These Walnut Snowball Cookies are by far the closest we’ve gotten to making an exact replica of the non-keto recipe. You may have heard them called Russian tea cakes, Italian wedding cookies, or even Mexican wedding cookies, but no matter what you call them, they are the must make Christmas cookies! We guarantee you will find your new favorite recipe for cookies and begin craving them all year long. They are easy to make and even easier to eat!
What’s the Difference Between Italian & Mexican Wedding Cookies?
If you are wondering what snowball cookies are we have some info for you! For simple round Christmas Cookies it’s certainly interesting they have so many names! These fancy keto snowball cookies are based off of a world wide treat. Each country from Spain and Italy to Mexico and Russia seem to have their own variation. It turns out the difference in country is actually the nut choice(1). We chose to use walnuts, but if you want authentic cookies to your country, try doing some digging to find out which nut is specific to you! No matter what nut you use in these cookies they are still going to be sugar free, gluten free/keto, and delicious!
How to Make Keto Snowball Cookies
If you’re ready to take on these holiday cookies, we’re ready to help. With a step by step ingredient and direction run through we’ll have you ready in no time! This snowball cookie recipe has a total time of 1 hour and 5 minutes, but boy are they worth it! You can make a big batch and freeze this cookie recipe so you have them all season long.
Ingredients:
Quality ingredients are super important and if you love cookies these keto ingredients are going to knock your socks off. A tasty holiday cookie starts with low carb and low sugar ingredients so you can enjoy the treat without a stomach ache later. The best keto ingredients:
- 1 cup walnuts– Feel free to have some fun and play around with the nuts. We’ve tried pecans and almonds before and both were great. Just make sure they are chopped small enough.
- 1/2 cup Coconut flour (+ 1-2 tbsp for end)– This is different from almond flour (see notes below)
- 1/2 cup butter, melted– You can try coconut oil to be dairy free, but it may not have the right flavor.
- 1 large Egg- We love free range or preferably pasture raised eggs for the best high quality egg.
- 1/2 cup swerve confectioner– Here is the key to that little bit of powdered sugar finish. Swerve is 100% low carb/keto and works perfect for a powdered sweetener that isn’t conventional powdered sugar. If you don’t have powdered sweetener you can always use granular pulsed in a coffee grinder.
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract– Vanilla extract helps to bring out all the other warming and nutty flavors of the cookie. Try to find vanilla extract that’s pure or with alcohol. Anything else and it may have added sugar or corn syrup
- 50 drops Liquid Stevia– This is the main sweetener inside of the keto snowball cookies prep work. We do not use coconut sugar because that can increase blood sugar and knock you from ketosis. Sugar free snowball cookies are best made with a stevia filling.
Almond Flour or Coconut Flour?
In this particular recipe for keto snowball cookies we do not use almond flour. After many trials, we’ve found coconut flour to work the best in this keto recipe. Unlike almond four, coconut flour is more “powder like” which helps to make keto snowball cookies that melt in your mouth. Unfortunately, coconut flour is very different from almond flour. Unlike coconut and almond milk, these two flours are not interchangeable. Almond flour is less absorbent requiring more flour to make the same keto recipe. To make this recipe with almond flour you will need about 3x as much. This may still change the texture. If you are looking for a good coconut flour we usually get ours from amazon.
What is Confection Erythritol?
Confection erythritol is a powdered sweetener that is often used in place of powdered sugar. It is low carb and keto friendly without any blood sugar spike. It is perfect for those with diabetes or simply following a ketogenic diet. Most health food stores have it, but if you can’t find any feel free to put some granular erythritol in a coffee grinder and pulse it into a powder.
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 300 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Combine the melted butter, egg, stevia and vanilla extract in a large bowl and set aside- Make sure the butter is melted, but not too hot or it may cook the eggs.
- Add the walnuts to a food processor and pulse until ground. Pour walnut flour into a medium bowl and add the coconut flour and 1/4 cup of the swerve.- Combine so everything is well incorporated and there are no big clumps. You want a walnut flour not butter so don’t over process the walnuts.
- In two parts add the dry mixture to the wet and whisk to combine.
- The dough should be soft, but firm enough to form into balls by hand without it sticking to your palms. If the dough is too soft add 1-2 tbsp of additional coconut flour and combine.
