Tender, sweet low carb cookies with cardamom and walnuts. Whether you call them Russian Tea Cakes, Mexican Wedding Cakes or Snowballs, these are perfect for your Holiday baking.
I got a very early jump on my Christmas baking this year. I typically don’t start until after Thanksgiving because it just seems wrong to start any earlier. I love Christmas but I don’t want to start in on it too soon, lest I get sick of all Christmas-related things before the big day rolls around. It’s my favourite holiday 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. That would be a real tragedy.
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But with Thanksgiving being so late this year, I felt I had an excuse to start in on the baking early. I have so many ideas for Christmas goodies and I want you to be able to benefit from my recipes. Â If I waited until November 29th to get baking, I wouldn’t have nearly enough time to put my ideas to the test. And photograph them and write them and bring them to you for your own holiday baking extravaganza.
Snowball cookies have been widely requested by many readers, being a standard holiday favourite for many families. And they aren’t always called snowballs. 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 pecan crescent, last year, I knew low carb snowballs would be a cinch.
Or so I thought. The cookie part was easy. But a low carb powdered sweetener like Swerve is not the same as powdered sugar and it wasn’t as eager to stick to the cookies. I initially got a light little coating, but I wanted a bit more than that. I needed a little low carb ingenuity, it would seem. I attempted a light spritz of water from a spray bottle, but was worried that it would make the cookies a bit soggy. Finally I realized that I had to put the cookies into the powdered Swerve when they were still quite warm out of the oven and leave them for a second or two before I rolled them around. And I dusted them with a little more powdered Swerve after they had cooled. Perfect.
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp coarsely ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup Swerve Sweetener or other granulated erythritol
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp stevia extract
- 3/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener or other powdered erythritol
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For the cookies, preheat oven to 325F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, chopped walnuts, coconut flour, cardamom, baking powder and salt.
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In a large bowl, beat butter with sweetener until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg, vanilla and stevia extracts.
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Beat in almond flour mixture until dough comes together.
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Form dough into 3/4 inch balls and place on baking sheets about 1 inch apart.
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Bake 18 minutes, or until just lightly golden brown.
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In a medium bowl, place powdered sweetener. While cookies are still warm, place in sweetener and roll around to coat.
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Sprinkle remaining powdered sweetener over cookies as they cool.
Serves 18. Each serving has 5 g of carbs and 2 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 3 g.
170 Calories; 16g Fat (78.7% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 26mg Cholesterol; 117mg Sodium.
Lexi says
Thanks! Yes this is one I love…we call them Butter Balls….just another name for a great cookie! Happy Christmas!!
Carolyn says
Oh wow, I’ve never heard that name…add it to the list!
Joann says
After 40-some years of making Snowballs I found the best way to make powdered sugar to stick to them is by freezing first, then shaking the cookies in a bag with the powdered sugar. This results in a HEAVY coating of “snow”. I also store them in a cool place to help the snow last. Going to try them with almond flour this year. Thanks for this recipe.
Carolyn says
Great tip, I will definitely try that next time!
Kelli @ The Corner Kitchen says
Great cookies, Carolyn! I made pistachio cardamom snowballs last weekend! Snowballs of any kind are always a must in my holiday baking 🙂
Victoria says
Quick question,
I don’t use anything but liquid splenda (EZ Sweets). How much, if any, would I use in this recipe?
Carolyn says
Swerve is as sweet as sugar so use EZSweetz to equal 1/2 cup sugar for the cookies. I don’t know how you’d do the powdered coating, though.
Jeanette says
These look just like the little snowball cookies my mom used to make. Love how you’ve adapted them to be low carb!
Jessica @ Desserts with Benefits says
These.
Look.
HEEEEAAVENLYYYY!
Loretta says
Carolyn,
Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for all your hard work and ingenuity. You are a prolific recipe maker! smile. Hope your husband is progressing nicely and will be up and around before you know it. Blessings to you.
Loretta M.
Carolyn says
Thanks, Loretta!
Liz Wolf says
These look great! I tried a different low carb recipe for them a few weeks ago that didn’t work well at all, so I’m excited to try this. One question though – all of my old recipes, even gluten free ones, call for 1/2 C of powdered sugar in the cookie dough. Yours calls for 1/2 C of granulated, which wouldn’t be nearly as sweet. Is this a typo or actually what you do? I have powdered Swerve, but not granulated, so I’m hoping.
