This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, read my disclosure policy.

This Snowball Cookie Recipe has chocolate chips! Whatever they’re called, they’re one of my favorite Christmas cookies. Did you know you can add chocolate chips to snowball cookies?

Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies have no nuts so they’re allergy friendly – and hello, CHOCOLATE. These are one of my MOST POPULAR cookie recipes!

Pin it now to save for later

Pin Recipe
This Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies recipe adds chocolate chips to Russian Tea Cake Cookies!


Do you have a food that, whenever you see or think about it, it makes you think of a family member? I have several:

Whenever I eat Pillsbury Sugar Cookies, I think of my Nana. She passed them off as her own until I was an adult.

Whenever I see orange soda or Cheetos, I think of my Dad. On weekends he would take me to look at the boats or watch the planes take off at the teeny airport, and we’d always stop at the corner store for bright orange Cheetos and soda.

And then there are Russian Tea Cake cookies (aka Snowballs). Whenever I see these, I think of my mom. Her’s is the original recipe that spawned all my Snowball Cookie Recipes – including this one with chocolate chips.

Make snowball cookies without nuts!

This is one of the questions I get so often: making snowball cookies no nuts. There are so many people allergic to nuts nowadays that sometimes it’s just safer to make cookies without.

The classic Russian Tea Cake recipe has chopped pecans or walnuts but instead of using nuts in this cookies I added mini chocolate chips. They’re the perfect substitute for nuts!

Making Snowball Cookies with Chocolate Chips was probably one of the best things I ever did!

This Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies recipe adds chocolate chips to Russian Tea Cake Cookies!

The idea for this actually came from a Facebook reader. I posted the plain version of these cookies and someone commented, “Oh! I make those with chocolate chips!”

The irony that I never thought to add chocolate chips to these Russian Tea Cakes on my own makes me laugh.

ingredients in snowball cookies with chocolate chips

These little bite-sized cookies are a buttery shortbread-like cookie. They only have a few ingredients so they mix up easy and make a ton. Once they’re rolled in powdered sugar they look like little snowballs!

The typical ingredients in these Christmas Cookies are:

  • Butter
  • Powdered Sugar
  • Flour
  • Salt
  • Vanilla

(If you’ve ever wondered “Can I use powdered sugar in cookies?” the answer would be yes. These have powdered sugar IN the cookie and they’re rolled in them.)

Traditionally they also have chopped nuts inside but these have mini chocolate chips!

Snowball cookies are also called Russian Tea Cakes, Wedding Cookies, and Butter Balls. So many names for the same amazing cookie!

Why do my cookies stay in a ball?

These cookies are little balls of heaven – and they stay that way even when they’re baked because they have no eggs and no leavening. Without baking soda or baking powder or egg, they don’t spread, even with all that butter!

We use a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop for these and it makes about 4 dozen bite-sized cookies – you can crowd your pans because they won’t spread out in the oven.

This Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies recipe adds chocolate chips to Russian Tea Cake Cookies!

This is an EASY cookie recipe but there are a few things that people always ask. Here are some of the most popular FAQ I get about Russian Tea Cake recipes:

[mv_video doNotAutoplayNorOptimizePlacement=”false” jsonLd=”true” key=”wcjxrhtyvn4vov44cetg” thumbnail=”https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/wcjxrhtyvn4vov44cetg.jpg” title=”Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies” volume=”70″]

My dough is crumbly, what did I do wrong?

  1. You added too much flour. Did you pack it? Don’t pack your flour.
  2. You added too much powdered sugar. Did you pack it? Don’t pack your powdered sugar.
  3. Keep mixing. It takes awhile for the dough to become a dough, especially if you’re using a hand mixer. It WILL come together eventually in a nice thick cohesive cookie dough.

My cookies spread, what did I do wrong?

Did you use REAL butter? If you used imitation butter it won’t perform as well. Also, was your butter melted or really, really soft? That can affect spread sometimes. Otherwise, these cookies should only puff, if they change shape at all.

My powdered sugar dissolved, what happened?

In this case, you probably rolled them while they were too hot. Just re-roll them once they’re cool. I often do this for effect – and make them SUPER powdery.

