Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies
Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies are buttery snowball cookies made extra special with ground hazelnuts and mini chocolate chips baked inside. Roll them in plenty of powdered sugar for the perfect holiday cookie!
Hooray for cookies! I made these cookies for The Great Food Blogger’s Cookie Swap, and this is the second year I’ve participated. If you haven’t heard about it, it’s where a group of food blogger’s participate in a “secret” cookie swap led by Linsday from Love and Olive Oil and Julie from The Little Kitchen. The proceeds go to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, which is a fabulous cause. Each participant is matched with 3 food bloggers, and are tasked with sending each one a dozen cookies. The best part? You get 3 dozen cookies in the mail. And I thought it was fun receiving Christmas cards. 😉
Last year I sent my Sables because they keep well, and this year I knew I wanted to do a spin on a cookie that’s internationally known. Whether you call them Russian tea cakes, Greek butter cookies (Kourabiedes), Mexican wedding cookies, or just plain old snowball cookies doesn’t matter.
Any of the above will give you buttery cookies rolled in a layer of powdered sugar, and I don’t know anybody that doesn’t love them. Plus, they keep so well, so they’re perfect for holiday gifts…like this here cookie swap.
So why did I use hazelnuts? Normally snowball cookies contain almonds or pecans, and I had some hazelnut meal from Bob’s Red Mill that I’ve been dying to use. I can’t do hazelnuts without chocolate, so hence the chocolate chips. I was very happy with these cookies, and almost didn’t want to ship them out.
I’ll just make more. 🙂
So who were my matches? Glad you asked. I sent cookies to:
Sara over at Cake Over Steak
Maurita at Get the Good Stuff
Angela at Shake Bake and Party
I received cookies from the following bloggers:
Jamie at Love Bakes Good Cakes sent me glazed funfetti sugar cookies, which are always welcome, and she even sent me a darling ornament! 🙂
Jenn at The Rebel Chick sent me Banana Bread Cookies with Chocolate Chips. They were soft, puffy, and just like banana bread.
Sarah from cook.can.read sent me some amazing Brown Butter Snickerdoodles with Orange and Cardamom. They were crispy, chewy, and full of flavor.
Thank you so much for my cookies, ladies!
It’s not too late to include Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Snowball Cookies in your holiday baking, and I highly recommend them. The more powdered sugar the better too, because I don’t know of anything that’s more fun than getting powdered sugar all over your mouth and fingers when you’re eating snowball cookies.
Enjoying these cookies is a sure fire way to get a white Christmas — powdered sugar style — which is the only kind of white Christmas I’ll get living here in CA.
I’ll gladly take it. 🙂
Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup hazelnut meal I used Bob’s Red Mill*
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted, plus 1-2 cups more for rolling
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, hazelnut meal, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and powdered sugar on medium speed with a hand mixer until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium high and beat until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes more. Add the egg and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed just until combined. The dough will be crumbly. Add the mini chocolate chips and knead the dough together with your hands while combining it with the chips.
- Roll the dough into 1″ balls and place on the prepared baking sheet 1″ apart. Bake 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, or until they’re light golden brown. Cool for about 10 minutes and roll in powdered sugar. Cool completely and roll in more powdered sugar if desired.
- Store cookies in an air tight container at room temperature for 2 weeks.
Notes
- Cook time reflects baking 1 sheet of cookies at a time. I like to bake one at a time on the middle rack of the oven for best results.
- If you’d rather make these cookies nut free, you can simply substitute the hazelnut meal for one more cup of flour (3 cups flour total).
- No hazelnut meal? Pulse some hazelnuts in the food processor until coarsely ground. Be careful…you don’t want nut butter! You may also substitute with almond flour/meal.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
59 Comments on “Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies”
Oh, I like your spin on these snowballs Marcie. Hazelnuts and chocolate chips sound like just the ticket to liven these up! What a fun event. Thanks for the recap!! 🙂
Thank you, Renee! The hazelnut meal was perfect in these, and it was fun eating these with chocolate chips. 🙂
These look delicious! I just adore hazelnut flour! And I especially adore getting cookies in the mail! 🙂
Thank you, Liz, and I agree — cookies in the mail are the most fun! 🙂
These were wonderful!!! Happy holidays 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed them Sara! Merry Christmas! 🙂
These look amazing Marcie! Great minds think alike! Although my cookies aren’t the same, they are shaped just like that! Hahahaha! These look fabulous though, and you know where this is going – PINNED! xoxo
Yup — great minds think alike! Wouldn’t that have been funny if one of us would’ve gotten the other as a match? Thank you for the pin! 🙂
Oh, how I’m wishing right now that I was your cookie swap buddy! These snowballs look absolutely ah-MAZING!
Thank you, Sarah! I loved doing something a little different with snowballs…gotta change ’em up for a food blogger cookie swap! haha
One of my favorite holiday cookies, all fancied up and pinkies-out! I love-love-love this.
Thank you! I felt I had to do something different for a food blogger cookie swap for sure, and the hazelnut and chocolate thing gets me every time!
Thank you, Meghan! I grew up calling them Greek butter cookies as I had an uncle that made them all the time. They’re so buttery and melt in your mouth good. 🙂
Thank you, Dannii! I love ’em too. 🙂
Your cookies look amazing Marcie! It’s so much fun seeing what everyone made, your recipients are so lucky 🙂 I made snowball cookies a few weeks ago but now I want to try them with the hazelnut meal and chocolate chips, that sounds fabulous!
