These Keto Snowball Cookies are sure to make your holidays merry and bright! With crushed walnuts and a hint of cardamom or cinnamon, they are the perfect sugar-free holiday cookies for you and all of your loved ones.
This recipe for Keto Snowball Cookies was originally posted in 2013. Seven years ago! It was time to give this classic recipe a much needed update. Now they are even more tender and sweet, with fewer carbs and with a new how-to recipe video. You won’t believe how easy they are to make.
I got a very early jump on my Christmas baking this year. I seem to start a little earlier every year, because keto Christmas cookies are one of my favorite things in the world to bake.
I used to make myself wait until after Thanksgiving, lest I get sick of all Christmas baking before the big day rolls around. It’s my favorite holiday by far, and I never want to risk being bored by it all before Santa and his reindeer have a chance to fire up the sleigh and take off from the North Pole. Now that would be a real tragedy.
But on the other hand, why deny myself the pleasure of such an enjoyable pastime? Cookies like these keto snowballs do so well in the freezer, and then I have a wonderful assortment to give away to friends and family.
Keto Snowball Cookies or Russian Tea Cakes?
Or… Mexican wedding cakes? What do you call these tasty ball-shaped cookies rolled in powdered sweetener? I do love the name snowballs, since that’s exactly what they look like when they’re finished.
I received so many requests for Keto Snowball Cookies, being a standard holiday favourite for many families. Some people call them Russian Tea Cakes, others know them as Mexican Wedding Cakes.
Whatever you call them, they amount to the same thing…a tender, shortbread-like cookie in a round ball, sprinkled with copious amounts of powdered sugar.
Since I managed to nail a low carb version of my father’s favorite cookie, the Keto Pecan Crescent Cookies, I knew that making low carb snowballs would be a cinch. And I added some chopped walnuts and some cardamom for a burst of flavor.
Updated Low Carb Snowballs Recipe
I know that this is a much loved recipe and some of you are probably fearful hearing that I changed things up a bit. Never fear, my sweet keto friends! The recipe is much the same, with a few minor changes.
For one thing I reduced the almond flour a touch to make them more tender and melt-in-your-mouth. I also ditched the stevia extract, as many people prefer not to use it and my son appears to have a mild reaction to it.
When I first made these keto snowball cookies 7 years ago, I had a little difficulty getting them to roll properly in the powdered sweetener. It simply didn’t stick to the cookies as much as I had hoped. But somewhere over the years, Swerve changed their formula a bit and it’s much more like real powdered sugar.
So now they look and taste just like the snowball cookies your mum/grandma/cousin/aunt used to make!
How to make keto snowball cookies
These might just be some of the easiest keto Christmas cookies you will ever make. Here are my tips for the most tender, tastiest keto snowball cookies:
- Use a good fine almond flour like Bob’s Red Mill. That’s my top choice but some others like Wellbee and Honeyville are good too. I recently had a disappointing experience with the 365 brand from Whole Foods, as my dough for some other cookies came out very grainy.
- The walnuts should be quite finely chopped for a more cohesive dough. I recommend pulsing them in a food processor until they resemble coarse crumbs with a few bigger bits and pieces. You could also do pecans if you prefer.
- Don’t leave out the coconut flour, as it helps give these snowballs a good consistency so that they don’t lose their ball shape during baking.
- Not a fan of cardamom? Try some ground cinnamon instead. Use only ½ teaspoon as cinnamon is stronger than cardamom.
- Make sure that butter is well softened! You need to cream it well with the sweetener and you can’t do that with hard butter.
- Roll the dough as round as you can between your palms. The cookies will rise a tiny bit during baking so any lumps or bumps will even out.
- Let them cool completely and then roll them in powdered sweetener such as Swerve Confectioners. You can use other sweeteners but I am not sure how well those will coat and stick.
Can you make Keto Snowball Cookies ahead?
You sure can and in fact, I have some in my freezer at this very moment. You can roll them in sweetener first and then freeze or wait to roll them after they thaw.
As with all keto cookie recipes, you want to store them carefully in an airtight container. These are pretty sturdy cookies, though, so once frozen, they won’t crumble or break apart. And they can last up to two months.
To thaw, take them out of the container and spread them out so that they don’t touch each other. This helps keep the cookies from getting soggy.
