Dirty Snowballs are buttery gluten free cookies that look like a snowball on the outside, but not on the inside! These beautiful little bites are firm enough to hold their round shape while baking, but have a soft-baked center. Which means, they don't crumble apart when you take a bite. You do get a wonderful nutty crunch which creates a perfect balance of textures. If you have ever had Mexican Wedding Cookies, these taste like them, are softer inside and are gluten free!
Time to Make the Dough
The dough comes together very quickly in a stand mixer. It is best made ahead and allowed to chill before baking. However, I did a test bake with the batter before chilling it and the cookie held its shape. If you are in a rush, you could give it a try. Worst case scenario, you'd have melted Dirty Snowballs. I have only used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour. Since gluten free flour blends vary dramatically, I can't guarantee they will turn out like these if you use another flour. Please send me pics and let me know the results if you try another flour blend. It takes a village to bake gluten free!
Just Thinkin'
I like these cookies for the winter Holidays and they are great for Cinco De Mayo. Some other fun treats for the end of the year to check out are my Candy Strawberries, Almond Cut Out Cookies and Naked Cut Out Cookies. Of course you'll want my Quick Dry Cookie Icing to dress them up too;-) Another dessert for Cinco De Mayo that I love is Coconut Tres Leche Cake.
Dirty Snowballs
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoon cold butter cut into cubes
- 1 ¾ cup powdered sugar - *divided
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon almond liqueur - or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup Gluten Free Flour Blend with xanthan gum - I like Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour
- 1 cup finely ground almond flour - I like Bob's Red Mill
- 1 cup finely chopped unsalted pecans
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a mixer, combine the cold butter and ¾ cup powdered sugar.
- Add eggs and almond liqueur or vanilla, mixing to combine.
- Add the flour, then the almond flour, then the pecans and salt a little at a time so that it doesn’t create a cloud of flour. Mix well to combine. Refrigerate your dough for about an hour.
- Using a small cookie scoop or a measuring tablespoon scoop the cold dough and roll into a ball, place onto the lined cookie sheet.
- Bake for approximately 10-14 minutes, depending on how large your snowballs are. They will still be somewhat soft to the touch (but not doughy) and will not be browned on top at all when they are done. The bottom may be lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the cookie sheet.
- Once they cookies are completely cool, put 1 cup of powdered sugar in a bowl and roll the cookies in the sugar to coat them evenly. Then they are ready to devour!
Diana says
At what point do you add the flours, pecans and salt???
Shay says
Oh my goodness! What a great catch Diana! Thank you for writing to let me know that an instruction line was missing. I have added it in now, but to answer your question... the flours, then the pecans and salt a little at a time (after the eggs & vanilla) mixing well to combine. I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!