Thank you, Kelly, and every time I see what somebody made I wish I’d have gotten those cookies in the mail, too! Not that I need them, but it’s never a question of “needing” cookies is it? haha
So pretty..I love hazelnut and these look incredible Marcie! All you ladies are making me drool today with these fabulous cookie recipes. I am participating in the cookie swap next year for sure! Pinning this!
Thank you, Manali! The cookie swap is definitely fun and it’s a great cause. Win-win!
I’ve been reading about the cookie swap all day and it sounds like so much fun! I’m definitely going to have to look into this next year. These chocolate chip snowball cookies look gorgeous, Marcie! I’m loving the chocolate and hazelnut combo. What a delicious cookie for the holidays!
The cookie swap is fun and I hope you do it next year Gayle! It’s so fun to see who you get matched up with and what cookies you receive!
These were absolutely delicious! I loved the hazelnut/chocolate chip combination! I don’t think more than 24 hours passed before I had eaten every last one of them! 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Angela! It’s a good thing I had to ship them out or I may have done the same thing! Haha
How about 13 Days of cookies with snowballs, Lindsey?
These look GREAT Marcie! I bet your cookie swap matches loved every bite!
Thank you, Nora! I loved every bite of the cookies I received, too! 🙂
I love that you used hazelnut! I bet these taste delicious. And they really do look like little snowballs!
I loved them with hazelnuts, and I love that they look like snowballs since we don’t have the real thing here. haha I need to go to Tahoe soon! 🙂
Snowball cookies are the best! I love the chocolate and hazelnut combination. I don’t think it gets better than that. Also, I lived in California my entire life and always wished for a White Christmas. I recently moved to Boston. Now I am dying for warmth!
Thank you, Connie! I’ve been to Boston twice and loved it, but I think handling the cold winters there would be tough on me, too. Keep warm! 🙂
I love the idea of the Great Cookie Swap, what a great thing to do! These snowball cookies look so pretty! I haven’t had cookies like this forever, but I’m craving the now! I love that there is hazelnut meal in these, I bet it makes them taste amazing!
The cookie swap was fun, and these snowball cookies keep so well, it was an easy choice! The hazelnut did taste really great in these, and since I have more hazelnut meal, I need to make more! 🙂
These cookies look so delicious and I love the idea of using hazelnut meal and chocolate chips! You guys made some awesome cookies for the swap! Pinned and will try making them soon!
Thank you, Mira, and I appreciate the pin! 🙂
Hi Marcie, what a wonderful event, hazelnut is my favorite, I bet these cookies are delicious!
I love hazelnuts too, so I was bound to put them into cookies at some point! Thanks, Cheri!
I love your creative take on a classic snowball
Thank you, Heather! The hazelnut meal was calling my name and I thought this was the perfect place to use it. 🙂
I participated last year and I would have loved to receive your beautiful cookies!
Thank you, Jocelyn! I would LOVE to have received cookies from you. One can dream. 🙂
Thank you, Arpita! 🙂
What a lovely thing to participate in, Marcie. 🙂 These cookies are very very popular in Greece and were always my favourite … very nice to have a recipe for them now!
I grew up with kourabiedes cookies and love them! This is my Americanized version. haha
Yay for snowballs! They are an absolute must for me every holiday season. And I LOVE the addition of the hazelnut meal!
Snowballs are the best — they’re so perfect for gift giving (or just eating yourself)! That bag of hazelnut meal was staring me in the face for far too long, so this had to be done. 🙂
These look heavenly!! This is one snowball fight I’d love to be a part of… just start throwing them my way 🙂
I love snowball cookies.. I have never made them on hazelnut meal before though, what a delicious idea Marcie!
Thank you, Thalia! The hazelnut meal was definitely a nice way to change these up. 🙂
They certainly do! Thank you, Meg! 🙂
Hooray for Christmas cookies!! These look delicious… anything coated in powdered sugar is right up my alley!
You and me both, Jess! 🙂
Marcie, I hope you get me next year! These cookies look fantastic – I love cookies that have powdered sugar. This is a fun event for a great cause.
And I hope I get you! Your cranberry orange pinwheels looked to die for! The cookie swap was fun, and is such a great cause. 🙂
Marcie, I love these cookies!!! these are one of my faves for the holidays!! and I heard you guys raised a lot of money for cookies for kids’ cancer .. congrats! such a great cause!!
Thank you, Alice, and I’m so glad so much money was raised for cookies for kids’ cancer! The very best part! 🙂
Thank you, Sherri! I have plenty of hazelnut meal left and hope to crank out another batch before the holidays. The list just keeps growing! 🙂
Oooh yum, Marcie! I’m familiar with Russian tea cakes and I’m always so happy to see them on a holiday cookie tray. Love the hazelnut + chocolate chips in here, and how awesome that the swap benefited a great cause!
I love every version of the snowball — it’s always exciting to see them on the cookie tray! 🙂
Dear Marcie, your snowball cookies look and sound delightful! What a wonderful treat for the holiday season. I must make these. Pinning for later. xo, Catherine
These are some of my favorite cookies, Catherine — I hope you get to try them and thank you for the nice comment! 🙂