Gluten-Free Vegan Snowball Cookies
These Gluten-Free Vegan Snowball Cookies bring back so many memories! With a crisp, buttery pecan cookie rolled into a powdery sugar, these cookies will make your mouth water. These are refined sugar-free and keto-optional!
Whether you called them Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Sandies, or Snowballs, you’ve probably had these powdered sugar-dusted cookies before. They’ve been a favorite of mine since I was a kid, when I would drag out my mom’s big blue baking book, turn to the powdered sugar-covered page, and make a BOATLOAD of snowball cookies – always managing to cover the kitchen in powdered sugar in the process.
There’s something about the crisp, sandy, buttery texture of these melt-in-your-mouth cookies that just gets me. They’re studded with pecans and covered in a few layers of powdered sugar, but somehow manage to never be too sweet. I could always eat a whole plate of them by myself…and can still manage to do that with this new and improved version.
What’s in these Snowball Cookies?
Let’s get into our ingredients list here! It’s a short and simple one – we love to see it!
- Coconut Sugar: we’re going to blend the coconut sugar with the tapioca flour for this recipe to make it superfine + mimic powdered sugar.
- Tapioca Flour/Starch: you can use arrowroot starch or cornstarch here instead.
- Coconut Oil or Vegan Butter: both work well. They need to be at a soft, softened-butter consistency.
- Salt: I use ¼ teaspoon salt in this recipe – it adds a little salty bite that’s barely noticeable but cuts through the sweetness quite well.
- Vanilla Extract: for delicious, warm flavor!
- Almond Flour: paired with the tapioca flour, this makes for a super tender cookie!
- Chopped Pecans: pecans are classic in this cookie! You could sub them out for another nut if preferred though.
That’s all! More details on the Keto version of these snowball cookies below, but first let’s run through how to make them!
How to make Snowball Cookies:
- Blend the coconut sugar with the tapioca flour, ideally in a small spice or coffee grinder, until superfine. If you don’t have a coffee grinder or small blender, you can skip this step.
- Whip the coconut oil or vegan butter with the tapioca flour/coconut sugar mixture, vanilla, and salt until combined.
- Add in the almond flour and pecans and stir until it’s all mixed up.
- Scoop the dough into tablespoon-sized balls. Roll between your hands to form a ball shape and place on a lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 350F for about 10 to 12 minutes, until just barely golden and firm to the touch.
- Let cool slightly, and then roll in “powdered sugar” – details below!
How do I get a refined sugar free “snowy” coating?!
You make one! To make the “snow” for these snowball cookies, I used a coffee or spice grinder to blend together a 1:1 mix of coconut sugar and tapioca flour. This creates a super-fine, refined sugar-free powdered sugar. It works great! You could also use a small blender, but a regular size blender won’t work very well because there’s not enough volume.
You can also use regular powdered sugar if you’re less concerned with refined sugars, or you can use a Keto powdered sugar. If you use a Keto powdered sugar, I recommend cutting it 1:1 with tapioca flour as well so it’s not overwhelmingly sweet when it hits your tongue.
Can I make these Keto?
Yes, absolutely! I tested a Keto version of this recipe and it worked well. The texture of the snowball cookies is a little lighter and doesn’t have the coconut sugar flavor, but it totally works and tastes good. I do prefer the coconut sugar version but I wanted to make sure this option is also a winner for those who want to make a Keto-friendly cookie this holiday season. The changes to make the recipe Keto are noted in the Notes below the recipe.
These Snowball Cookies are great for sharing with your friends and family, because my family can attest that if you leave them on your counter too long…”they just disappear.”
These Snowball Cookies are:
- So crisp and tender
- Melt-in-your-mouth good
- Quick and easy to make!
- Done in about 30 minutes!
- Perfect to make with the kiddos :)
- Gluten-free, vegan, refined sugar-free!
- And they have a Keto option
I hope you enjoy them as much as we’ve been loving them! They’re the perfect sweet treat alongside your tea, coffee, or hot chocolate. Enjoy :D
If you enjoy these snowballs, try these!
