Vegan Swedish Heirloom Snowball Cookies ❄️ These buttery, melt-in-your-mouth traditional holiday cookies are so easy to make. With only 5 basic ingredients, you can have a batch of these irresistibly delicious sweet treats ready to enjoy in just a few minutes!
Families often have beloved seasonal recipes that are passed down through the generations. In our home, it just isn't Christmas without a batch of my mother-in-law's Homemade Vegan Fudge, my daughter's Vegan Gingerbread Bundt Cake, my Scandinavian great-grandmother's Vegan Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies, and her wintery wonderful Vegan Swedish Heirloom Snowball Cookies.
These classic snowball cookies are similar to shortbread, made with butter (vegan of course!), flour, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. They're known by many names like Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Sandies, Snowball Cookies, or as we call them in my family, Swedish Heirloom Cookies. The delicate ball-shaped cookies are rolled in powdered sugar while warm from the oven, giving them a festive snowball appearance and a melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Table of Contents
Why we love this cookie recipe so much
- They're simply scrumptious!
- So easy to make
- Only 5 basic ingredients
- No eggs and non-dairy
- Perfect for parties, cookie exchanges, and gifts
❄️ Ingredients
See the printable recipe card below for quantities & details
Snowball cookie dough
- Flour - all purpose (sifted)
- Butter - vegan/non-dairy (room temperature)
- Powdered sugar - vegan (sifted)
- Salt - fine
- Vanilla extract
Optional add-ins
- Chopped nuts - walnuts, pecans or almonds (In this recipe I used pecans)
- Almond extract
- Cardamom, cinnamon or nutmeg (ground)
❄️ Instructions
Preheat oven to 350℉
- In a mixing bowl, cream together vegan butter, powdered sugar, and salt.
2. Gradually mix in flour and vanilla.
3. Stir in nuts.
4. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a tablespoon or scoop, create rounded balls of dough by rolling them in your hands.
5. Try to keep the cookies uniform in size. Place onto the parchment lined pan.
6. Bake at 350℉ for 12-15 minutes until bottom of cookies are lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and carefully place cookies onto cooling rack.
7. Pour additional powdered sugar into a bowl. While still warm, place the cookies directly in the bowl (a few at a time).
8. Spoon sugar or sift sugar over the top of the cookies.
Arrange cookies on a plate or tray and enjoy!
Baking tips
Keep a close eye on the cookies after 10 minutes of baking. Oven temperatures can vary and you don't want these to over-bake or become dry. Perfectly baked vegan snowball cookies will be firm to the touch and just lightly golden on the bottom (not over-all).
As with most baking recipes, accurate measurements can be the difference between a hit or a miss. There are good reasons for using dry measuring cups for dry ingredients and liquid measuring cups for wet ingredients.
A food scale can be a home cook's best friend, particularly with baking. They can be very inexpensive and well worth having. Be sure to download or print this handy ingredient weight chart from King Arthur Baking. To use the chart, simply find your ingredient and reference the volume-to-weight conversion. To use a digital scale, place your mixing bowl on the scale, tare it to zero, and add ingredients according to the weight listed in the chart.
❄️ Equipment
- Electric stand or hand mixer
- Large mixing bowl
- Sifter
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Silicone spatula/scraper
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Cooling rack
If you love this recipe for Vegan Swedish Heirloom Snowball Cookies, you might like to try these family favorite vegan holiday dessert recipes!
If you love this recipe ★★★★★ please be sure to rate it below! Sharing your experience lets me know that you enjoyed it and will help other readers decide if they should give the recipe a try too. Thanks a bunch!🥕
Recipe
Vegan Swedish Heirloom Snowball Cookies
Equipment
- Electric stand or hand mixer
- Large mixing bowl
- Sifter
- Silicone spatula/scraper
- baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Cooling rack
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour all purpose (sifted preferably)
- 1 cup vegan butter room temperature
- 1.5 cups powdered sugar sifted
- ½ teaspoon salt fine
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup walnuts or pecans (chopped) - optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉
- In a mixing bowl, cream together vegan butter, ½ cup powdered sugar (reserve rest for dusting cookies), and salt.
- Gradually mix in flour and vanilla. Add nuts or other optional ingredients. The dough will be fairly stiff.
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a tablespoon or scoop, create rounded balls of dough. With clean hands, roll dough into balls in uniform size.
- Place dough balls on cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350℉ for 12-15 minutes until bottom of cookies are lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and carefully place cookies onto cooling rack.
- Pour additional powdered sugar into a bowl. While still warm, place the cookies directly in the bowl (a few at a time) and spoon sugar over the top or you can use a sifter or tea strainer to dust them with powdered sugar.
- Arrange cookies on a plate or tray and serve!
Notes
🥕Variations & Add-Ins
- Chopped nuts – walnuts, pecans or almonds (chopped)
- Almond extract - no more than 1 teaspoon
- Cardamom, cinnamon or nutmeg (ground) a little bit goes a long way
🥕Baking Tips
- Keep a close eye on the cookies after 10 minutes of baking. Oven temperatures can vary and you don’t want these to over-bake or become dry. Perfectly baked vegan snowball cookies will be firm to the touch and just lightly golden on the bottom (not over-all).
- As with most baking recipes, accurate measurements can be the difference between a hit or a miss. There are good reasons for using dry measuring cups for dry ingredients and liquid measuring cups for wet ingredients. A food scale can be a home cook’s best friend, particularly with baking. They’re very inexpensive and well worth having.
Nutrition
These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you're using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don’t leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
Diana Zinser says
They were FANTASTIC! Everyone loved them at our small family gathering. There were 5 balls left at the end of the night and the hostess asked me to leave them so she could enjoy them with coffee on Christmas morning. They were festive to look at; texture was amazing....crunchy on the outside, soft inside, perfect amount of sweetness. Thanks for sharing this recipe!♥️
Connie Edwards McGaughy says
Thank you Diana for your wonderful comments! I’m so happy the snowballs ❄️ were such a hit!
Andrea White says
these cookies are the absolute best! so so good!
Connie Edwards McGaughy says
Andrea - I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks a bunch!💚🥕
Cindy Mom the Lunch Lady says
I love making these snowball cookies. They are always a hit during the holidays!
Hennessy says
this is such a lovely treat for the holidays, and vegan too!
Can't wait to try it!
Connie Edwards McGaughy says
If you bake only one holiday cookie recipe this season, this is the one to make. These delicate, melt-in-your-mouth snowball cookies are everything you want in a winter-themed treat. So easy to make and even easier to enjoy!