Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies have a soft, crumbly bite, rich peanut flavor, and tiny bits of chocolate throughout. A double coat of powdered sugar gives them their snowy finish. They hold their round shape without eggs or baking powder. Add them to a holiday cookie tray, or make a batch whenever you want a small, buttery treat.
Why I Love This Recipe
There is a lot to like about a cookie that needs just a short ingredient list and a simple sugar coating. The peanut butter adds flavor without turning these into chewy drop cookies. Mini chips spread the chocolate through the dough without making the little rounds hard to shape.
- Tender texture: Butter and powdered sugar make a fine, crumbly shortbread bite.
- Chocolate in every bite: Mini chips fit neatly inside the small cookies.
- Simple finish: Powdered sugar supplies all the decoration these cookies need.
- Easy to plan ahead: The dough can chill overnight before shaping and baking.
What You’ll Need
- Servings: 36 cookies; 1 cookie per serving
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Chill Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes (two batches)
- Cooling and Coating Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
- Oven Temperature: 350°F (175°C), conventional oven
- Pan Size: Two 13×18-inch rimmed metal baking sheets
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened but not melted
- 1/2 cup (128 g) creamy, no-stir peanut butter, not natural or oil-separated
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) powdered sugar, divided: 1/2 cup (60 g) for the dough and 1 cup (120 g) for coating
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups (270 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 3/4 cup (128 g) semisweet mini chocolate chips
Tools You Need
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer
- Large glass mixing bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons or a kitchen scale
- Flexible spatula
- Two 13×18-inch rimmed metal baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Small cookie scoop
- Wire cooling rack
- Glass bowl for coating
How to Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies
Keep the dough cool and handle the baked cookies gently for a neat, snowy finish.
Step 1: Mix the Butter and Peanut Butter
Beat 1 cup (226 g) softened unsalted butter, 1/2 cup (128 g) creamy peanut butter, and 1/2 cup (60 g) powdered sugar in a large glass bowl on medium speed for 2 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
Beat in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract for 15 seconds, then scrape down the bowl.
Step 2: Finish and Chill the Dough
Add 2 1/4 cups (270 g) all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon fine salt. Mix on low just until the flour disappears, about 45 seconds.
Fold in 3/4 cup (128 g) semisweet mini chocolate chips until evenly spread through the dough. It should look thick and hold together when pressed; scrape any loose crumbs into the dough without beating it further.
Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. During the final 15 minutes of chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two 13×18-inch rimmed metal baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 3: Shape the Cookies
Divide the chilled dough into 36 portions, about 23 g each. Roll each portion into a ball about 1 inch wide, without flattening it.
Arrange 18 dough balls on each prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 1 1/2 inches between them. Keep the second sheet refrigerated while the first bakes.
Step 4: Bake Until Set
Bake the first sheet on the middle rack at 350°F (175°C) for 13–15 minutes, until the tops look matte and set and the bottoms are lightly golden. The tops should stay pale, and the cookies should remain rounded.
Bake the second sheet the same way. Let each batch rest on its baking sheet for 5 minutes before coating; the cookies are fragile straight from the oven.
The listed cook time allows 15 minutes per sheet, baked one sheet at a time. Cooling the first batch while the second bakes can shorten the overall time slightly.
Step 5: Coat, Cool, and Serve
Place 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar in a glass bowl. After the cookies have rested for 5 minutes, gently roll them in the sugar a few at a time, then move them to a wire rack.
Let them cool completely for about 25 minutes. Roll them again in the remaining sugar in the bowl, allowing 5 minutes for both rounds of coating across the batch.
The first coat may look thin as it meets the warm cookie; the second coat should leave a dry, snowy white finish. Serve the cooled cookies on their own, and discard any coating sugar left in the bowl.
Why This Recipe Works (Quick Science)
Butter coats some of the flour and limits gluten development. That helps the cookies break into tender crumbs rather than becoming chewy. Powdered sugar blends smoothly into the dough, while peanut butter adds fat and peanut flavor.
Chilling firms the butter so the balls spread less in the oven. There is no egg or leavener, so these stay compact and rounded. The first sugar coat clings to the slightly warm surface; the second stays powdery once the cookies are cool.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using oil-separated peanut butter: Its changing oil content can make the dough greasy or crumbly. Use creamy no-stir peanut butter.
- Packing the flour into the cup: Too much flour makes dry cookies. Weigh it or spoon it into the cup and level the top.
- Skipping the chill: Soft dough can spread before its shape sets.
- Waiting for brown tops: These cookies should stay pale. Look for set tops and lightly golden bottoms.
- Coating straight from the oven: Give them a short rest so they do not crumble in the sugar.
- Adding the final coat too soon: Fully cooled cookies hold a cleaner white finish.
Make-Ahead Tips and Storage
Keep the covered dough in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. If it is too firm to portion, let it stand for 10–15 minutes, just until you can scoop it.
Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Separate stacked layers with parchment so the coating stays tidy.
Freeze baked, cooled cookies before their final sugar coat for up to 2 months in an airtight freezer container. Thaw in the closed container, then roll in powdered sugar reserved from the coating amount before freezing. Do not reuse sugar that touched raw dough.
Macros Information
Estimated per cookie, based on 36 cookies and including all the listed coating sugar; actual values will be lower if sugar is left over.
- Calories: 130
- Protein: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 14 g
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 30 mg
These nutrition values are estimates and vary with brands and the amount of coating that sticks.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Are these chewy peanut butter cookies?
A: No. They have a fine, crumbly shortbread texture with small chocolate bits. They should feel tender rather than chewy or gooey.
Q: Can I use natural peanut butter?
A: Creamy no-stir peanut butter gives the most predictable texture here. Natural peanut butter can change the dough’s moisture and oil balance, so it is not a direct swap for this recipe.
Q: Why is there no egg?
A: Butter and peanut butter help bind the dough. Leaving out the egg keeps the texture closer to shortbread.
Q: Can I use regular chocolate chips?
A: Mini chips are easier to distribute and shape inside these small cookies. If regular chips are all you have, chop them into smaller pieces and use the same 128 g weight.
Q: Why did my cookies spread?
A: The butter may have been too soft, the dough may not have chilled enough, or the flour may have been undermeasured. Chill the shaped second batch while the first bakes.
Q: What if the dough looks crumbly?
A: Press a small portion together. If it holds, the dough is ready. If the dough is very cold, let it soften briefly and fold it with a spatula. Check the flour measurement rather than adding liquid right away.
Q: Why did the powdered sugar disappear?
A: Some of the first coat absorbs into the slightly warm cookie. Wait until the cookies cool completely before adding the second coat.
Q: Can I make a smaller batch?
A: Yes. Halve every ingredient and shape 18 cookies. Keep the same oven temperature and start checking them at 13 minutes.
Q: Can I freeze the unbaked dough balls?
A: Yes. Freeze them on a lined sheet, then transfer to a sealed freezer container for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen, allowing a few extra minutes and watching for set tops and lightly golden bottoms.
Final Thoughts
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies bring together peanut butter, little chocolate chips, and a snowy sugar finish in one tender bite. Keep the dough cool, stop baking while the tops are pale, and let that second sugar coat do its work. Leave a comment with how your batch turned out.
Happy cooking!