Carolyn says
I used granulated but I think it would work fine with powdered. Go ahead and try that.
Liz Wolf says
I used 1/2 C of powdered Swerve and left out the stevia. Absolutely delicious! They held their shape and taste almost like “normal” Russian Teacakes. Thank you!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked them!
Rebekkah says
I haven’t made these yet, and I am not generally one to comment on anything, but I thought I might take just a moment to tell you thank you for your work – for how fun you are to read and how much love and work you put into all your posts and all your recipes. You do a fantastic job and I love everything of yours I make. It is not always an easy lifestyle – but you actually go a long way toward making it not just doable, but truly enjoyable. On behalf of everyone who has or to chooses to eat this way – THANK YOU!
Carolyn says
Thank you so much for the kind words, Rebekkah.
Janet says
I totally agree with what Rebekkah says! Thank you Carolyn…love your recipes!
Annette says
Can you make powdered swerve by coffee grinding the granulated form?
Crystal says
Sorry if I have already asked you this, but where do you buy your nuts? It is my understanding that most nuts are from facilities that also produce things with gluten containing ingredients. I have used nuts.com but that can get really expensive. Thanks for any help/ tips you can give!
Liz Wolf says
Sorry to butt in here – I order blanched almond flour from Honeyville. I am extremely sensitive to gluten and have never had any problems. They are having a 20% off sale starting tomorrow too! (Use code: GIFT)
Crystal says
Thank you!
Carolyn says
Thanks for responding, Liz. Crystal, I get all of my almond flour from Honeyville too!
Carolyn says
I see someone else answered you, but I too get my almond flour from Honeyville. I also recently tried this Wellbee almond flour from Amazon and it states that it is Gluten-Free as well. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CLLV1BS/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00CLLV1BS&linkCode=as2&tag=aldaidrabfo05-20
Toni | Boulder Locavore says
These sound fantastic Carolyn and I love the lead shot especially!
Tessa says
Looks like another recipe I’ll have to try! One thing though – as I’ve been making all these recipes with Swerve, I’m looking for other people’s input. I’m getting to where I’m tempted to just use regular sugar – and that’s a big deal as I have been a sugar-phobe for about 8 years now. But the cooling effect with Swerve is ruining so many recipes for our family. We used to always use Zsweet and there’s no cooling effect with that, but the results when baking were less than stellar. Baking results with Swerve are great, but the cooling effect often ruins the eating enjoyment. I find that it’s worse with the powdered version. Does anyone else have this problem? I see you making all these recipes on here and just wonder why no one else seems bothered by this. Thanks for any feedback.
Carolyn says
Hi Tessa, I am fascinated that you feel the cooling effect with Swerve but not with ZSweet, as I am the EXACT opposite. It’s why I switched to swerve in the first place, because the moment I started using it, I found so much less of the cooling sensation. Most people find the same, but we all have different palates. I think these would be okay baked with ZSweet if that’s what you prefer.
Katharine says
I do notice the cooling sensation with swerve. But usually not until I take a sip of water after having a bite of a baked good w swerve – that’s when I can really feel it on my tongue. Certain recipes I don’t notice it much at all though (Carolyn’s lemon poppyseed cake, which I’m about to bake!). Powdered is worse for me too.
Carol M says
Tessa, Agreed. I get that cooling effect with Swerve as well. I now use Truvia baking blends which include some sugar. I prefer them as the cooling effect is gone but this will result in more sugar and carbs in your recipes. I still use powdered swerve as there is nothing else that is low carb and in a powdered form. HTH.
Elaine Markley says
I’ve experienced the same cooling effect with Swerve as well. But I’ve found a natural sweetener that does not have it! MonkSweet Plus by Steviva. It’s a blend of erythritol, stevia and monkfruit. It’s so good I can eat it on keto toast with butter and cinnamon! And I’m not affiliated with the company, but love this sweetener for all my cooking and baking!
Sonya Johnston says
thanks for the tip! i will check this out!
Teresa says
Not sure if this will help, but I have a friend who adds 1-3TBS of cream cheese to anything with swerve and find that cuts the cooling taste. However. You’d have to forego the roll in swerve. I kind of like the cooling in the powdered topping as it makes these cookies a bit like a melt away.
