Gluten-Free Snowball Cookies

These Gluten-Free Snowball Cookies are made with just a handful of ingredients and are egg-free, too! A sweet, doughy pecan cookie is lightly baked and then rolled in powdered sugar for a delicious, melt-in-your-mouth treat! {GF + Vegan-friendly}

Cue ALL THE FEELS. These Gluten-Free Snowball Cookies are a childhood favorite of mine. Delicious, melt-in-your-mouth, buttery goodness. They remind me of snow falling softly (in January, for some reason) and Mom at the kitchen counter (in December), covered in powdered sugar, creating yet another favorite memory. Now I eat a handful of these, or the whole batch, while simultaneously sipping a hot cup of goodness. Perhaps a mug of Dairy-Free Vanilla Cashew Coffee or Dairy-Free Chai Tea. It doesn’t so much matter, as long as the drink is delicious and comforting.

Life is in the choices we make, and these Gluten-Free Snowball Cookies are good choices. Ooh, and with just six ingredients, they are practical, too. Seriously, we have lost our chill over this one. So much so that K-Hubs and the girls cannot even. They will have ALL THE COOKIES, and rightfully so.

If you’d like to also enjoy ALL THE COOKIES, too, then grab a baking sheet and let’s get baking!

These Gluten-Free Snowball Cookies are

• Gluten-free (hence the name!)
• Soy-free
• Dairy-free
• Egg-free
• Vegan-friendly

So if you are in the market for an allergen-friendly baked good recipe, then you are absolutely in the right place!

Gluten-Free Snowball ingredients

• Allergen-friendly buttery spread. For this recipe, I used Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Spread in tub form (not stick butter). You can use your own allergen-friendly buttery spread, if you have one you like to use.
• Powdered sugar. This is the sweetener used in the cookies themselves and then as the coating once the cookies are baked.
• Vanilla. A splash will add the right amount of sweetness.
• Water. Start with one tablespoon, and only add more if the ingredients don’t adhere to one another. Be careful not to over-water the dough.
• Flour. I use an all-purpose gluten-free flour or a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour.
• Chopped pecans. You may need to chop them down more if some of the pieces are still large. This will make the rolling process easier.

To make Mom’s original recipe allergen-friendly, I made a few changes. Namely, I changed the flour and butter options. Yet, the final recipe isn’t much different than Mom’s original, except for the “bake at $300 for 20 minutes.” (See below.) Bwahhhaaaaahhhaaa. We will not be doing that. However, I have absolutely kept the recipe card all these years for that misprint. Well, that, and this recipe is an absolute fave.

How to make Gluten-Free Snowball Cookies

1. Set oven to 300 degrees. Using an electric mixer, cream buttery spread and powdered sugar in a medium-sized mixing bowl until smooth. Then add vanilla and water and continue mixing. The color of the batter should turn a slight brownish color. Next, gradually pour in the gluten-free flour, stirring by hand, if necessary. Then stir in the pecans. If you find large pecans, break them apart by hand, if possible, so they fit into the cookies easily. This will make rolling the cookies easier to do but also help prevent them from breaking apart.
2. After that, roll the dough into 16 individual cookie balls and place on an ungreased baking sheeting. Be careful not to crowd the baking sheet. You may want to bake in batches of eight cookies. Bake for 20 minutes or until “delicately brown.”
3. Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool enough to handle safely. While the cookies are still warm, roll them in the remaining powdered sugar.
4. Store in an airtight container for about 1 to 2 days.

Best practices for a delicious cookie

I have learned a few lessons about making these Gluten-Free Snowball Cookies with healthier alternatives, which I enthusiastically share with you now.

• First, pack the buttery spread into the measuring cup to ensure you get a full cup. You don’t have to use Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Spread. I include it here because that’s what we use. When I originally shared this recipe, I used 1 cup coconut oil. And while that definitely works, I prefer Earth Balance’s flavor. The girls do, too. K-Hubs is just happy to eat cookies.
• Next, break apart any large pecans. Not only will this make rolling the dough into cookie balls easier to complete, but also help prevent the cookies from falling apart once they are baked.
• Finally, when rolling the dough into cookies, err on the side of smaller cookies. As a guide, this recipe yields 16 cookies. My cookies often end up somewhere between 1/4 inch and 2 inches. 😂 So you can’t really go by me. My suggestion? Get started, and if you end up with a quantity significantly different than 16 cookies, adjust accordingly.

More delicious treats to make!

If your oven is already warmed up, then here are more baked goodies for your tastebuds to enjoy!

• Paleo Cranberry Cake
• Cranberry Pecan Cookie Bars
• Gluten-Free Shortbread Bars

Okay, but seriously, about that cup of coffee and these Gluten-Free Snowball Cookies. Get baking and sippin’, Spiriteds! As always, I’m glad you’re here. ❤️

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