Gingerbread Snowballs

I have made a couple of different recipes that are similar to this, that are reminiscent of a Russia Teacake or Mexican Wedding Cake. It is a butter cookie rolled in powdered sugar, and you can change up the flavors in any way that you want. I have used different fruits, nuts, and I even made a brown sugar spice variety. This one is gingerbread flavor- which is consistently excellent.

One of the hallmarks of these cookies is that they melt in your mouth. To ensure that’s the case, this cookie, like most that are similar, uses powdered sugar as the sweetener. They don’t have much sugar in them, but since the final cookie is rolled in powdered sugar, they are not lacking any sweetness. They also don’t contain any leavening, so this is one recipe that you can put the cookies closer together on the baking sheet.

Since these cookies are small, this recipe makes about three dozen. I love the combination of spices, but I would likely add more ginger, since I am such a fan! I was happy that rolling them in powdered sugar while they were warm covered the cookies completely, which isn’t always the case. These do melt in your mouth, and I know that gingerbread doesn’t usually have nuts, but I keep thinking that these need some nuts to be proper. Maybe next time!

Gingerbread Snowballs
1 cup butter, room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 tablespoon molasses
2 ¼ cups flour
Powdered sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter until light. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and molasses and stir until smooth. Add the flour and mix until the dough comes together, which may take a few minutes.

Shape the dough into 1-1/4” balls and place them on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are set and begin to brown on the bottom. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes and then immediately roll in powdered sugar. Cool completely on a wire rack. Once cookies are cool, reroll the cookies in powdered sugar if desired.

Recipe from Crazy for Crust