Kelly says
Thanks for this tip! I’ll try that instead of getting rid of the Swerve that I’ve been unwilling to use because of the cooling effect and weird aftertaste. As for powdered “sugar”… I’ve had luck putting granulated sweeteners in the food processor and making my own powdered version of them.
Crystal says
Thank you! Where did you buy the walnuts that you put in these cookies?
Carolyn says
I think I got them from Trader Joe’s. It never occurred to me that they might share facilities that use wheat. I am fortunate not to have a gluten intolerance though. I will keep my eye out for good sources of certified GF nuts!
Susan says
I was so uber excited when you posted this recipe. These are my FAVORITE Christmas cookies. I accepted the fact that since I am low-carb/gluten free, I would never get to eat these again. Well, I made them today & holy smokes, are they delicious! They taste just like the carb/gluten laden cookies of the past. Thanks so much for coming up with these. Looks like Santa is getting these little gems this year!
Carolyn says
Glad they lived up to the hype!
Lady Jennie says
I love these cookies. And yup – just what I thought they would be. I suppose (not being diabetic) I could use regular powdered sugar just for the coating, but do the rest with your recipe, since I can’t get sugar-free powdered sugar.
I hope your husband’s foot is all healed and that he’s walking.
Ceebee says
While I am gluten free I do use regular sugar and was wondering if you think these would turn out ok using both regular granulated and powdered sugar?
Carolyn says
Yes, they would be just fine!
Laurie says
I bought almond meal at Trader Joe’s, will that work or do I need a finer almond flour? I volunteereed to make sugar free cookies for a nursing home.
Carolyn says
YOu can try it but it might not be fine enough. YOu may want to add a little more coconut flour to help it hold together.
Laurie says
Thanks! That is what I will do.
Kali says
What’s the trick to get them to stay in ball form while cooking?
Carolyn says
There is no trick, they just stay round.
Donna says
My family loves these!!…Question…could I possibly use this in a rolled/cut out version to make raspberry-filled “wreaths”?…or would the baking powder render this an impossibility??…I love the light, melting texture of these…the flavor is stunning …the walnut/cardamom marriage is truly heaven-sent.
Carolyn says
Hi Donna…not sure this would be the right recipe for cut outs. Have you seen my holiday cut out cookies?
Tammy says
Hi Carolyn. These look fantastic as do all of your recipes. I am ADDICTED to your website! I was just wondering what brand of powdered stevia you prefer?
Carolyn says
I typically use liquid stevia from NuNaturals. I have used their powdered as well and it’s quite good too.
Tammy says
Thanks Carolyn.
Katharine says
These were great! I rolled them in powdered swerve while warm and found it was plenty of sweetness. Didn’t use the rest. The texture of these is spot-on! I was unsure about the cardamom at first but it really mellowed after they cooled. Now I LOVE them!
Buttoni says
I just love cardamom in desserts, Carolyn. I can’t WAIT to try these!
Pam says
These tasted great but they did not stay formed in round ball shapes but spread any clues to why?
Carolyn says
What brand of almond flour did you use? Sounds like too much butter or that you used almond meal, not almond flour. Also, what brand of sweetener?
maggie says
Mine spread as well. I used honeyville almond flour and a stick of butter. Hmmmmm… they tasted good but spread a fair amount.
Pan says
I packed them pretty hard as I rolled them and they stayed round. Maybe it’s the pressure?
Carolyn says
Could be the sweetener too, I am not sure.
pam says
I use Bob red mill almond flour unsalted butter my other recipes that I make for non gluten friends with regular flour stay in shape
Pam says
I did use almond flour but I used regular sugar
Carolyn says
Well that would be the problem, then, I think. Sugar is hygroscopic (attracts moisture) so things are bound to spread more.
Jan says
I made these with cashew flour and pecans because I was out of blanched almond flour and walnuts. Loved the way they turned out. My first time using cardamom in a recipe and I liked it a lot. This is truly a recipe that you can serve to people who are not eating low carb and if you don’t tell them, they will never guess these cookies are sugar and wheat flour free.
