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My Snowball Cookies are soft, chewy, tender cake mix cookies that are coated in powdered sugar to look like “snowballs.” Perfect for when you need a simplified or nut-free version of the classic cookie.
I’m sure you have all seen the traditional Snowball Cookies, but since the recipes all call for nuts, they are a no-go for us. But I so love them and think they are perfect for Christmas time. They are so pretty and white and I love how they look mixed in with bountiful tin of Christmas cookies. Try these Snowball Cookies with no nuts and you’ll love them.
How To Make Snowball Cookies
While planning our “Frozen” Inspired Snow Party, I knew snowball cookies would be the perfect treat to add to our dessert table. My boy has a nut allergy, so I had to get creative and come up with a recipe that would be just as yummy and pretty. I think I won that challenge!
These cookies are incredibly easy to make, using just a few ingredients:
- One box of white cake mix
- Vegetable oil
- Egg whites
- Softened cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
The first four ingredients make up the actual cookie. See? No nuts! Before you yell at me, I know these are a flat cookie, while traditional snowballs cookies are more round. But we’re going for “inspired” here, and remember my boy that’s allergic to nuts? He LOVES these!
Some Tips & Tricks For This Snowball Cookies Recipe
- Always use a cookie scoop when making cookies. It keeps them uniform in size which helps all the cookies on your baking sheet bake evenly.
- The dough itself is pretty sticky, so I recommend spraying your cookie scoop with some nonstick cooking spray to help them release a little easier.
- If the dough is just too sticky after you’ve chilled it, add ¼ cup of powdered sugar or flour (depending on the sweetness level you’re going for).
- Bake the cookies on a parchment sheet to keep them from sticking.
- DO NOT LET THEM BROWN – this one is in all caps because I really, really want you to keep them from browning. It will ruin the “snowball” effect and that’s the whole point, right?
Snowball Cookies are Santa’s favorite!
They go perfectly with a tall glass of cold milk, and I personally think Santa would love them too! I mean, aren’t they pretty?? Almost too pretty to eat…but we eventually succumbed to the pressure! This is a gooey, tender cookie, and it just melts in your mouth! The adults at our party enjoyed them just as much as the kids did!
More Christmas Cookies You’ll Love
- Red Velvet Cookies
- 50+ Festive Christmas Cookies
- Christmas Cheesecake Cookies
- The BEST Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe
- Cookie Butter Blossoms
- Gingerbread Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
- Chocolate Peppermint Slice and Bake Cookies
Tools used to make these Snowball Cookies
Medium Cookie Scoop – This scoop comes in handy when baking cookies to keep them uniform in size and make them easy to roll. It holds 2 tablespoons of dough.
Sheet Pan with Sides: Also known as a Jelly Roll Pan, this is a staple in my kitchen and I use it nearly every day. The sides keep food from sliding off onto the bottom of your oven.
Parchment paper – I prefer parchment to foil; it’s just easier to work with and is just as nonstick. Plus it just looks prettier!
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Nut-Free Snowball Cookies made with Cake Mix
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix
- 1/3 cup oil
- 3 egg whites
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix all ingredients, except powdered sugar, on medium until well combined. Chill for thirty minutes. If dough feels sticky, add ¼ cup flour or powdered sugar.
- Take about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Roll dough in powdered sugar (optional) and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 9-11 minutes, or until the tops start to crack. (Don't let them get brown - it will ruin the "snowball" effect.
- Let cool on the cookie for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Dust with sifted powdered sugar.
Notes
- Always use a cookie scoop when making cookies. It keeps them uniform in size which helps all the cookies on your baking sheet bake evenly.
- The dough itself is pretty sticky, so I recommend spraying your cookie scoop with some nonstick cooking spray to help them release a little easier.
- If the dough is just too sticky after you’ve chilled it, add ¼ cup of powdered sugar or flour (depending on the sweetness level you’re going for).
- Bake the cookies on a parchment sheet to keep them from sticking.
- DO NOT LET THEM BROWN – this one is in all caps because I really, really want you to keep them from browning. It will ruin the “snowball” effect and that’s the whole point, right?
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of "Yellow Bliss Road" is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Hi, in the UK we don’t have ‘white cake mix’ ready to buy. Can you advise what I could do instead? Thanks
Hi Sara, this is a cake mix cookie recipe. That’s the main ingredient – sorry!
Can they be freezed for ahead of time?
If you don’t add the powdered sugar, yes, you can freeze them.
I made this for the first time yesterday and it came out tasting great! The only issue I had was the dough was too sticky. I added 1/4 cup of powered sugar per instructions, but it was still too sticky. Any suggestions?
It’s just a very sticky dough. But that’s how you get the super tender and chewy cookie! 🙂
These look as sound good will probably make and add with hard candies and reindeer chow in our Christmas baskets. Thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas
That’s a great idea Kristy! Enjoy!
Yummy! My family loves these!!! Thank you! I was looking for a nut free snowball cookie to put in a glass holiday cookie jar that is for a gift. They look great and taste great too!!
Thank you Lisa!
how amny cookies does it yield?
2-3 dozen cookies.