More delicious keto walnut recipes
- Keto Maple Walnut Biscotti
- Keto Cinnamon Walnut Coffee Cake
- Keto Chocolate Walnut Torte
- Keto Maple Walnut Ice Cream
- Keto Walnut Fudge
- Keto Walnut Pie Crust
Keto Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups almond flour
- 1 cup walnut pieces finely chopped (almost ground)
- 2 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ - 1 teaspoon ground cardamom (or ½ teaspoon cinnamon)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup Swerve Sweetener (granular or)
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
Instructions
- For the cookies, preheat oven to 325F and line 2 baking sheets with silicone liners or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, chopped walnuts, coconut flour, cardamom, baking powder and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sweetener until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg, and vanilla extract. Beat in the almond flour mixture until the dough comes together.
- Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place on baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake 16 to 18 minutes, or until just lightly golden brown. Remove and let cool on the pan.
- Place the powdered sweetener in a small shallow bowl. Roll each cookie until completely coated in the powdered sweetener.
Karen says
My #1 favorite cookie recipe, any time of the year. Truly melt-in-your mouth!! Love all your recipes but this is a life enhancer for sure.
Sherry T says
I remember eating these from my early childhood, my grandma would make dozens of them and we would eat them all and she would make more. We called them pecan dreams, so used pecans instead of walnuts and no cardamom. I would make these as an adult, so happy to be able to eat these again!!
Cecily Reading says
My neighbor can’t eat sugar or gluten so I gave her some of the snowball cookies. Her daughter said Mom and I both think those snowball cookies are the best cookie we’ve ever eaten! And the two people I do some private keto cooking for have also requested more. It’s an easy recipe I just love it. I just can’t remember if I measured the pecans before or after I chop them? Sucks getting old!
Carolyn says
That’s wonderful!
Linda says
perfect! the second time I made them.the best low carb cookies I’ve made so far. 😋 used pecans instead of walnuts, otherwise exactly like the recipe.
Marina says
Can I substitute the ground pecans in your keto baking cookbook, pecan snowball recipe with pecan flour? Need to use my pecan flour up.
Carolyn says
It’s much more finely ground so it may throw off the consistency a bit… might make it crumbly. I would do less than chopped pecans.
Marina says
Ok going big or going home! LOL gonna try it and I’ll let you know how my
cookie-tastrophe turns out! Merry Christmas! Love your recipes! Made the tagalong bars on our ornament craft day. Turned out excellent!!
Marina says
Update on pecan flour was pretty good. Used little less then 3/4 c pecan flour. They stayed together. Was not as fragile as a pecan snowball more cakes but still tasted like pecans . They were dirty snowballs inside but that’s ok lol. My family will gobble them up like a scooby doo snack. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Naomi says
Will Bocha Sweet sweetener work for these? I’m not able to use Xylitol.
Susan Parody says
Look at the ingredients on Bocha Sweet, mine says Xylitol.
Anitta says
I made these today made exactly as the recipe called for using pecans instead of walnuts. My husband absolutely loves these. These turned out buttery and light. It is very near the flour recipe in taste and consistency. Thank you for your efforts. And, everyone have a very blessed Christmas!
Michelle says
These turned out perfectly for me. I switched out the cardamom for 1/2 tsp almond extract. Yum! Thank you so much for this successful recipe!!
Rochelle Chase says
I love your recipes, but was so disappointed in this one. I followed the directions exactly and the cookies were dry. They need more fat… I made them again I’d add another stick of butter.
Carolyn says
Hi Rochelle… as you can see from the other comments, these do not turn out dry for most people. And another full stick of butter would cause them to be a total mess, they would spread like crazy. You say you followed the directions but something must have gone awry. Can you tell me what brand of almond flour you used and what sweetener?
Linda says
if cookies are dry, try baking them a minute less.
Shirley Snow says
They all look delicious & anxious to make some. Thank you!
Suzie Gibson says
I’ve made these 2 years in a row for Christmas. Never fail recipe. Kids think they taste as good as the full sugar original cookies. If you’re on the fence and love this type of cookie, just do it!!!! You won’t be disappointed.
Carolyn says
Thank you!
Rhonda says
is the 1/2 of powdered sugar go into the batter or is it for rolling the cookies after they cool? Thanks
Jacqueline Shaw says
What is a good butter substitute for this recipe?I’m dairy free? Thank you!
Carolyn says
Coconut oil should work.
Keli Lawler says
Love this low carb version of my favorite cookies!
Missy says
What can I use instead of coconut flour?
Carolyn says
You will need 1/3 cup more almond flour.
Merry Jo Orr says
I made the original recipe, and also this update — eliminated the cardamom, added some espresso powder, cocoa powder and some erythritol chocolate chips. Amazing!