Easy Lemon Snowball Cookies Recipe
Tender, buttery lemon snowballs with a sweet powdered sugar coating and fresh citrus flavor—a holiday cookie favorite!
Servings 40 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 ½ cups 1 cup + ½ cup powdered sugar, divided
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together 1 cup (2 sticks) softened unsalted butter, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, zest of 2 lemons, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon lemon extract, and ½ cup powdered sugar using a hand or stand mixer with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
- Slowly add in the dry ingredients, mixing at low to medium speed just until everything is incorporated. Be careful not to overmix the dough.
- Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least one hour. This helps the dough firm up and enhances the flavor.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and remove the dough from the refrigerator.
- Roll into 1-inch balls and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Using a small cookie scoop helps keep the cookies uniform in size. For the best results, try to handle the dough as minimally as possible.
- Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until the bottom of the cookie is golden brown. The tops should remain pale in color.
- While cookies are baking, prepare a shallow bowl or baking dish with 1 cup of powdered sugar.
- Once the cookies are done, immediately roll the warm cookies in the powdered sugar. Ensure your cookie is fully covered with powdered sugar and set aside on a wire rack to cool.
- Once the cookies have cooled completely, dust the cookies with additional powdered sugar.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Don’t skip the chill time. I know waiting is the worst part, but chilling the dough really is key. It firms everything up, keeps the cookies from spreading, and lets all that fresh lemon zest soak in and do its thing.
- Handle the dough gently. These cookies are tender little snowballs, not tough hockey pucks. Try not to overmix the dough or overwork it when rolling. I like to use a cookie scoop to keep things quick and consistent—less hands-on means fluffier cookies.
- Roll them in powdered sugar while they’re warm. This is the messy-but-fun part. The first coat of powdered sugar clings best when the cookies are still warm from the oven. That light melt helps create the signature coating you expect from a snowball cookie.
- Don’t be shy with the lemon. The zest of two lemons plus a splash of extract might seem like a lot, but trust me—it’s what makes these cookies pop. That bright citrusy flavor cuts through the buttery richness and keeps them from tasting flat.