- Gluten-Free Vegan Shortbread
- Chocolate Fudge Crinkle Cookies (GF + Dairy-Free)
- Thicker & Chewy Paleo Vegan Snickerdoodles
Gluten-Free Vegan Snowball Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: about 26 cookies 1x
Description
These Gluten-Free Vegan Snowball Cookies bring back so many memories! With a crisp, buttery pecan cookie rolled into a powdery sugar, these cookies will make your mouth water. These are refined sugar-free and keto-optional!
Ingredients
For the cookies
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup (28g) tapioca flour or arrowroot starch
- ½ cup vegan butter or coconut oil
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¾ cups (168g) blanched almond flour
- ⅓ cup finely chopped pecans
For the powdered sugar coating
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup (28g) tapioca starch or arrowroot starch
Instructions
For the cookies
- Blend the coconut sugar with the tapioca flour, ideally in a small spice or coffee grinder, until superfine. If you don’t have a coffee grinder or small blender, you can skip this step.
- In a mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, combine the coconut oil or vegan butter with the tapioca flour, coconut sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix until combined.
- Add in the almond flour and pecans and stir until fully incorporated.
- Scoop the dough into tablespoon-sized balls, roll between your hands to form a ball shape, and place on a lined baking sheet. I like using a small cookie scoop for this.
- Bake at 350°F for about 10 to 12 minutes, until just barely golden and firm to the touch.
- Let cool slightly, and then roll in “powdered sugar”!
For the powdered sugar coating
- Blend the coconut sugar with the tapioca flour, ideally in a small spice or coffee grinder, until superfine. You can also use regular powdered sugar, or a Keto powdered sugar (details in Notes for a Keto version).
Notes
For a Keto version
Replace the coconut sugar with 2 tablespoons powdered monkfruit sweetener. For the powdered sugar coating, whisk together 1 part powdered monkfruit sweetener to 1 part tapioca or arrowroot starch.
Keywords: cookies, snowballs, gluten-free, vegan
I really want to make these, they were always a favorite of mine (back when I could eat them… good times), but I’m out of almond flour. Any ideas for something else that would work? I have plenty of coconut flour but that’s usually a terrible substitute lol. Any advice would be appreciated, and Merry Christmas!
Hi Kathryn – coconut flour definitely isn’t a great option because it’s so absorbent, you usually need to divide the amount by three to sub coconut flour. Oat flour may be a good option here!!
Made these with coconut oil and wowww. So so good! Light and perfect amount of sweet. New favorite!
★★★★★
So glad you loved them!! :D thank you, Rochelle!
I have gestational diabetes and was getting grumpy about all the Christmas cookies people kept giving us, but saw this recipe and started it immediately. I used regular butter and no nuts, but otherwise followed the recipe. Super easy to make, tastes great.
★★★★★
So glad you loved the cookies, Kaitlyn!! Thanks so much for your feedback :D
Hi there, I made these the keto version and followed the recipe exactly and they pancaked, melted out flat.
Any tips?
Also can I use regular butter for this recipe.
Thank you
Hi Nicole, hmmm that’s interesting. What sweetener did you use? I’m wondering if the difference could be that, since I only tested with Lakanto’s powdered sugar. Yes, regular butter is fine!
Hi there, yes I used a different sugar!!
I’m gonna try again, I have powdered monk fruit but i it is a different brand
I hope it works
Thanks you!!!
I love your cook book!!
Thanks so much Nicole, I hope it works out well next time!!! :)
I was in the mood to bake something, but I wasn’t sure what, so I scrolled through your page and found these. I love wedding cookies, but have never made them with any substitutions. These are so good! They’re just as good as a regular wedding cookie! I used coconut oil and used the tapioca powder/coconut sugar blend for powdered sugar. I never thought to use a coffee grider before and it really made a difference. It was the same consistency as powdered sugar. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Woohoo, so happy to hear that Ashley! Thanks so much for your feedback :)
I used Swerve confectioners sugar to dip them in at the end. Everything else the same. Came out great. I tried some without the powdered sugar at the end. Those were good too.
So glad you enjoyed them, Annette!
I made these with butter then scooped them onto the sheet. The spread instead of staying in balls. Why?
★★★★
Hi Karen, I never tested this recipe with butter but usually, the conversion is fine…did you make any other changes to the recipe? It’s hard for me to know exactly what went wrong with recipes since there are a lot of factors that can influence it.