Cherry Almond Snowball Cookies
Cherry almond snowball cookies are soft and flavorful, with a buttery melt-in-your-mouth texture. These powdered sugar-dusted cookies are filled with candied cherries and almonds for a fun twist on the classic!
These pretty-in-pink cherry almond snowball cookies are so fun and cute, and perfect for the holiday season, Valentine’s Day, or any day of the year!
They are the classic snowballs (i.e. Mexican wedding cookies, Russian tea cakes, etc.) with a fun cherry and almond twist, and I gotta say— they’re amazing! So soft and delicate, with a little crunch from the almonds, and lots of great cherry-almond flavor. (They actually remind me a lot of my favorite cherry chip cake, just in cookie form.)
Ingredients you’ll need
- Butter
- Granulated sugar
- Almond extract
- All-purpose flour
- Blanched slivered almonds
- Maraschino cherries
- Powdered sugar
How to make cherry almond snowball cookies
- Chop cherries and almonds. Finely chop the maraschino or candied cherries and slivered almonds separately in a food processor, or with a sharp knife.
- Prepare cookie dough. Beat butter and sugar together until creamy and add almond extract. Mix in flour, followed by the chopped cherries and almonds.
- Portion into rounds. Use a spoon or cookie scoop to portion out dough, then roll into rounds and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment.
- Bake. Bake cookies at 325°F until puffed and bottoms just begin to turn brown.
- Roll in powdered sugar. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes, then roll in the powdered sugar. Let cookies cool completely, then roll in powdered sugar again.
Tips for this recipe
- I recommend using blanched slivered almonds so the almond skins don’t change the color of the cookies. If that’s not important to you, feel free to use whole or sliced almonds instead.
- A food processor is best for chopping the almond and cherries, but if you don’t have one a knife will do too.
- Start with butter at the right temperature. Butter should be soft enough that a pressed finger will leave an indent, but not soft enough that your finger can press all the way through. If it’s shiny or melty at all, the butter is too warm and your cookies may spread.
- Make sure you measure the flour correctly. All my my recipes are tested with the spoon and level method.
- These pre-cut parchment sheets are perfect for cookie baking.
- Storage instructions: These cookies are best enjoyed within a day or 2 of baking, but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for several days. They also freeze very well! Once thawed, roll in powdered sugar if needed before serving.
baking tip:When to bake with salted butter vs. unsalted butter
Conventional baking wisdom says to use unsalted butter because you have more control over the amount of salt in a recipe, and salt amounts in salted butter vary from brand to brand. It’s like a blank slate!
While this may be true, I have personally found that salted butter works just fine without a noticeable difference most of the time. In fact I actually prefer to use it in recipes where I want a little oomph of extra flavor and sweet and salty-ness— like cookies, caramel and rice krispie treats.
The bottom line? Use what you already have! And if you’re unsure about using salted butter in a recipe that specifically requires unsalted butter, play it safe and reduce the salt amount in the recipe by one half if you like.
More cookie recipes
- Pineapple Coconut Macaroons
- Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
- Brown Butter Cinnamon Crinkle Cookies
Cherry Almond Snowball Cookies
Soft and powdered sugar-dusted cookies filled with candied cherries and almonds.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (170 grams) butter , at room temperature
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 ¾ cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup (114 grams) blanched slivered almonds , finely chopped
- ½ cup (100 grams) candied or maraschino cherries , finely chopped
- Powdered sugar , for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
- With an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add almond extract. Add flour and salt and mix just until combined. Add almonds and cherries and mix just until incorporated.¾ cup (170 grams) butter, ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon almond extract, 1 ¾ cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour, Pinch of salt, 1 cup (114 grams) blanched slivered almonds, ½ cup (100 grams) candied or maraschino cherries
- Drop by rounded spoonfuls (I use a #20 scoop) onto prepared sheet pan about 2 inches apart. Bake until puffed and bottoms just begin to turn brown, about 15 minutes.
- Let cool for about 5 minutes, then roll in powdered sugar. Return coated cookies to the sheet pan and let cool completely. Once cool, roll again in powdered sugar.
- Cookie will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- I prefer to use a food processor to finely chop the nuts and cherries, but you can also chop by hand with a knife.
- I used blanched slivered almonds because I didn’t want any almond skins messing with the color of my cookies. If that’s not important to you, feel free to use whole or sliced almonds instead.
Calories: 119kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 15mg, Sodium: 2mg, Potassium: 41mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 177IU, Calcium: 14mg, Iron: 1mg
Have you tried this recipe?I’d love to hear about it! Leave a rating and review below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram @completelydelicious with #completelydelicious.
Recipe originally published January 2017.
These are so good!! I baked them at 350 for 13 mins and they were done. As im coming back to make them again, I noticed in one part of the directions above ingredients list it says 325 for temp but then in the numbered directions under the ingredients it says 350. So I’m going to stick with 350 because it worked for me last time, but wanted to also let you know because it’s a bit confusing for someone who would notice that. Anyways thank you for a great recipe 🙂
These cookies are fantastic! I love the flavor combination of almond and cherry, so I knew this was going to be a winner. I followed the advice I saw on one of the other comments: added 3 Tablespoons of marachino cherry juice to the dough, and 3/4 cup of slivered almonds (pulsed in my blender until they were very finely chopped). These cookies hit the spot!
I made these for Valentine’s Day but they didn’t come out at all. And I followed the recipe closely. But I adde some cherry juice to the dough because it didn’t look pink. It didn’t change the texture. Nevertheless the cookie still was not pink and did NOT taste like cherries. It had pieces of cherries in it but was far from looking like these cookies. Also the cookie didn’t taste good either. Too much flour, no salt and hardly any sugar. Very disappointed!
Amazing
These cookies are amazing!! I have made these at least 6 times now and I have perfected the recipe to our taste.
For starters, I always make the dough a day or 2 ahead of time. I always double the almond extract, use half the amount of almonds but, chop them super fine almost to a powder. Plus I add several tbls of cherry juice. Then turn out bright red inside and absolutely perfect!! I make these for my Mom all the time. They are her favorite!! Thank you for an awesome recipe!!
Is 325 degrees correct? I’m 25 min in and they are not getting done. A normal “russian teacake” cookie bakes at 400.
Hi Cindy! Thanks for your comment. I just did a quick google search of recipes and it looks like temps for other snowball recipes range from 325° to 400°. I’ll have to test the recipe again to double check that it works at 325° and get back to you.
The question was asked about the baking temp and was not answered. Is the baking temp 325 degrees or 400?
325°F is a little low. I baked some earlier this month at 350°F and it worked a little better. Have not tested for 400°F, seems a little high.
We are midway through backing a double batch. They are yummy and easy to make.
Yum! Can these be frozen?
I just baked these today, took them to two parties, and they were a hit!!!! Everybody loved them! And I love them! Thank you!!!!
Marsh cherry cookies