As an Amazon Associate and Walmart Creator, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
These snowball cookies without nuts are ‘buttery’, melt-in-your-mouth, and rolled in powdered sugar. They take 5 simple ingredients and one bowl, with no eggs or dairy, so they’re a sweet addition to your tray of vegan Christmas cookies.
No matter what you call them (snowball cookies, butterballs, Mexican wedding cookies, or Russian tea cakes), the holidays wouldn’t be complete without them on my cookie tray. A traditional snowball cookie recipe is already almost vegan, with no eggs or milk. I simply swap the dairy butter for vegan butter, and they look and taste just like the classic.
They’re a lot like shortbread coated in powdered sugar. I make my snowball cookies without nuts, so they’re perfect for nut-free cookie swaps, but keep reading for flavor variations like pecan, peppermint, and lemon. Enjoy them all season with a warm mug of coffee, hot chocolate, or vegan eggnog. On chilly nights, I serve them with a mug of my creamy vegan hot chocolate.
Quick Glance
- Recipe Name: Snowball Cookies Without Nuts
- Why You’ll Love It: ‘Buttery’, melt-in-your-mouth holiday cookies with no nuts, eggs, or dairy.
- Time and Difficulty: 20 minutes of prep, 10 minutes of baking, and 1 hour of cooling. Easy.
- Main Ingredients: Vegan butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, flour, and salt.
- Method: Cream the butter and sugar, mix in the flour, roll into balls, bake, and roll in powdered sugar.
- Texture and Flavor: Tender and crumbly inside with a sweet, snowy coating.
- Quick Tip: Roll the cookies in powdered sugar while warm, then again once cool.
Table of Contents
- What Makes These Snowball Cookies Without Nuts So Good
- Snowball Cookie Ingredients
- Snowball Cookie Flavor Variations
- How to Make Snowball Cookies Without Nuts
- Toni’s Recipe Tips
- Serving and Gifting
- Storage Instructions
- Snowball Cookies Without Nuts FAQs
- More Vegan Holiday Cookies
- Easy Snowball Cookies [Various Flavors] Recipe
What Makes These Snowball Cookies Without Nuts So Good
These snowball cookies keep all the ‘buttery’, melt-in-your-mouth goodness with no nuts at all, and they disappear fast from my holiday cookie tray.
- Nut-free: Great for cookie swaps and anyone who skips nuts.
- No eggs or dairy: Vegan butter does all the work.
- Just 5 ingredients: Pantry staples you probably already have.
- One bowl: Plus a small bowl for the flour and salt.
- Easy to customize: Add peppermint, lemon, coconut, chocolate chips, or nuts if you like.
- A reader favorite: It has a 5-star rating from 27 readers, and one reader called them her favorite holiday cookies.
Snowball Cookie Ingredients
You only need 5 simple ingredients for these nut-free snowball cookies. You’ll find the full amounts in the recipe card below.
- Vegan butter: Use unsalted vegan butter at room temperature so it creams up light and fluffy. Some vegan butters are made with cashews or almonds, so check the label if you need these cookies to be nut-free.
- Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract gives the best flavor.
- Powdered sugar: It goes in the dough and the coating.
- All-purpose flour: Spoon it into your measuring cups and level it off so the cookies don’t turn out dense.
- Salt: A little salt balances the sweetness.
PRO TIP: To use less refined sugar, grind raw cane sugar or coconut sugar into a powder in a coffee grinder, spice grinder, or small blender. The color of the cookies will vary.
Snowball Cookie Flavor Variations
- Pecan snowball cookies: If nuts aren’t a concern, add about ¾ cup of finely chopped raw or toasted pecans. Walnuts, almonds, pistachios, or hazelnuts work too, and a few drops of almond extract boost the nutty flavor.
- Lemon snowball cookies: Add the zest of 1 lemon and ½ teaspoon of lemon extract. Lime or orange zest would also work. If you love lemon cookies, try my lemon crinkle cookies too.
- Peppermint snowball cookies: Add 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract and 2 to 4 crushed candy canes for super festive Christmas cookies. For more minty treats, make my vegan peppermint bark.
- Coconut snowball cookies: Add ½ cup of shredded coconut.
- Cherry snowball cookies: Add a small handful of chopped maraschino cherries, alone or with nuts.
- Chocolate chip snowball cookies: Add ½ to ⅔ cup of mini vegan chocolate chips.
- Cinnamon snowball cookies: Add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of cinnamon. It pairs wonderfully with pecans or vegan chocolate chips.
How to Make Snowball Cookies Without Nuts
Before you start, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and move an oven rack to one level above the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. You’ll find the full instructions in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Add the wet ingredients. Add the vegan butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl.
Step 2: Cream the butter and sugar. With an electric mixer, beat them for 3 to 4 minutes, until light, fluffy, and creamy.
Step 3: Combine the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, combine the flour and salt.
Step 4: Add the flour. Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the creamed butter.
PRO TIP: Mix just until the flour is fully incorporated. Overworking the dough makes the cookies dense.
Step 5: Make the dough. Mix until the flour is fully incorporated.
Step 6: Shape the cookies. Scoop about 2 Tablespoons of dough at a time (a small cookie scoop helps), roll it into a ball, and place it on the baking sheet with about an inch between each one.
Step 7: Bake and coat. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly browned and the tops are still soft. Let them sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then gently roll each one in powdered sugar.
Step 8: Cool. Move the cookies to a cooling rack and let them cool for 1 hour, until fully set.
