These Lemon Snowball Cookies are such a fun and refreshing twist on the classic melt in your mouth pecan snowball cookies. These cookies use real lemon zest and juice, for the best, bright, and natural citrus flavor that balances their buttery, tender, melt in your mouth texture.
These cookies are soft, buttery, and made with simple ingredients. Their lemon flavor makes them so fun for a spring or summer cookie, or a nice fresh addition to your Christmas cookie trays.
They’re still coated in powdered sugar for that classic snow-dusted appearance, making them as beautiful as they are delicious!
Why you’ll love these cookies
- Melt in your Mouth Texture: These cookies are so buttery, and made with powdered sugar that makes the cookie melt in your mouth with every bite.
- Fresh Flavor: Such a bright, lemon flavor in every bite thanks to lemon zest and a little juice in the dough!
Ingredients Needed
This is a quick overview of the ingredients you’ll need for this Lemon Snowball Cookie Recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
- Unsalted Butter – Soften the butter for about 30 minutes at room temperature
- Vanilla Extract – just a little for flavor
- All Purpose Flour – this is the structure of the cookie
- Fresh Lemon – We will use the juice and the zest to get the vibrant lemon flavor
- Salt – to balance out the sweetness, if you use salted butter, skip adding additional salt
- Powdered Sugar – This might also be called confectioners sugar, it will be used for the cookie dough, and to roll the cookies in.
- Food Coloring – This is optional, if you want a yellow color inside the cookies.
How to make Lemon Snowball Cookies
Step 1: Start the cookie dough. Beat the butter in a large bowl or a stand mixer until it is smooth and creamy. Use a hand mixer, or a paddle attachment on your stand mixer. Add in the powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and beat them together until combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
Step 2: Add the Dry ingredients. Add in the flour and salt and mix it into the dough, just until it all comes together. Use your hands if needed to combine the ingredients.
Step 3: Roll into Balls. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them about 1 inch apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place the pan in the fridge to chill for about 20 minutes.
Step 4: Bake. Bake them for about 10 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown and the edges are just firm.
Step 5: Roll in Powdered Sugar. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then roll them in a shallow bowl of powdered sugar. Place them on a wire rack to cool for another hour. When they’ve cooled roll them in the powdered sugar again.
Tips and Tricks
- Use fresh lemon – Bottled lemon juice just won’t give you the same bright flavor.
- Double Roll in Powdered Sugar – The tip to getting these extra white, and extra delicious is rolling them in powdered sugar twice. Roll them just a few minutes after they come out of the oven, then let them cool and roll them in the powdered sugar again.
- Carefully measure the flour – Weigh the flour, or spoon and level it into your measuring cup to prevent too much flour from getting mixed into the dough, and the cookies turning out dry.
Storage Instructions
These lemon snowballs can stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months, which makes them a great cookie for baking ahead during the holiday season. Let the cookies thaw at room temperature to enjoy again.
These Lemon Snowball Cookies are such a nice balance of tangy and sweet, buttery and delicate. Perfect for a spring brunch, or holiday cookie swap! They’ll definitely become a year round favorite.
More Cookie Recipes
If you try these Lemon Snowball Cookies, please leave a 🌟 rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Lemon Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
- 1 TBS fresh lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1/2 tsp salt
For Rolling:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Add the butter to a large bowl or stand mixer and beat it for 1 to 2 minutes, until its smooth and creamy. 1 cup unsalted butter
- Add in the powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and beat them well into the butter until light and creamy. 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 TBS fresh lemon juice , 1 TBS fresh lemon zest, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Add in the flour, and salt and mix it into the butter mixture until just combined. 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp salt
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner.
- Form the dough into 1inch balls, and place them onto the prepared baking sheet, 1 inch from each other. Place the pan into the fridge to chill for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the bottom of the cookies are light brown, and the sides are firm.
- Cool for about 5 minutes, then roll the cookies in the remaining powdered sugar. 1 cup powdered sugar
- Transfer them to a cooling rack to cool for another 30 minutes to 1 hour, then roll then in the powdered sugar again and enjoy.
Notes
- Use fresh lemon – Bottled lemon juice just won’t give you the same bright flavor.
- Double Roll in Powdered Sugar – The tip to getting these extra white, and extra delicious is rolling them in powdered sugar twice. Roll them just a few minutes after they come out of the oven, then let them cool and roll them in the powdered sugar again.
- Carefully measure the flour – Weigh the flour, or spoon and level it into your measuring cup to prevent too much flour from getting mixed into the dough, and the cookies turning out dry.
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