Melt-in-your-mouth cherry coconut snowball cookies with a maraschino cherry surprise in the middle and coconut coating will soon be your new favorite Christmas cookie.

Flavor is pretty self explanatory. I have a lot of favorite ingredients – chocolate, peanut butter, caramel, lemon, marshmallows, cherries.

Unless there’s anise extract or the cookie was poorly executed, chances are the cookie ranks pretty high on my list.

That’s where texture comes into play. My two favorite textures are chewy (think small batch chocolate chip cookies) and melt-in-your-mouth (think shortbread).

Today I am focusing on melt-in-your-mouth goodness and am beyond excited to share these Cherry Coconut Snowball Cookies with you.

Seriously, these are probably the best cookies I’ve made all season for Christmas, and that’s saying a lot when I made triple peanut butter cookies last month.

How can something so delicate and small leave your taste buds wanting more?

How To Make Cherry Coconut Snowball Cookies

First step to making cherry snowball cookies with almonds is to make the dough by beating together butter and sugar.

The original recipe called for quick oats, but I didn’t feel like it belonged so I substituted ground almonds instead.

Almonds and maraschino cherries complement each other so well. Have you ever smelled almond extract before? It smells like maraschino cherries.

How To Make Ground Almonds

Making ground almonds is easy! Since it’s a small amount, I like using a small food processor for grinding. I use mine all the time for making cookie crumbs, ground nuts, even a small amount of pesto.

If you’re using whole almonds, remove the skins (if necessary) then chop them up into pieces before grinding.

Making The Dough

As you’re mixing the dry ingredients into the wet, the dough will appear very crumbly at first. Don’t panic! You need to keep (gently) beating the dough until everything comes together.

Once your dough forms, divide them into tablespoon-sized balls. You should get 15 cookie balls.

Take each ball, flatten it to about 1/4 inch thick, then wrap it around a maraschino cherry. Seal the dough then place the ball onto an ungreased baking sheet.

What are maraschino cherries?

Maraschino cherries are preserved sweetened cherries made from light colored sweet cherries. They can be a bit controversial, but I still love them.

I remember when I first started baking, I had no idea where to buy maraschino cherries. Usually they aren’t in the baking aisle.

If you can’t find them, check your store’s ice cream toppings section, usually where you find hot fudge sauce and sprinkles. I often find them there because they’re used for sundaes.

Making The Coconut Glaze

After baking and cooling (assuming you didn’t taste test them all), the cookies get a lovely bath in a basic sugar glaze then rolled in shredded coconut.

Usually snowball cookies are rolled in powdered sugar, hence the name snowballs, but coconut acts like the snow here.

It’s a little bit of a messy process, but I promise it’s worth every bite.

How long can you freeze snowball cookies?

Getting ahead on your Christmas cookie baking? Luckily cherry coconut cookie balls freeze well for up to 1 month! There are two ways you can freeze snowball cookies:

1. Make the dough balls then freeze before baking. You may need to add a few extra minutes to the bake time.
2. Bake the cookies then freeze prior to glazing. When you’re ready to serve, let them thaw then continue glazing and rolling in coconut.

Mailing Christmas Cookies

Snowball cookies make a great homemade gift from the kitchen.

I mailed some to a friend recently, so they pass the “can these be mailed” test. I share my tips on mailing cookies in a different post.

You can also package them in a candy box and give them like a box of chocolate covered cherries. Or maybe a box of truffles makes a better analogy.

Either way, if you gave me a box of these cookies, you’d be my new best friend.

Equipment you may need (Amazon affiliate links):

More Snowball Cookie Recipes

Want to bake more cookie balls for Christmas? Here are more delicious snowball cookie recipes:

• Lemon Snowball Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies
• (Big) Rice Crispy Treat Snowballs

Continue to Content

Cherry Coconut Snowball Cookies

Yield: 15 cookies

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Melt-in-your-mouth cherry almond snowball cookies with a maraschino cherry surprise in the middle and coconut coating will soon be your new favorite Christmas cookie.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup finely ground almonds
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons milk or water
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 15 maraschino cherries, stems removed and patted dry

Glaze

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1-2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Have two ungreased baking sheets ready.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almonds, and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl on medium speed, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until light and creamy.
4. Beat in the milk/water and almond extract.
5. Turn the speed down to low then gradually beat in the flour mixture until a dough forms. It may look crumbly at first, but keep (gently) beating until it comes together.
6. Scoop 1 tablespoon dough then flatten until thin. Wrap the dough around 1 cherry, sealing to form a ball. Place onto the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and cherries.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown (the tops will look pale). Let cool on the sheets for 2-3 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. For the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, and almond extract. If the glaze is too thick for dipping, add more milk.
9. In another bowl, add the coconut. Dip the top of each cookie into the glaze then the coconut. Let the glaze harden before serving. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Notes

Getting ahead on your Christmas cookie baking? Luckily snowball cookies can freeze well for up to 1 month! There are two ways you can freeze them:

1. Make the dough balls then freeze before baking. You may need to add a few extra minutes to the bake time.
2. Bake the cookies then freeze prior to glazing. When you’re ready to serve, let them thaw then continue glazing and rolling in coconut.

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Did you make this recipe?

Let me know what you think! Rate the recipe above, leave a comment below, and/or share a photo on Instagram using #HITKrecipesAll recipes are tested in a U.S. kitchen with U.S. ingredients at normal elevation using a conventional gas oven. Results may vary.