Malainie says
Mom called these Sand Tarts, but made them with pecans instead of walnuts and no cardamom. I’ll have to try this recipe! Looks really good! We always rolled them in the powdered sugar when they were warm, so it would stick.
Pan says
I made these this weekend with half pecans and half walnuts. They are incredible! The taste and texture are spot on, just like I remember from the high carb cookies. I’ve been low carbing for 10 years, and in the past I’ve made so many recipes that were pretty good for low carb, but never unequivocally GOOD. What I love about your recipes is that anyone, low carb or not, would think they’re delicious! Thank you! I call these Mexican wedding cakes, by the way.
Carolyn says
Thanks, Pan. I try to make things that everyone will love!
Buttoni says
These sound so good. Love cardamom.
jo says
Hi Carolyn. I’ve made these a few times now and they never fail to delight. I used to love making them as a kid, every Christmas, and it’s so great to be able to make them again. Just so thankful for all the work you do, and all that you share with your readers so I thought I’d leave you a note. Thank you!
Liza says
Can I substitute anything (soy free also) for the eggs?
Carolyn says
I have no idea but I rather doubt it. Flax eggs might work but I really can’t be sure.
Lena says
I’ve made this recipe several times with chicken eggs or flax eggs when I ran out of chicken eggs and both ways worked beautifully.
Fun size wife says
You just blew me away! Cardamom is one of my favorite spices and I thought how marvelous these would be if they were made ahead a week or two and frozen. I can’t wait to make these!
Cindy says
I really want to make these, but am very bothered by the cooling effect from Swerve. Sometimes I use splenda even though I know swerve is a better choice. I’m new to sugar free baking, is there some way to negate the cooling effect from swerve/erythritol? Or will I just have to get used to it? Thanks!
Carolyn says
See, I don’t experience cooling from Swerve at all, although I do with regular erythritol. So every palate is different. You could try more stevia in the actual cookie and less Swerve.
Jean B. says
Hi Cindy, I, too, experience a very strong cooling effect when I use Swerve. I think I will try Truvia in this recipe because, in smaller amounts, it has had no such effect. Truvia doesn’t measure like sugar does, so for this recipe I will omit the stevia and and use the full 1/2 cup of Truvia.
I hope this helps!
And Carolyn, this is one of our traditional holiday cookies, so thanks so much for perfecting a low-carb version!
Hannah says
These look absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait to try them!
One question – did you use black or green cardamom and did you buy it coarsely ground or did you grind it yourself with a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder?
Carolyn says
I bought ground cardamom from Penzey’s.
Hannah says
Commenting again because I forgot to click the follow up comments box. Thanks!
Carolyn says
I bought ground cardamom from Penzey’s.
Janet says
These just came out of the oven. Tasted the dough before going in and I decided to just give them a sprinkle of powdered Swerve instead of rolling them in it. Just the right sweetness for us. Seems the longer we are eating LCHF the less sweet we like things! Thanks again for all that you do in helping me stay on my WOE….your recipes are terrific.
Carolyn says
So glad you liked them!
Kayla says
Could anyone help me out here? I really wanna try these but I cannot stand even the smallest bit of coconut ANYTHING in my food. It makes me sick.. im wondering if maybe I could use a little cream of tarter? or some baking soda? :\
Carolyn says
Sub another 1/3 cup almond flour instead.
Catherine says
These are crazy delicious. The texture is on point……can’t stop eating them 🙂
yesenia says
Not at all familiar with cardamom and happy to try this pairing with walnut, but would any variation work such as nutmeg and pistachio?
And I know these are snowBALLS, but can I press them down on the cookie sheet in either a thumbprint or pinwheel shape, just to fancy them up?
I’m looking for something to take to a Christmas party and want a shape fancier than balls.
Carolyn says
These are totally adaptable so any of your ideas should work. If you flatten them, they may cook faster.
yesenia says
Just made a batch of these and they are super dry on the palate. Not dense nor tough, but just very dry like needing to take a sip of a beverage with every bite.
I followed everything exactly and noticed the dough never “came together”, but I still formed 3/4″ balls with my hands
Good flavor but dry.
Carolyn says
Well then something went wrong because they should not be and they dough should most definitely come together. May I ask what brand of sweetener and/or almond flour you used?
yesenia says
Store Brand sucralose and Bob’s Mill almond flour. I pressed them slightly with a “+” design. They held together well. I added a dollop of sugar-free vanilla frosting on top and decorated with a walnut.
