Easy 4-Ingredient Vegan Snowball Cookies

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Ah, snowball cookies (also known as Mexican wedding cookies). Baked buttery soft with pecan goodness inside and bundled up in powdered sugar. And at only 4 ingredients, this vegan version of the recipe is festive and easy!

Ready to see how we make these vegan snowball cookies?

Don your aprons and meet me in the kitchen!

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What make this recipe for snowball cookies vegan?

For as long as I can remember, four generations of my family gets together to bake cookies every Christmas. 

And this recipe for snowball cookies makes was always in our lineup.

But then we went vegan.

So I started playing around with making vegan Christmas cookies during the holidays. And why give up time-tested recipes when they’re so well-loved? Especially when it’s as easy as swapping out a hen’s egg with a flax egg and using vegan butter in place of dairy-based butter.

This recipe for snowball cookies with pecans originally called for butter. So I used Earth Balance butter instead. Making it easy to veganize this family recipe! (I recommend using the buttery sticks instead of the spread though!)

How do I make this vegan snowball cookie recipe?

Gather your short list of ingredients, making sure the pecans are finely chopped and the flour is sifted. Then start by creaming the butter and 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar until fluffy.

Slowly stir in the flour and pecans until mixed together. Wrap in wax paper and place in the refrigerator for several hours. Make sure it’s really firm before you remove it.

Once chilled, remove from wax paper and roll one teaspoon at a time between your hands until it looks like a marble. I used my melon baller because my measuring spoon set isn’t shaped like a ball. But you can eyeball the measurement if you’d like. Place 1-2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 325F for 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Once done, cool on a cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Set a timer because you don’t want them to cool too much. The powdered sugar won’t stick to them if they aren’t still warm.

Roll still-warm cookies in a pie plate filled with powdered sugar to make a generous white coating. (If you want to roll several, and then come back a second time to roll them again, go for it!) Place on wire racks to cool completely. 

What do I need to make vegan snowball cookies?

Since this recipe uses four ingredients, you don’t need much! The ingredients include the vegan butter I mentioned, powdered sugar, flour, and pecans.

As for supplies, this dough may seem dry at first when you’re mixing, so a stand mixer or hand-held mixer is probably easier than mixing by hand. You’ll also need a spatula to scrape the bowl, a sifter for the flour, and since the pecans need to be finely chopped, if you can’t purchase them that way, you’ll need a knife to chop them.

I also used a silicone baking mat on my cookie sheet but it’s not necessary. You’ll also want a pie plate or something shallow to roll the balls in powdered sugar. Once they’re done cooking and coated with powdered sugar, you’ll need a cooling rack so the powdered sugar doesn’t stick to the bottom of the cookies.

How should I store these vegan snowballs?

They’ll stick together if they touch each other. So I store them in layers with wax paper separating them in an air-tight container. 

However, when I’m gifting them to friends and neighbors with my other vegan Christmas cookies, I cut little squares of wax paper and put the paper on the larger gift plate or box, then put the snowballs on top of the paper so they don’t stick to the other cookies.

How Long Do Vegan Snowball Cookies Last?

If they’re stored in an air-tight container, they can last for 5 days to a week. You can freeze the dough for 2-3 months and bake later. Or you can bake, roll in powdered sugar, and store on wax paper in an air-tight container for 2-3 months. You may want to reroll in powdered sugar after they thaw.

What about substitutions?

If you’re not a fan of pecans or you’re allergic, leave them out or substitute for walnuts. If you don’t have Earth Balance butter, I’m sure you could use another vegan buttery stick like Miyoko’s. If you need to make this gluten-free, I haven’t tried it, but you can try substituting flour with gluten-free flour. 

Finally, let’s start baking!

These vegan snowball cookies are a tasty and festive addition to your vegan Christmas cookies list and look adorable next to these vegan sugar cookies. 

If you make this recipe, let me know in the comments below or share and tag me on Instagram @MamaHasHerMindful.

And don’t forget to pin this recipe for later! 📌👇👇👇

Enjoy!

~Chelsea