How long can you freeze snowball cookies?

In general, I freeze all my cookies for up to a month. The only thing with these is that you might have to re-roll them in powdered sugar after thawing. Learn how to freeze desserts.

snowball cookies in bowl

If you like these, check out my other Russian Tea Cake variations:

Make these alongside:

snowball cookies in bowl

Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies

3.97 from 320 votes
Snowball Cookies are the BEST Christmas Cookie! I made these snowball cookies with chocolate chips and no nuts! They're an easy cookie recipe everyone can enjoy.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Yield 48 cookies
Serving Size 1 cookie

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter softened
  • ½ cup (57g) powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 ¼ cups (279g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (170g) mini chocolate chips
  • Additional powdered sugar for rolling
Save this recipe!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • Mix butter, ½ cup powdered sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add flour and salt and mix until the dough comes together. Stir in the chocolate chips. If dough is too soft, chill it until you can work it easily with your hands.
  • Scoop 1 tablespoon balls of dough and place on prepared cookie sheet.
  • Bake cookies for 7-10 minutes until bottoms are just slightly brown. Remove from oven and cool. Fill a small bowl with powdered sugar (about 1 cup) and roll each cookie in the sugar until coated.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

  • Add flavoring if you want – replace the vanilla extract with any other extract!
  • Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
  • The mixture takes a long time to mix together. Use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment if you have one. A hand mixer works but it will take a long time to come together – you’ll think the dough isn’t going to mix but up the speed on the mixer and it will after a few minutes.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 79kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 27mg | Potassium: 7mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 127IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
snowball cookie collage

If you’re looking for a classic snowball cookie with chocolate chips – this is it! My mom’s favorite snowball recipe – no nuts! It’s the perfect Christmas cookie recipe.

Last Updated on August 10, 2022



Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

Learn to Bake in 4 Days!
Get my tips, tricks and recipes to take your baking to the next level for FREE!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




274 Comments

  1. These cookies are fabulous. I made them today and everyone loved them. The mini chocolate chips make such a wonderful difference. This recipe is a keeper!

    I will be using this recipe from now on instead of the one I have used for years with walnuts!!!

  2. My family fell in love with these at Christmas! Told me I didn’t need a holiday to make them🥰

  3. We just made these and they are delicious!! I love the Semi-sweet mini chips with the sweetness of the cookie… just perfect!! Thank you 😊

  4. I liked the idea of making these with the mini chocolate chips since I had only ever used nuts. I then decided to go with the mini M&M’s since I had some green and red ones for Christmas. When I make them again I will reduce the M&M’s to 1/2 cup. For me a whole cup was too much – overly sweet. Can’t wait to see how the rest of the family likes them on Christmas!

  5. Cant form the dough into balls. Crumble apart immediately. Used all the ingredients correctly and still won’t bind.

    1. Are you using a hand or a stand mixer? It will come together eventually you just have to keep mixing. If you’re using a hand mixer you can add 1 tsp milk to try and help it, but even with the hand mixer it comes together as long as you didn’t pack your flour.

  6. Russian Teacakes/Snowballs are a family tradition. Sadly, one of my sons has a pretty severe nut allergy, so walnuts are not going to make an appearance in my house. I have tried both mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and mini white chololate chips to replace walnuts, as well as no additions at all. The mini white chocolate chips have a milder flavor and a much closer texture to walnuts. My family definitely agrees the mini white chocolate chips are the way to go if you need to be nut-free (the no addition version was scoffed at, by the way!). Thank you for sharing this recipe. It is nostalgic and traditional for many of our families. It brings back memories of childhood holidays. I am very glad we are able to have Snowballs on our Christmas cookie trays again!

      1. The recipe was really easy to make. I felt it was a little too sweet with the chocolate chips, but my grandchildren liked them. I thought they were a little too rich. I made them with chocolate chips because my grandchildren don’t like nuts.

        I prefer toasted pecans in recipe.

  7. My mil used to make similar ones but not with flour, shredded coconut instead and we never baked them! So they were basically like cookie dough so yummy!