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Buttery, crumbly and melt in your mouth,these snowball cookies are just irresistible. These no nuts cookies are easy to make and a perfect little treat to enjoy for holidays.
These snowball cookies are also called as Melting Moments and Russian Tea Cakes.
Snowball cookies are short bread cookies, a traditional and a popular cookie made during Christmas time.
I mean just look at them….. how cute do they look…..just like a snowball.
Snowball cookies are made with simple pantry ingredients like flour, butter and sugar and are rolled in powdered sugar. They are very popular around the world and are called by different names depending on the region – Russian Tea cake, Mexican Wedding Cakes, and Melting Moments. Very similar in making, but some of the recipes include nuts like pecans and almonds.
These Melting Moment Cookies are
- buttery, sweet and crumbly
- just melts in your mouth
- so simple to make and just has 6 ingredients
Ingredients needed to make Snowball Cookies with out nuts-
- All Purpose Flour
- Corn Flour or Corn Satrch
- Unsalted Butter, at room temperature. Keep the butter out for several hours before making the cookies.
- Powdered Sugar
- Salt
- Vanilla Extract
Method –
1- Add all purpose flour, corn flour and salt in a bowl. Whisk them to remove any lumps. Set a side.
2 – In a large bowl add the soft room temperature butter and the powdered sugar. It is very important to use the soft butter (not melted) to get the correct texture of the baked cookies.
3- Using a hand mixer or a whisk mix the butter and powdered sugar for two minutes to get smooth and creamy mixture.
4- Add the flour and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and mix it.
5- When the mixture is coming together and sticking to the whisk, use your hands to bring it together.
6 – The dough will be slightly stick at this point.Cover the dough with a cling wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to one hour.
7- Roll the dough into small balls and place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet . Bake the cookies at pre heated 350 F for 13- 15 minutes.
8- When the cookies are done, they will not be brown. They may even look like they are uncooked. They will firm up in a bit. Do not over bake them
9 – After five minutes of resting, roll the cookies in powdered sugar. Cookies need to be rolled in powdered sugar when they are still warm, that is maximum five minutes after the cookies are done. Too early will make the powder sugar melt and too late the sugar will not stick to the cookies.
10- Rest the cookies in a wire rack until completely cool, atleast 30 minutes. If desired dust them with more powdered sugar before serving.
11- Serve these cookies with some strawberry chocolate and cold milk.
How to freeze cookie dough?
1- Place the cookie dough in the refrigerator to chill for an hour.
2- After an hour roll them into one inch balls and place them in a plate and chill for one more hour.
3- Place the chilled cookie dough in a plastic freezer bag.
4- Label the bag and freeze the cookie dough balls for up to 2 months.
5- When ready to bake, remove the cookie dough before you pre heat the oven. Bake then for two minutes more than the actual cooking time.
How long Can I freeze snowball cookies?
You can freeze them for up to 4 weeks. let them cool completely and then place them in air tight container separated by wax paper.
To serve, remove them from the freezer few hours before serving and dust them with extra powdered sugar.
Why are my cookies melting?
The main reason the cookies are melting is the temperature in your oven is not hot enough when you place them for baking. Make sure you pre heat the oven at 350 F or 180 C before baking the cookies.
Sending these cookies to Srivalli’s Kid Delight event , guest hosted by lovely Srividhya.
If you enjoying cookies, do takes a look at some of my other cookie recipes –
Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to give a star rating below. For more recipes and to see what’s cooking in my kitchen, follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.
Snow Ball Cookies (no nuts) | Melting Moments | Russian Tea Cakes
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup corn flour or corn starch
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/8 cup + 2 teaspoon powdered sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar for rolling the cookies after the cookies are baked
Instructions
- Add all purpose flour, corn flour and salt in a bowl. Whisk them to remove any lumps. Set a side.
- In a large bowl add the soft room temperature butter and the powdered sugar. It is very important to use the soft butter (not melted) to get the correct texture of the baked cookies.
- Using a hand mixer or a whisk,mix the butter and the powdered sugar for two minutes to get smooth and creamy mixture.
- Add the flour and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and mix it.
- Mix the dough until well combined, at mid point use your hands to bring the dough together.
- Cover the dough with a cling wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to one hour.
- After an hour pre heat the oven to 350 F or 180 C.
- Roll the dough into small balls and place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
- When the cookies are done they will look very pale, don't get tempted to over bake them.They will firm up as they cool.
- After five minutes of resting, roll the cookies in powdered sugar. Cookies need to be rolled in powdered sugar when they are still warm, that is maximum five minutes after the cookies are done.
- Rest the cookies in a wire rack until completely cool, atleast 30 minutes. If desired dust them with more powdered sugar before serving.
Mirabelle Reyes
I have made many Russian Tea Cakes, Mexican Wedding Cakes, Snowballs (all synonyms for the same cookie) and this is the best recipe. Lighter melt in your mouth sort of a cross between an “Alfajores” and shortbread cookie (and I think the cornstarch is the secret ingredient”. This recipe is a keeper! My oven is a convection so it browned a bit. Next time I will lower the temp a bit to accommodate.
Madhavi
Thank you so much for such sweet words Mirabelle. I am so glad you liked the cookies. Its my favorite too.