I stumbled onto these gingerbread snowball cookies by total accident in December 2019. Was making regular Mexican wedding cookies for a cookie swap and Liam asked if we could make them taste like gingerbread houses. Sounded nuts but I dumped some molasses and ginger in the dough just to see. They came out incredible. These turned into our most-requested Christmas cookie that year. I've made them 38 times since then, messing with the spice amounts until they're just right. They're buttery and crumbly like regular snowballs but taste like gingerbread with that warm molasses thing going on. Everyone at the cookie swap bugged me for the recipe before I even left.
Why You'll Love These Gingerbread Snowball Cookies
I've made these 38 times, and here's why they kill regular Gingerbread Snowball Cookies. The gingerbread spice gives them actual flavor instead of just tasting like butter and sugar. You get that warm molasses thing without the cookies being chewy and hard - they still melt in your mouth like regular snowballs. Liam's friends who normally ditch Gingerbread Snowball Cookies eat these by the fistful because they're soft and crumbly instead of that rock-hard gingerbread nobody wants. They're also way easier than regular cut-out gingerbread. No rolling dough flat, no digging for cookie cutters, no sitting there decorating with icing for three hours. Just roll balls, bake, dump in powdered sugar. Thirty minutes total.
The look gets people every time. They actually look like little snowballs sitting in fresh powder. Perfect for Christmas parties without needing food coloring or frosting skills. I brought these to Liam's school thing in 2021 and his teacher asked where I bought them. Nope - just butter, molasses, spices, and sugar. They stack nice on plates and look good in photos if you care about that stuff. Way better than wonky gingerbread men with messed up icing faces.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love These Gingerbread Snowball Cookies
- Ingredients For Gingerbread Snowball Cookies
- Step by Step Method
- Equipment For Gingerbread Snowball Cookies
- Storing Your Gingerbread Snowball Cookies
- Smart Swaps for Gingerbread Snowball Cookies
- Gingerbread Snowball Cookies Variations
- Top Tip
- Mom's Hidden Shortcut That Actually Works
- FAQ
- Holiday Baking Made Simple!
- Related
- Pairing
- Gingerbread Snowball Cookies
Ingredients For Gingerbread Snowball Cookies
The Cookie Base:
- All-purpose flour
- Unsalted butter
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
The Gingerbread Magic:
- Ground ginger
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Molasses
- Ground cloves
The Snowball Coating:
- Extra powdered sugar for rolling
- Optional: pinch of cinnamon mixed in
See recipe card for quantities.
Step by Step Method
Mix the Spiced Dough
- Beat softened butter and powdered sugar until fluffy and light
- Mix in molasses and vanilla until combined
- Add flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt
- Beat on low until dough comes together (should be soft but not sticky)
- If dough's too crumbly, add a teaspoon of milk
Shape and Bake
- Roll dough into 1-inch balls with your hands
- Place on parchment-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart
- Bake at 350°F for 12-14 minutes until bottoms are lightly golden
- Don't overbake or they'll be dry instead of melt-in-your-mouth
- Let cool on sheet for 5 minutes before moving
Create the Snowball Effect
- Pour powdered sugar in a shallow bowl
- Roll warm cookies in sugar until completely coated
- Let cool completely on wire rack
- Roll in sugar again for extra white coating
- Store in airtight container once cool
Equipment For Gingerbread Snowball Cookies
- Large mixing bowl
- Electric hand mixer (or stand mixer)
- Cookie sheets (2 is better than 1)
- Parchment paper
- Small shallow bowl for sugar rolling
Storing Your Gingerbread Snowball Cookies
I've tested every storage method across 38 batches. Here's what works:
Counter Storage (1 week):
- Store in airtight container once completely cool
- Layer with parchment paper between cookies
- Keep away from humid spots or sugar gets sticky
- They actually get better after a day or two
Refrigerator (2 weeks):
- Not recommended - makes them hard and dry
