Soft and sweet, with a beautiful, spiced flavor. Make Pretty Coffee Snowball Cookies With Cardamom for dessert or as a gift.
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One thing that I love about my Simple Butter Cookies is how many ways there are to change them up. They can be frosted, sandwiched with fillings like Nutella, or they can hold flavors like dried fruit, bright extracts, and citrus zest. (Like in these Lime Cookies!)
In this variation, Coffee Snowball Cookies With Cardamom hold a delectable blend of cardamom and coffee! Rolled in powdered sugar, they're melty, sweet without being overly sweet, and have lovely hints of the spice and brew inside.
What are snowball cookies?
You can see in the photos how these cookies came to be called snowballs! Round and with a thick coating of confectioner's sugar, they look like they rolled down from the top of a sugar-frosted mountain.
Underneath that sugar coating is a butter or shortbread cookie that can be flavored with extracts, spices, and chocolate, and may include chopped or ground nuts. They're a favorite cookie to make for the Christmas holiday or any time of year to enjoy with tea or coffee.
Snowball cookies bear a close resemblance (from the outside, at least) to other treats including Mexican wedding cookies, polvorónes, Russian tea cakes, besos balls, and Swedish tea cakes.
Why you'll love these treats
Coffee and cardamom cookies are fun to make, and so pretty piled on a plate. Make this snowball cookie recipe for Christmas, as a food gift, or to bring to a bake sale.
This is a wonderfully easy dough to pull together, and since it needs a chill you can make it in advance if you want. It's made with strong brewed coffee or espresso plus ground cardamom.
Little scoops of dough get rolled up and baked, and then get two coatings of powdered sugar.
We really like these cardamom coffee cookies with a cup of coffee (just can't get enough coffee, I guess,) or for a light dessert.
Here's another cookie made with coffee: Soft Cocoa Cookies!
🔪 How to make Coffee Snowball Cookies With Cardamom
Ingredients for Coffee Snowball Cookies
- Butter: Use good, quality butter for the best flavor
- Confectioner's Sugar: It's used inside and on the outside of the cookies
- Coffee: Use strong, brewed coffee or espresso
- All-Purpose Flour: King Arthur Flour is my go-to brand
- Cardamom: Make sure your ground cardamom is fresh
- Salt: Just a pinch
Step 1: Make the dough
Mix together butter, sugar, and coffee, then add in the flour and spice to make a soft cookie dough. Chill it for 30 minutes.
Step 2: Make the cookie balls and bake
Scoop and roll one-inch cookie dough balls, then bake them.
Step 3: Roll in sugar
As soon as the cookies come out, roll them in confectioner's sugar and place them on a cooling rack.
Step 4: Roll in sugar again!
Once the cookies are cool, roll them in a second coating of confectioner's sugar. They're ready to eat and they store well for up to 5 days!
Tips:
- Remember to allow at least 30 minutes for the cookie dough to chill. This helps the cookies keep their shape when baking, and prevents the butter from melting out of the dough.
As you take a bite of these melt-in-your-mouth, powdered sugar cookies, be prepared for a shower of sugar—that's okay, it's all part of the experience!
And if you're sharing the snowball cookies (this recipe makes a bunch, so you really SHOULD share!) then you won't be alone: everyone will be licking their fingers and laughing as they brush sugar off their shirts.
Ready to give these sweet, old-fashioned cookies a try? Yeah, you are!
The recipe for Coffee Snowball Cookies With Cardamom is below, and here are more unique cookie recipes to consider!
💬 How do you like these cookies? Leave a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Pretty Coffee Snowball Cookies With Cardamom
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 2 tablespoons strong, brewed coffee (let it cool to room temperature)
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon salt
To coat cookies:
- 2-3 cups confectioner's sugar
Instructions
Make cookie dough:
- Preheat oven to 325° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the butter into chunks. Place the butter and the 1 cup of confectioner's sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat the ingredients together on high speed for three minutes.
- Add in the strong coffee to the bowl and mix it in.
- Add in the flour, cardamom, and salt: mix them in on low speed, scraping once or twice, and continue only until the dough just comes together.
- Remove the dough and squeeze it together a few times by hand. Flatten the dough into a disk. Wrap in plastic and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Make the cookie balls:
- Place the 2-3 cups of confectioner's sugar in a bowl and hold it aside - you'll use this to coat the cookies when they come out of the oven. Have a cooling rack ready as well.
- Use a teaspoon: scoop a teaspoon of dough and roll it between your hands into a ball about 1 inch in diameter. Place it on the lined cookie sheet. Continue until you fill the baking sheet, leaving about 1½ inches between dough balls.
- Bake the cookies for 18 minutes: they should be lightly browned on the bottom. Remove the pan from the oven.
- Roll each baked cookie in confectioner's sugar, then place it on a cooling rack.
- Continue making cookie balls, baking them, and coating them in sugar until they're all done.
Coat them in sugar - again:
- Once the cookies are cool (15-20 minutes) roll each one a second time in confectioner's sugar.
- Store the double-coated, cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Makes about 75 cookies.
Notes
- Remember to allow at least 30 minutes for the cookie dough to chill. This helps the cookies keep their shape when baking, and prevents the butter from melting out of the dough.
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