Walnut Snowball Cookies

Walnut Snowball Cookies – gluten and sugar-free, low-carb and Keto friendly, these cookies are soft, sweet and delicious. Made with 5 ingredients, these have turned into my go to low-carb Christmas cookies.

Sweet and buttery, nutty cookies, with crunchy walnut pieces on the inside, rolled in low-carb powdered sweetener. Snow ball cookies are easy to make and perfect for the holidays.

What are snowball cookies

Snowball cookies are a variety of the popular Russian Tea Cakes, similar to Mexican Wedding Cookies, traditionally made with flour, water (sometimes), butter and chopped nuts, called snowballs due to their powdery exterior.

There are many different variations of the recipe, but the one I’m sharing today is more suitable for the low-carb community.

Feel free to check out the recipe for these Cranberry hazelnut snowball cookies.

What ingredients do you need to make these low-carb Walnut Snowball Cookies?

• unsalted butter
• low-carb sweetener
• vanilla extract
• egg yolk
• almond flour
• chopped walnuts (any nuts of your choice)

How to make Walnut Snowball Cookies? Does the dough need to be chilled?

1. Beat together butter and sweetener.
2. Add vanilla and egg yolk. Beat to incorporate.
3. Add in the almond flour and beat to combine.
4. Stir in the chopped nuts.
5. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 325 F.
7. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
8. Scoop out about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the dough for each cookie and roll into balls. Place on the baking sheet. It the dough is too soft, chill for 30 more minutes, before baking.
9. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until the edges are starting to brown.
10. Let the cookies cool for no more than 5 minutes on the baking sheet.
11. While still warm, roll into confectioners sweetener.

Why do snowball cookies flatten

Snowball cookies should be more rounded than flat. But if your cookies flatten, they will probably still taste delicious. So why do snowball cookies flatten?

There could be many different reasons, therefore here are some of the major ones, that apply for both gluten-free and regular snowballs:

• Make sure the butter is not too soft. It is best if it is on the colder side.
• Use confectioners sweetener to prevent spreading.
• Chill the dough
• Don’t flatten the unbaked cookies
• I don’t recommend using a leavened like baking powder or baking soda in the dough
• If this gluten-free dough appears too wet, even after chilling, I recommend that you add up to 2 tablespoons of coconut flour and mix it in to make the dough more stiff

Snowball cookies with nuts

Snowball cookies are generally made with nuts – pecans in Mexican wedding cakes, walnuts in Russian Tea Cakes and other different nuts in many variations of the recipe like hazelnuts, pistachios and almonds.

This Walnut Snowball Cookies Recipe used two types of nuts – almonds in the almond meal and chopped walnuts.

I currently don’t have an option for people with nut allergies.

How to store these Walnut Snowball Cookies?

Store at room temperature in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.