These WW Snowball Cookies are the perfect winter treat—and they are only 3 WW points each!
If you’ve never had snowball cookies before, they have a very simple base that’s a type of shortbread cookie. They’re buttery and slightly sweet, with some crunchiness from chopped pecan pieces inside. They have a powdered sugar coating on the outside, which is how they get their name because they look like tiny snowballs. For this WW-friendly version, we are going a little lighter on the sugar by simply coating the top of the cookie instead of the entire thing. Usually, you would put the cookies in a bag and shake them so the powdered sugar would cover them completely.
This recipe also uses a light butter substitute instead of regular butter, which significantly reduces the points. To keep the points low, I also used slightly less pecan pieces. However, everything else is the same! No special sugar replacements are required unless you would like to test the recipe with one. If you enjoy these snowball cookies, you’ll definitely love some of the other WW cookie recipes I have shared in the past. You can find them in the baking recipe collection.
Why You Should Try This Recipe
- It only requires four ingredients! These simple cookies are a breeze to make since the recipe only requires a few ingredients.
- It makes a lot of cookies. This recipe will give you a good amount of cookies, which is great if you want to give them as gifts or serve them at a party.
- The cookies are delicious. These yummy cookies have just the right sweetness, and the nuttiness from the pecans is yummy, too.
Recipe Overview
- Serving Size: 1 cookie (19g)
- Number of Servings: 30
- Time to Cook: 20 minutes
- WW Points Per Recipe: 3 WW points per cookie, 80 for the entire batch (Click here to view the recipe in the WW app. WW login is required)
Ingredients in Weight Watchers Snowball Cookies
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup Chopped pecans
- 1 cup Light butter, I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Light
- ½ cup Powdered sugar (plus about 1/3 cup for coating)
Instructions for making Weight Watchers Snowball Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, use a rubber spatula to combine ½ cup powdered sugar with the light butter substitute.
3. Once combined, add the flour and the chopped nuts, folding until a dough forms; be careful not to overmix because it will make the cookies tough.
4. Scoop the dough into balls that are just under one tablespoon each. Roll them into balls and spread them on the cookie sheet with some space in between.
5. Bake them (work in batches if needed) in the oven for 17-20 minutes or until thoroughly baked and lightly golden brown.
6. While still warm, take each cookie one by one and dip the top into the remaining powdered sugar to coat them. You can also coat them all the way around, but you will need to use more sugar and increase the WW points.
Variations and Substitutions
- Reduce the Points: To reduce the points, you can add fewer pecans or even scoop the cookies into a slightly smaller portion size.
- Snowball Cookies with Walnuts: Replace the pecans with the same amount of walnuts or use a mix of half and half!
- Zero-Calorie Sweetener vs Sugar: I am not sure how well the powdered sugar replacement would work for the cookie dough. However, you could likely use the replacement for the exterior coating, and it would work fine.
- Regular Butter vs Light Butter: If you don’t mind the WW points increase, you can use the same amount of butter as the light butter substitute.
- Snowball Cookies with Mini Chocolate Chips: For a nut-free snowball cookie, replace the nuts with mini chocolate chips.
Tips and Tricks for Making Weight Watchers Snowball Cookies
- How to store snowball cookies: Store them in a resealable bag or an airtight container at room temperature. The refrigerator might dry them out.
- For best results, coat the cookies with powdered sugar while they are still warm. It helps the sugar stick better and also helps to soften the outer crispy part of the cookie. You can also coat them a second time after they cool if you want a thicker coating.
- It is best to portion the cookie dough as evenly as possible so all of the cookies come out the same size. This also ensures that the WW points are correct.
Related Recipes
WW Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup Chopped pecans
- 1 cup Light butter, I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Light
- ½ cup Powdered sugar, plus about 1/3 cup for coating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, use a rubber spatula to combine ½ cup powdered sugar with the light butter substitute.
- Once combined, add the flour and the chopped nuts, folding until a dough forms; be careful not to overmix because it will make the cookies tough.
- Scoop the dough into balls that are just under one tablespoon each. Roll them into balls and spread them on the cookie sheet with some space in between.
- Bake them (work in batches if needed) in the oven for 17-20 minutes or until thoroughly baked and lightly golden brown.
- While still warm, take each cookie one by one and dip the top into the designated powdered sugar to coat them. You can also coat them all the way around, but you will need to use more sugar and increase the WW points.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
