Almond Cream Cheese Snowball Cookies are a shortbread-style cookie made rich with the addition of cream cheese.
You’ve probably made snowball cookies for the holidays before. These are similar, and they’re still wonderful. But the addition of cream cheese is a game changer. It just makes them a more rich-tasting cookie. And if you’re an almond lover too, well then that’s just a major bonus!
Ingredients needed:
- all purpose flour
- salt
- sliced or slivered almonds
- unsalted butter
- cream cheese
- granulated white sugar
- vanilla extract
- almond extract
- powdered sugar
How to make Almond Cream Cheese Snowball Cookies:
The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post.
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the toasted almonds, and stir to combine. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar on medium speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix for 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low; gradually add the flour mixture and mix for 20 seconds. If needed, use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the flour into the dough.
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Roll about 1½ tablespoons of the dough into a ball. Place on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing them 1-inch apart.
These are tender cookies, so they’re not the best choice for mailing. They’re flake-apart delicious with every bite! Enjoy!
Nut Substitutions:
If you’re not into almonds, it’s okay to substitute walnuts and use all vanilla extract. If you’re more into pecans, sub those and use all vanilla extract.
Favorite Holiday Cookie Recipes:
- Extra Crispy Gingersnaps
- Peppermint Sugar Cookies
- Buttery Classic Spritz Cookies
- Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies
- Eggnog Cookies
Almond Cream Cheese Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar (for rolling)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the toasted almonds, and stir to combine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar on medium speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix for 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low; gradually add the flour mixture and mix for 20 seconds. If needed, use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the flour into the dough.
- Roll about 1½ tablespoons of the dough into a ball. Place on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing them 1-inch apart.
- Bake the cookies until light brown around edges, 14 to 16 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes. Add powdered sugar to a bowl. Then add the cookies to the powdered sugar one or two at a time, toss to coat, and then place on a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These are my favorite non chocolate cookies. So flavorful and the cream cheese does so much! Thank you!
Soo good! I doubled the almond because I was craving a super almondy flavor. Delicious!
Do you buy the almonds already toasted or do you do that in the oven? If so for how long & what temperature
Just heat a small nonstick skillet over medium heat, add the almonds and move them around until they begin to brown. Then transfer them from the pan to a paper towel to cool.