- Make 15 equal sized balls and line the parchment paper. Thankfully these will not spread in the oven so no need to worry. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes, and then carefully roll the (still warm) balls in the remaining 1/4 cup swerve powdered sweetener. Place them back on the parchment paper and allow to fully cool, another 20-30 minutes, until eating!- Powdered sweetener is the key to getting it to stick like powdered sugar. If you don’t have powdered sweetener you can use granular sweetener in a coffee grinder pulsed a few times.
Whether you’re reading this for the first or the second time, the next time you make sugar free snowball cookies will be the best! We hope you can’t wait to try this recipe!
How to Store Keto Friendly Snowball Cookies
Now that you’ve found the perfect keto friendly holiday cookie you’re ready to take on the season! The only thing missing is having leftovers so you can eat the cookies again and again. We recommend making a double batch and freezing extras. You can put them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days. Or place them in layers between wax paper in an airtight container for the freezer.
Our Favorite Walnut Recipes!
Walnuts are one of the best nuts in our opinion. They have a good macro profile for a low carb diet and they also make great desserts! Aside from this recipe, another one of Matt’s favorite cookies are our walnut spiced cookies, made purely from walnut flour! We always have a big bag of walnuts in our cupboard to toss in the food processor and make into flour or roughly chop and add to salads, desserts and even pesto sauce!
The Best Christmas Recipes…
Though this has to be our favorite Christmas recipe, we have plenty of other options on our food blog. We have keto Christmas cookies, almond flour recipes, and gluten free keto recipes, all of which are sugar free & low carb! Also, check out this Diabetic Christmas Cookie Roundup.
- Keto Pecan pie– A keto pecan recipe perfect for the holidays. Even if pumpkin pie is your first pick, this keto pecan pie by will blow it out of the water!
- Low carb stuffing– Need a savory main? We have that too! Hearty sausage is perfect for a warming savory stuffing.
- A Cookie Round up– This tasty round up of our favorite cookies can help you easily narrow down the must make sugar free cookies this holiday season.
- Side Dishes- We also have the best sides from green bean casserole to cornbread!
- Gingerbread cake– This tasty cake is layered with cream cheese frosting and spiced to taste just like those cute gingerbread men you remembered growing up.
Whatever item you’re looking for this holiday season, we’ve got it! The perfect Christmas dinner is at your fingertips!
Walnut Snowball Cookies
If you’re still unsure of what to make this Christmas for friends and family and want to try to make snowball cookies keto, this is the recipe for you! Even though these cookies are sugar and gluten free, your family won’t even be able to tell these cookies are low in carbs. The soft keto snowball cookies just melt in your mouth. They are your best bet for even the pickiest holiday eaters! If you did want to make a batch that’s rolled in normal sugar for the non-ketoers you can easily adapt this recipe. If walnut keto snowball cookies are on your list of recipes this year, it’s going to be a great one!
Recipe can be quickly added to MyFitnessPal – Search “KetoConnect – Walnut Snowball Cookies”
Walnut Snowball Cookies
What You Need:
- Food Processor
Ingredients:
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup Coconut flour (+ 1-2 tbsp for end)
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 large Egg
- 1/2 cup swerve confectioner
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 50 drops Liquid Stevia
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 300 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the melted butter, egg, stevia and vanilla extract in a large bowl and set aside.
- Add the walnuts to a processor and pulse until ground. Pour walnut flour into a medium bowl and add the coconut flour and 1/4 cup of the swerve. Combine.
- In two parts add the dry mixture to the wet and whisk to combine.
- At this point the dough should be soft, but firm enough to form into balls by hand without it sticking to your palms. If it is not the right consistency add 1-2 tbsp of additional coconut flour and combine.
- Make 15 equal sized balls and line the parchment paper. They will not spread in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes, and then roll the (still warm) balls in the remaining 1/4 cup swerve. Place them back on the parchment paper and allow to fully cool, another 20-30 minutes, until eating!
Notes
Written by
Megha Barot
Megha has always been a passionate cook, but she took this to a new level after starting her keo journey in 2015. She loves creating new recipes and producing educational content for KetoConnect, which she co-founded in 2016 with Matt. Her passion for healthy eating and personal development continues to thrive. She's the proud mom of two awesome kids.