They’re attractive and another taster says they taste really good. They’re deceptively small but last 3-4 bites in the mouth, but there must be water nearby for sipping.
Carolyn says
Bob’s flour is fine as long as it’s the Super Fine (they used to make a coarser grind but there isn’t much of that left in stores anymore). But the sweetener may be the issue here. I don’t use sucralose at all but I do know it can dry things out a lot.
Sonya Johnston says
what is stevia extract? can I use sweet leaf stevia drops? thanks for the great holiday recipes!
Carolyn says
That’s what stevia extract is.
Meg Russell says
These are a wonderful alternative to our sugar laden snowballs but I would suggest two adjustments 1) I would try half the amount of cardamom next time because it is such a strong flavor and not one my family is accustomed to. In one batch, I used almond extract instead and the flavor was superb! 2) I have not enjoyed any of the sweetener substitutes at all, either the erythritol is too minty or the stevia is too bitter or the Splenda is too gummy and artificial in its aftertaste, but I just found an amazing low glycemic sweetener called “Whey-Low” and goodness if it doesn’t taste EXACTLY like the real thing. I would suggest trying a batch with this sweetener. I kind of just Googled and Googled and found it and was able to order it online. Now there is no bitterness or aftertaste or cooling effect, I am totally thrilled. Thanks for such an awesome recipe!! This is one I will be baking to deliver to all of my clients! -Meg Russell
Jennifer Farley says
Snowballs are my favorite cookies!
Mary says
Do you know if it would be possible to substitute THM flour blend? These sound amazing btw!
Carolyn says
It’s much drier so I am not sure it would work
yesenia says
Getting ready to make these again. Skipping Splenda (Sucralose) since discovering this past year it causes migraines. But I still don’t have access to any fancy ingredients like Erythritol or liquid Stevia. I have the green bag of Raw Stevia and hope this will work in the dough and for powdering. I haven’t tried powdering granulated Stevia yet. Wish me luck!
This time though in addition to making them low-carb, I have to satisfy someone who is dairy-free which means substituting with Vegan margarine (Earth Balance) and and liquid eggs. Hope these don’t compromise the recipe.
I’m still unsure what made them so darn dry and dense last year.
Carolyn says
Good luck!
Erica says
I’ve never had conventionally-made snowballs, but my husband says these are almost exactly like them. All I can confirm is that they are delicious. I was almost out of confectioner’s Swerve, so I ground Truvia and MonkSweet until powdered, and then added my remaining 2 T Swerve and a small amount of tapioca starch to mimic the corn starch in powdered sugar. I began rolling the warm cookies in my powdered sweetener and was pleased with the snowy coating each received, until a few minutes passed and it turned wet and pasty from the residual warmth of the cookie. Does this happen to your cookies, Carolyn, or do you think it’s a result of the sweeteners/starch I used? I stopped coating the warm cookies when I noticed what was happening, and wiped the paste off of each one as well as I could. I’m waiting for the rest of the batch to cool completely, and for the pasty cookies to dry, before I do more rolling. I do expect the sweetener to cling nicely to the cooled cookies! Not sure what happened. It’s probably due to my adjustments. Perhaps others who decide to make their own powdered coatings can learn from my experience: experiment to find what coating method produces the best snow on your snowballs.
Carolyn says
It does tend to disappear into the cookie but mine doesn’t become pasty so I think that’s the tapioca starch.
Erica says
You’re probably right. I have a slight obsession with adding small amounts of tapioca starch to recipes. Almond flour, xanthan gum, and other low-carb ingredients are pretty great on their own, but when I add a small amount of tapioca starch to the mix and things turn out so close to conventional recipes, I feel like I can conquer the world. ? Maybe not necessary here though. Nevertheless, I rolled the cookies in my sweetener mix before serving, and they were plenty sweet with a light, dry coating. Very tasty! For our family Christmas party I made your spritz cookies, gingerbread spritz, snowballs, two variations of your chocolate peppermint stars (orange and hazelnut) and lemon thumbprints using your lemon curd and Twix thumbprint dough recipes. Everything turned out great. Thanks so much!
Esther R. says
One of my favorite cookie recipes . Love it .