I made these pursuant to the directions. It was still a sticky mess after adding the powdered sugar. They tasted more like gooey butter cookies rather than snowballs. They were good, but didn’t look like the pictures.
These turned out great. I made them more so for the grandchildren that visit. Can they be frozen?
I haven’t tried freezing them – let me know how it works out!
I love these cookies! But mine never come out like a snowball, mine are more like a melted snowball. The batter is way to sticky to roll, even with a scooper they still flatten out. I’ve let it chill in fridge for as long as 1.5 hours and added 1/2 powder sugar and they still flatten out. I also have to cook them a bit longer than 11 minutes otherwise they aren’t done..but they always taste great..just wish they would look more like a snowball lol
Your picture looks great and the recipe sounded so easy. I tried this today and it just didn’t work for me. The recipe only yielded less than 20 cookies. I thought maybe they were too big, but I measured out 2 tablespoons for each one. I let them bake for 11 minutes or more, until they cracked. However, it tasted like raw cake mix. I ended up putting them back in and baking longer, but they weren’t white anymore (of course). Any suggestions? I’m thinking of doing 1 tablespoon size ones.
I’m sorry it didn’t work for you. I’ve made them several times and they are always a favorite. Yes, maybe try with a smaller scoop.
I doubled the recipe which gave me 3 dozen plus a few extra. I also added a 1/2 cup of powdered sugar to ingredients & it helped alot w stickiness. I love this recipe so much i’m wondering if you could also get other flavprs just by swapping out white cake mix for a different flavor? I’m trying it w red velvet cake mix tonight! Thanks for this recipe
Yes you can definitely swap out the cake mix for different flavors. Red Velvet would be fabulous!
Hello….you don’t have to publish this comment, but I’m trying to make these now and the dough is so sticky I cannot roll it, even if I flour my hands and I added a bit of flour to the dough…I’m not a baker so don’t know how much would be too much or just enough, please advise asap….I’m stuck here ….
Try adding another 1/4 cup of flour or powdered sugar. Also, be sure to chill for at least thirty minutes. The dough is slightly sticky, but should be rollable. 🙂
nevermind….I had to flour my hands to roll each one and it was a delicate process. But I just had one and the lemon flavor is divine. Thanks for this recipe.
The recipe looks great but….I count FIVE ingredients not 4 😉
It should say that the powdered sugar is optional. Thanks for catching that! 🙂
I just made these & they’re sooo delish! They taste JUST like the softest white cupcake WITH the frosting that you’ve ever had! Yes they’re so good they actually taste frosted. I doubled the recipe which gave me 3 dozen plus a few extra. I also added a 1/2 cup of powdered sugar to ingredients & it helped alot w stickiness. I love this recipe so much i’m wondering if you could also get other flavprs just by swapping out white cake mix for a different flavor? I’m trying it w red velvet cake mix tonight! Thanks for this recipe
Yes you could definitely work with other flavors. I think red velvet would be divine!
I’m glad Tammy C asked this….I also have a couple of questions. I subbed the white cake mix with lemon, and I thought of adding powdered sugar to the mix too. Glad to see its a variation. But can the oil can be swapped with butter? I’m going to make them today. I’m really wanting to make a light pink cookie like this and right now the cake mixes are buy one get one free so I got a white one and will color the mix and the powdered sugar with drops of beet juice to pale pink….what do you think?
Yes you can swap butter for the oil. The pink color would be pretty!
When I make these….I use strawberry cake mix to make the red color….turns out wonderful….
Kristin, these look and sound so tasty. I am cookie crazy and Christmas time is my excuse to indulge. I’ll be adding this recipe to my cookie to-bake list!
Yum yum yum!! They look and sound delicious!! Pinning!
I can’t wait to make these and may add just a bit of peppermint extract for a festive flavor 🙂 Thanks for the easy recipe!
I think that would be a great addition!
Um, Yum! I love easy and these look great! Can’t wait to try! Pinned it and shared on FB!
Thanks Kim!!
I agree – they are almost too pretty to eat!! Almost! Wink! These look amazing Kristin – thanks for sharing this Christmas cookie recipe! I’ll add this to my go to holiday cookie recipe list! So fun to party again with you!!!! ~ Heather
I can just bet the texture with these cookies are absolutely amazing! Love how puffy these are!
Oh boy those look soooo good and so simple!
those cookies look yummy!
I love cake mix cookies! This is a great version. Pinning and saving. nomnonmnom 🙂
Thanks Shannon!!
YUM! Ok… adding this to our Christmas week baking list 🙂
Thanks Maryann!
I am soooo making these for the cookie exchange happening at my house this week!! Easy and beautiful…my kind of cookie. Oh and yummy too! 😉
Vanessa
I LOVE snowball cookies, however my husband is NOT a big nut fan… So this is a great alternative. They look absolutely YUMMY and I only wish I could grab one off of the screen 🙂
Can’t wait to hear more about your Snowball party!
xoxo
These look so yummy! My boys would love them and well, so would I ! Thanks for sharing.
XO
Kristin
Wow these look amazing!! On my to-bake list!! MMM!!