snowball recipe is the perfect way to get ahead on your holiday baking. You can make the recipe months in advance. Then wait for the cookies to cool completely before you put them in a freezer bag or another airtight container to keep in the freezer.
You can easily replace the flour in these cookies with a gluten-free alternative like almond flour, coconut flour, oat flour, or buckwheat flour. Then you’ll have a wonderful treat you can share with your gluten-free family and friends.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar , packed
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg , room temperature
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder , instant coffee is also ok
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
To Finish:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- To your stand mixer add the butter, brown sugar and powdered sugar, starting on the lowest speed setting until just combined, then raise to medium high speed and cream for 3-4 minutes.
- Add in the egg, vanilla, and espresso powder and beat until well combined.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda.
- Add to the stand mixer on the lowest speed setting until just combined.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Scoop and roll in 1-inch balls and place 1 inch apart on your baking sheet.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes or until the tops of the cookies no longer look wet.
- Let cool for 5 minutes, remove from baking sheet and roll in a bowl of the remaining powdered sugar very gently.
- Let cool completely.
Nutrition
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Variations
- Pecan Snowballs: Most snowball cookie recipes have finely broken pecans throughout the dough. If you want to add that element to these Chocolate Snowball Cookies, you can pulse a cup of pecans in the food processor until they’re in small pieces. Be sure to stop blending before they’re reduced to powder. Then you can mix the pecans into the dough after adding the dry ingredients.
- Dark Chocolate Snowball Cookies: To make this recipe with a richer and slightly more bitter chocolate flavor, you can exchange the regular unsweetened cocoa powder for dark chocolate cocoa powder.
- Fun Add-ins: There are plenty of ways you can change up this recipe by adding your favorite baking mix-ins. Try stirring shredded coconut, ground walnuts, or mini chocolate chips into the dough. Feel free to use semisweet, dark, milk, or white chocolate chips, depending on your preference. You can also add powdered peppermint candies, holiday sprinkles, or large-grain sanding sugar to the snowball coating.
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