CRANBERRY PISTACHIO SNOWBALLS

Jessica — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 19:23:47 +0000

Cranberry Pistachio Snowball Cookies made with dried cranberries & pistachios rolled twice in powdered sugar! Perfect holiday Snowball Cookies for cookie trays & gift exchanges.

This unique cookie recipe is new favorite of ours! It’s so simple to make and it has so much flavor packed into every bite that it’s hard to stop eating. With every batch making about 2 dozen cookies, there’s plenty to share with friends and family!

What are cranberry pistachio snowballs?

These small round shortbread cookies contain scattered (chopped) pistachios and dried cranberries in them. Then they’re baked and rolled TWICE in powdered sugar for an awesome powdery white appearance that mimics the classic winter snowball. (This is also how they get their name!)

Cranberry Pistachio Snowball Ingredients

-Confectioners Sugar: We’re going to need 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar but it’s going to be divided between the cookie dough batter and the two coats of sugar at the end.

-Butter: Using ¾ cup of softened butter will get us a rich and buttery cookie that practically melts in your mouth.

-Vanilla Extract: We need 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to give us a good base. I recommend the high quality stuff as there is a difference, but use what you have on hand.

-Flour: Using 2 cups of all-purpose flour will give us the doughy base for our cookie dough batter.

-Salt: This will help to enhance the other flavors, so make sure you add the ½ tsp of salt that we need.

-Pistachios: ¼ cup of finely chopped pistachios will give us a subtle crunch, color, and savory aspect to these delicious cookies.

-Dried Cranberries: Adding a sweet and sour note are the dried cranberries. We will need ¼ cup of finely chopped cranberries for the perfect cran to cookie ratio.

Cranberry Pistachio Snowballs

Cranberry Pistachio Snowball Cookies made with dried cranberries & pistachios rolled twice in powdered sugar! Perfect holiday Snowball Cookies for cookie trays & gift exchanges.

Course Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Cranberry Pistachio Snowball Cookies

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings cookies

Calories 130kcal

Author Jessica & Nellie

Ingredients

1 ½ cup confectioners sugar
¾ cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
¼ cup pistachios, finely chopped
¼ cup dried cranberries, finely chopped

Instructions

In a large bowl, add ½ cup of the confectioner’s sugar, butter and vanilla extract. Using an electric hand whisk, whisk the mixture till smooth and creamy.
Add the flour and salt. Whisk on low speed till combined. Add the chopped cranberries and pistachios, whisk to combine.
Chill the batter in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray.
Form dough into 1 inch balls and place on baking tray, at least 1 inch apart.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the bottom is lightly golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then roll in the remaining 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar.
Leave cookies to cool completely, then roll again in confectioner’s sugar.

Notes

Store cookies on the countertop in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Nutrition

Why are my snowball cookies flat?

If your cookies fell flat the most common reasons for this to occur would be if you used melted butter or didn’t chill the dough long enough. While we do want softened butter in the dough, melted butter is too soft and won’t hold up as well. In the hot oven a warm dough will “melt” and fall flat instead of staying shaped as we want it to.

Can snowball cookies be frozen?

Yes, these cookies do great when frozen. Simply let them cool completely and then place in an airtight container for up to 3 months. You can toss them in another coating of powdered sugar after they’ve thawed so that they look fresh again.

How to store snowball cookies

Keep your snowball cookies stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Any longer than that and the cookies will grow stale.