PRO TIP: If the tops still look a little raw when they come out of the oven, that’s fine. The heat from the baking sheet keeps baking them.
Toni’s Recipe Tips
- Measure the flour properly: Fluff it up in the bag, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level the top with the back of a knife. Too much flour makes dense, crumbly cookies.
- Use room temperature vegan butter: If it’s too warm, the cookies will spread in the oven.
- Keep them even: A small cookie scoop makes same-size cookies that bake evenly.
- Coat them twice: Roll the cookies in powdered sugar once while warm, then again once they’re fully cool, so the sugar sticks.
Serving and Gifting
Snowball cookies hold up well in holiday cookie boxes and look so festive on a platter. I like to serve them next to easy muddy buddies, vegan chocolate crinkle cookies, easy vegan snickerdoodles, vegan chocolate chip peppermint cookies, and raspberry jam thumbprint cookies. For a cutout cookie to decorate, add my vegan gingerbread cookie recipe to the lineup.
Storage Instructions
- Room temperature: Once fully cooled, keep the cookies in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days.
- Fridge: Store them in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Freezer: Freeze them before rolling them in powdered sugar. Flash freeze them on a baking sheet for 2 to 3 hours (or layer them between parchment paper), then move them to a freezer bag or Stasher bag for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge or on the counter, then roll them in powdered sugar.
Snowball Cookies Without Nuts FAQs
Yes! This recipe has no nuts at all, and the cookies are still ‘buttery’ and melt-in-your-mouth. Some vegan butters are made with cashews or almonds, so check the label if you’re baking for someone with a nut allergy.
Butter that’s too warm makes the cookies spread in the oven, so use room temperature vegan butter, not melted. Too much flour or overmixing makes them dense, so spoon and level the flour and mix just until it’s incorporated.
I haven’t tested it, but a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour blend should work. A single flour like almond flour, oat flour, or coconut flour won’t work here.
Yes. Cover the bowl and keep the dough in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze the dough (or the rolled balls) for up to 2 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight, bring it back to room temperature, then continue with the recipe.
Yes! Cream the butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar with a whisk, then fold in the flour with a silicone spatula.
More Vegan Holiday Cookies
Vegan Desserts
Vegan Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Vegan Christmas & Hanukkah
Vegan Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
Vegan Desserts
Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
![Several completed Triple Ginger Vegan Ginger Cookies [Gingersnaps] on a white surface.](https://plantbasedonabudget.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Triple-Ginger-Cookies-Plant-Based-on-a-Budget-1-2-378x378.jpg)
Vegan Desserts
Chewy Vegan Ginger Snaps
If you tried these snowball cookies without nuts or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks!
If you’re loving my recipes and would like a more comprehensive resource, check out my cookbooks!
Easy Snowball Cookies [Various Flavors]
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email & get this sent to your inbox! Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week!
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup (225 g) vegan butter unsalted, softened
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar plus extra for coating
- 2 ¼ cups (285 g) flour all-purpose, spooned and leveled
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and move an oven rack to one level above the middle.
- Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Add the vegan butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl.
- Using an electric mixer, beat for 3 to 4 minutes, until light, fluffy, and creamy.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the creamed butter.
- Mix just until the flour is fully incorporated.
- Scoop about 2 Tablespoons of dough, roll it into a ball, and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, leaving about 1 inch between each ball.
- Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly browned and the tops are still soft.
- Let the cookies sit on the hot baking sheet for 5 minutes.
- One at a time, gently roll each warm cookie in powdered sugar.
- Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and let them cool for 1 hour, until fully set.
Notes
- This recipe is nut-free as written. Some vegan butters are made with cashews or almonds, so check the label if you need nut-free cookies.
- Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife, so the cookies don’t turn out dense.
- Use room temperature vegan butter. If it’s too warm, the cookies will spread in the oven.
- A small cookie scoop keeps the cookies the same size so they bake evenly.
- The tops will still look soft when the cookies come out of the oven. They keep baking on the warm baking sheet.
- For a thicker coating, roll the cooled cookies in powdered sugar a second time.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 5 days or in the fridge for up to a week. Freeze uncoated cookies for up to 3 months, then thaw and roll them in powdered sugar.
![Completed EASY Chocolate Depression Cake [Wacky Cake] sliced against a white surface.](https://plantbasedonabudget.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/36-Crazy-Cake-Plant-Based-on-a-Budget-1-2-378x378.jpg)
Didn’t come out right. not sure what I did wrong.
Hi Anne, I’m so sorry they didn’t turn out the way you hoped! I’d love to help you figure it out. Did they spread, come out dry, or fall apart? Butter that’s too soft or melted can make them spread, and too much flour can make them dry and crumbly, so I recommend room temperature vegan butter and spooning and leveling your flour. Let me know what happened and we’ll get them right next time!
Is there some secret powdered sugar that is actually vegan I’m not aware of? Legitimate question. Any whitened sugar is not vegan and I really want to make things that call for it but have been unable to find any that is not whitened using animal bone char. I use raw sugar for most things but haven’t found a powdered alternative.
Hi Dani, thanks for asking! I use regular powdered sugar from the grocery store. If you’d rather use the raw sugar you already have, you can make your own powdered sugar by blending it with a little cornstarch in a high-speed blender until it’s fine and powdery. I hope that helps, and happy baking!
These Easy Snowball Cookies were fun to make with friends over the holidays. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
my FAVORITE holiday cookies!
Right?! They’re the best!
So festive!