Walnut Snowball Cookies Recipe ( Polvorosas )

I love this time of year. It’s the perfect excuse to bake! Whether it’s a party, school event or family gathering, there’s always a few gatherings going on in December. That’s why I am so excited to share this easy to make Walnut Snowball Cookies Recipe ( A.K.A Polvorosas ).  I love making them because they are dairy free and since there’s no butter involved, I can make them right away and they’ll be ready in 30 minutes or less.

This Snowball Cookies recipe is incredibly delicious because of their crumbly texture. The powdered sugar or snow on top gives them a nice sweetness. The big variation I made is the addition of Walnut inside the dough. Walnuts make this cookies a little more refined and give a deep nutty flavor. You can also substitute for almonds or hazelnuts if you would like.

The secret flavor in this Snowball cookies recipe is the use of Walnut oil. My mom bought the oil a few months ago and taught me how to use it on vinaigrettes. Now I can’t live without it! It has such a rich flavor that really enhances whatever you are cooking. It’s my first time to try it in baking and I am happy to report that this experiment has surpassed my expectations. I will be serving them on Thanksgiving.

In Venezuela, these are also made, some with nuts and some with just sugar. There they are called “Polvorosas” (or powdery) because of the crumbly powdery texture they have when you take a bite. I grew up eating them and just recently I found out that these are called snowballs here in the US. So this is my version of the Polvorosas.

To make this Walnut Snowball Cookies Recipe I simply dump all the ingredients into a bowl and mix with my hands until they all come together. Then, I just shape them into little balls and use a fork to flatten them and bake. It’s the perfect cookie recipe when you’re in a pinch since you don’t need to soften the butter. Better yet, make extra batches and freeze them in disks.

The only challenge with working with a dough like this, is that it can be a little crumbly while shaping them. Just use the tips of your fingers to fix any crack before baking. No biggie!

I made just a few of them for a trial batch but now I am baking up some more. I was thinking of adding a little cinnamon to the dough as another variation. Hope you can give these a try and let me know how they come out.

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Walnut Snowball Cookies Recipe ( Polvorosas )

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Venezuelan

Servings: 26 - 28 cookies

Author: Tiffany Bendayan

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 Cup of Sugar
• 3/4 Cup of Walnut Oil more if needed
• 1/4 Cup of Ground Walnuts use vegetable oil as a substitute
• 1/2 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
• Powdered Sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat Oven to 325 Degrees F.
2. In a bowl add the flour, sugar, ground walnuts, vanilla and salt. Mix with your hands and slowly add the walnut oil. Mix until the dough can be formed into a big ball. If dough is too dry add a little bit more oil
3. Form little balls with your hands, about a teaspoon size, and place them in a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
4. Flatten each ball with a fork. If dough begins to crack, simply use the tip of your fingers to put it together
5. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until the cookies are firmer to the touch
6. Remove from oven and dust powdered sugar on top. It is better to do this while cookies are hot
7. Let the cool and enjoy!