- Fridge also makes powdered sugar coating wet and gross
- Only refrigerate if your house is super hot
- Let come to room temperature before eating
Freezer (3 months):
- Freeze cookies before rolling in sugar
- Stack in freezer bags with parchment between layers
- Roll in fresh powdered sugar after thawing
- Thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes
Dough Storage:
- Roll dough into balls and freeze on baking sheet
- Transfer frozen balls to freezer bag
- Bake straight from frozen, add 2 extra minutes
- Good for 3 months frozen
Smart Swaps for Gingerbread Snowball Cookies
Spice Changes:
- Fresh ginger → Ground ginger (1 teaspoon fresh = ¼ teaspoon ground)
- Cloves → Allspice (less intense flavor)
- Individual spices → Gingerbread spice mix (easier, less measuring)
- Regular → Pumpkin pie spice (different but still good)
Sweetener Options:
- Molasses → Honey (lighter flavor, less gingerbready)
- Dark molasses → Light molasses (milder taste)
- Regular sugar → Brown sugar in dough (adds more molasses flavor)
Nut Additions:
- Plain dough → Add finely chopped pecans
- Regular → Mix in crushed walnuts
- Traditional → Fold in toasted almonds
- Simple → Skip nuts completely (still great)
Dietary Swaps:
- Butter → Vegan butter (texture's slightly different)
- All-purpose flour → Gluten-free 1-to-1 blend (cookies crumble more)
- Regular → Coconut oil instead of butter (weird aftertaste)
Gingerbread Snowball Cookies Variations
Cranberry Orange Version:
- Add orange zest to dough
- Fold in dried cranberries chopped small
- Roll in orange-scented powdered sugar
- Tastes like Christmas morning
Chocolate Dipped Style:
- Make cookies as usual
- Dip cooled cookies halfway in melted dark chocolate
- Sprinkle with crushed candy canes while wet
- Liam goes nuts for these
Chai Spiced Twist:
- Add cardamom and extra cinnamon
- Use chai tea powder mixed with powdered sugar for rolling
- Skip the molasses, use honey instead
- More subtle ginger flavor
Maple Pecan Upgrade:
- Replace half the molasses with maple syrup
- Mix finely chopped pecans into dough
- Roll in maple sugar if you can find it
- Fancy but easy
Top Tip
- These spiced gingerbread snowball cookies taste way better on day 2 and 3. The spices mellow out and blend sitting overnight. I make them 2 days early now on purpose. Just seal that container tight or you'll find powdered sugar all over your entire kitchen.
- Freezing works great for making ahead. Freeze the Gingerbread Snowball Cookies before rolling in sugar - stack them in freezer bags with parchment between layers. Good for 3 months. When you want them, thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes, then roll in fresh powdered sugar. The sugar doesn't freeze worth a damn so always do it after.
- Freeze the dough balls instead of baked cookies. Roll the dough into balls, freeze on a baking sheet for an hour, dump in a freezer bag. Lasts 3 months. Bake straight from frozen whenever you want fresh cookies - just add 2 extra minutes. This is how I survive December without losing my mind.
Mom's Hidden Shortcut That Actually Works
My mom made these Gingerbread Snowball Cookies for 30 years before she finally told me her cheat in 2020. I'd been doing it the regular way - measuring all the individual spices, getting the ratios right, panicking about having enough ground ginger. She watched me make a batch one Saturday and cracked up laughing. Turns out she'd been using store-bought gingerbread spice mix for 15 years instead of measuring everything out. I was mad because I'd been doing it the hard way like a sucker. But I tested her shortcut on batch #27 and nobody could tell the difference. The pre-mixed stuff has the same things - ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, maybe allspice. Saves you from hunting through five different spice jars.
Her other move was keeping pre-mixed dry ingredients in the pantry all December. She'd make one giant batch of flour, gingerbread spice, and salt at the start of the month. Then whenever she needed cookies, she'd scoop what she needed and throw in the wet stuff. Made these cookies in 15 minutes flat. Genius. Now I do the same - mix the dry stuff once, use it all month. Way less annoying when you're not measuring flour five times for five batches of different cookies.
