Peppermint Snowball Cookies
Peppermint Snowball Cookies are a delicious holiday dessert and Christmas-time treat. It is so easy and quick to make these adorable bite-sized balls with their festive flavor and fun pink hue, all dusted in powdered sugar.
Servings: 42 cookies
Calories: 139kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 cup salted sweet cream butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar divided (2 cups and 1 cup)
- 1 tsp pure peppermint extract
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1¼ cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
- 5-6 drops hot pink/rose food color gel
- ¼ cup finely crushed peppermint candies
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour and cornstarch. Set it aside.
- Using either a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on medium-high, beat the softened butter for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup of powdered sugar and beat for another 1-1½ minutes.
- Lower the mixer speed to medium-low, add in the peppermint and vanilla extracts.
- Keeping the mixer speed on medium-low, add in the flour mixture. Mix just until the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium and add the red food color. Mix just until the color is uniform.
- Add in the mini chocolate chips and mix just until combined and well distributed.
- Cover the dough and chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, 1 for baking the dough balls, and one for the rolled cookies to finish cooling on . Set them aside.
- Using a 1 tablespoon cookie dough scoop, scoop out the cookie dough. Roll the dough into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet. Space the rolled cookie dough balls 1 inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Add the remaining 2 cups powdered sugar and the crushed peppermint candies to a medium size mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Set it aside.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to rest on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Roll the cookies in the powdered sugar mixture. Transfer the coated cookies to the 2nd prepared cookie sheet.
- Once the coated cookies have completely cooled, roll them again in the powdered sugar mixture.
Notes
Storage:
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- To Freeze: You can freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months.
- You can make the dough a day ahead and chill in the refrigerator.
- Make sure your butter is at room temperature and softened rather than melted. Otherwise, they will spread out too much during baking.
- A double coating of powdered sugar ensures snowy white snowball cookies. Make sure you do not roll the cookies until they have completely cooled. These cookies are fragile when warm and could crumble.
- Make sure to use peppermint extract, NOT mint extract. The mint will make these cookies taste like toothpaste, not peppermint!
- The easiest way to crush candy is to place the candy in a Ziploc bag and smash it with a rolling pin.
- Feel free to add a tablespoon of crushed peppermints to the cookie dough.
Nutrition
Calories: 139kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 40mg | Potassium: 48mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 139IU | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg