Double Chocolate Snowball Cookies

Double Chocolate Snowball Cookies – These holiday snowball cookies are rich, buttery, delicate, delicious, and have a burst of chocolate in every bite. A perfect Christmas cookie recipe for anyone who loves chocolate and cookies!

What are double chocolate snowball cookies?

Double chocolate snowballs are a variation of the classic snowball cookies, which are also known as Mexican wedding cookies, Russian tea cakes, and Italian wedding cookies. These little cookies are made by incorporating cocoa powder and chocolate chips into the dough, giving them a deep chocolate flavor. They’re tender, rich, chocolatey, buttery, and coated in powdered sugar, giving them the lovely “snowball” look.

These tiny shortbread cookies are perfectly sweet, crumbly, chocolatey, addictive and they just melt in your mouth. These are super easy to make and can be a great addition to your Christmas cookie platters.

Why you’ll love this recipe:

Ingredients & Substitutions:

Flour – Plain flour or all purpose flour is the base of the cookie dough. You could also use whole wheat flour but the texture of the baked cookie will be vary. I haven’t tried them with gluten-free flour yet.

Butter – have used softened unsalted butter in this recipe. It can be replaced with margarine but the flavor and texture might vary slightly. Make sure the butter is at room temperature before making the dough. Replace it with vegan butter if you are looking for a vegan cookie recipe.

Powdered Sugar – Also known as confectioners sugar. If you don’t have it, grind sugar into a smooth powder.

Cocoa Powder – Use a good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder for the best chocolate flavor. Dutch-processed cocoa can also be used.

Chocolate Chips – Adds bursts of chocolate in every bite. Make sure you are using a good quality mini chocolate chips. Do not use the regular size chips. These can be substituted with white chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips. Use vegan chocolate chips for a dairy-free version.

Vanilla – Enhances the flavor of the cookies. It can be replaced with almond extract.

Salt – Skip it if you are using salted butter.

Serving suggestions:

Add these cookies to a dessert platter along with other treats, brownies, or sweets during holiday gatherings.

Serve them with hot beverages like tea, coffee or hot cocoa.

These can be a perfect edible gift during the festive season. Pack them in a festive box or tin along with other holiday treats for a wonderful gift.

Storage suggestions:

Once the cookies are completely cooked, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll stay fresh for about a week at room temperature.

You can also freeze them for up to 2 months. Once the cookies are baked and rolled in powdered sugar, arrange them in an freezer-safe container and separate the layers with parchment papers and store in the freezer. Let them thaw at room temperature and roll them in some powdered sugar again before serving.

You can also store the unbaked dough in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. If you want to store it longer, freeze it for about 2 months.

Variations:

You can add a bit of orange zest to the dough for a citrusy flavor.

Add a 1-2 teaspoons of instant espresso / coffee powder to the dough.

If you are a fan of peppermint flavor, add a little bit of peppermint extract to the dough and roll the baked cookies in powdered sugar mixed with crushed candy canes.

Add a tablespoon of orange zest to the dough for a citrus flavor variation.

You can swap half of the chocolate chips with chopped hazelnuts, pecans, almonds or walnuts for added crunch and texture.

Add a little bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, or cayenne for a warm, aromatic and festive touch.

You can also incorporate spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom into the dough for a warm, aromatic and festive touch.

Tips & Notes:

Use a good quality butter and other ingredients for the best flavor.

Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to portion out the dough, ensuring uniform sizes for even baking.

DO NOT skip chilling the dough. Refrigerating the shaped dough balls for an hour before baking can prevent excessive spreading while baking.

Be careful not to overbake them.

You will need to roll the baked ones in powdered sugar while they are still warm.

If you want to make super white snowball cookies, roll them twice in powdered sugar.

Step by step instructions:

Cream butter, ¼ cup of powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a large bowl. You can use use a stand mixer, hand mixer, or spatula.

Add in vanilla extract and salt to the butter mixture. Mix well.

Add four to the chocolate-butter mixture.

Gently mix everything until incorporated.

Add in mini chocolate chips to the cookie dough.

Gently fold everything to make a soft dough.

Wrap the prepared dough with plastic wrap / cling film and chill it in the refrigerator for an hour or until the dough is firm.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and keep it aside.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (350F).

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for few minutes for easy rolling.

Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, take a small portion of the chilled dough. Roll dough into 1 inch small balls.

Arrange the cookie dough balls on the prepared cookie sheet spacing about 1 inch apart.

Let them bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until the bottom of cookies are slightly browned at 180 degrees C.

Once they are baked, take them out of the oven and let them cool down a bit for 3-5 minutes

When the baked cookies are still warm, roll them in powdered sugar.

Arrange them on a cooling rack and let them cool completely. Once cooled, roll them again in powdered sugar for super white snowballs.

More snowball cookie recipes:

• Cranberry Orange Snowballs
• Cherry Snowballs
• Chocolate Mexican Wedding Cookies
• Lemon Snowballs
• Russian Tea Cakes
• Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies
• Secret Kiss Snowballs