FAQ
Are snowball cookies the same as Mexican wedding cookies?
Yeah, same cookie with different names. Mexican wedding cookies, Russian tea cakes, Gingerbread Snowball Cookies - all the same buttery powdered sugar thing. These gingerbread snowball cookies are just that classic recipe with molasses and spices dumped in. Same crumbly texture, just tastes like gingerbread instead of plain butter.
What are common mistakes in making ginger cookies?
Biggest screwup is overbaking them. Pull these when the bottoms are barely golden or they'll be dry rocks instead of melty. Also, people use cold butter and the dough won't stick together. And thinking you can skip the molasses and just add more spices - doesn't work. You need that molasses for actual gingerbread taste.
How do you keep snowball cookies from crumbling?
Don't overbake them. Make sure your butter's soft when you mix or they'll be crumbly as hell. Let them sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving them or they'll break apart. And be gentle rolling them in sugar - they're fragile right out of the oven.
What is another name for snowball cookies?
Mexican wedding cookies, Russian tea cakes, butterballs, Italian wedding cookies - bunch of names for the same cookie. Some have nuts, some don't. This gingerbread version is just snowballs with molasses and spices thrown in. Every culture's got their version of buttery cookies rolled in powdered sugar.
Holiday Baking Made Simple!
You've got the same Gingerbread Snowball Cookies recipe I've made 38 times since that random thing in December 2019. Started when Liam asked if we could make snowball cookies taste like gingerbread houses. Sounded nuts but I threw some molasses and spices in anyway. They came out so good that every person at the cookie swap wanted the recipe before I even packed up. Been making them every Christmas since. These are what people ask me to bring now instead of regular gingerbread.
Want more holiday stuff that doesn't suck to make? Our Easy Texas Trash Pie Recipe is what I make when I need dessert fast and can't handle complicated. No oven except the crust, ten minutes total, always gone. The Best Neiman Marcus Cake Recipe also takes ten minutes and people think you worked all day. And our Easy Homemade Blueberry Biscuits Recipe kills for Christmas morning breakfast - way better than frozen garbage from the store. All look way harder than they are.
Share your Gingerbread Snowball Cookies ! I answer every photo because I want to see if your powdered sugar coating came out thick enough. Did they melt in your mouth? Did you add nuts or keep them plain? Did people bug you for the recipe? We've got 178 bakers in our Facebook group trading cookie tips and showing off what they made. Good people - join us.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rate this Gingerbread Snowball Cookies and spill everything!
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Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Gingerbread Snowball Cookies
Gingerbread Snowball Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Large mixing bowl (For creaming butter and sugar)
- 1 Electric hand mixer or stand mixer (Helps achieve fluffy dough)
- 2 Cookie sheets (Bake more at once)
- As needed Parchment paper (Prevents sticking)
- 1 Shallow bowl (For rolling cookies in powdered sugar)
- 1 Wire rack (For cooling cookies)
Ingredients
The Cookie Base
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour - spooned and leveled
- 1 cup unsalted butter - softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar - sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - optional but recommended
- ¼ teaspoon salt - balances sweetness
The Gingerbread Magic
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger - adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon - adds warmth
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg - for depth
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves - strong, use lightly
- 2 tablespoon molasses - dark or light works
The Snowball Coating
- 1 cup powdered sugar - for rolling
- Pinch cinnamon - optional, mix into sugar for spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Beat butter and powdered sugar until fluffy, then mix in molasses and vanilla. Add flour, spices, and salt; blend until dough forms.
- Chill dough for about 10 minutes if it feels too soft to shape.
- Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake 12-14 minutes, until bottoms are lightly golden. Let cool on the sheet for 5 minutes.
- Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar, cool completely, then roll again for a snowy finish.
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