Cherry Coconut Snowball Cookies
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.
How would you describe your best cookie? For me, it’s texture and flavor.
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:
- Make the dough balls then freeze before baking. You may need to add a few extra minutes to the bake time.
- 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:
Cherry Coconut Snowball Cookies
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.
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
- Preheat oven to 350F. Have two ungreased baking sheets ready.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almonds, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl on medium speed, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until light and creamy.
- Beat in the milk/water and almond extract.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
- Make the dough balls then freeze before baking. You may need to add a few extra minutes to the bake time.
- 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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My favorite cookie, indeed! And I would know!
I have no doubt that these cookies would leave me wanting a dozen more. I love the surprise filling. Pinned.
Gorgeous cookies Carla! And you know you had me at coconut and cherry. Oh such deliciousness.
Could you use dried cherries instead? I detest maraschino cherries. The cookies sound delicious.
Hmm I wouldn’t use dried. You can try fresh or frozen (thawed) cherries. You can also use candied cherries (but I personally don’t like candied cherries much).
YUM! These sound perfect for me and the kiddos to make! Thank you for the recipe!
i made a cookie like this a few years ago. they were yummy. i like the addition of almond. would make it even better!
Made these with the kids (2 and 4). They loved putting the cherries inside the dough and rolling them into balls. They also had a blast drizzling on the glaze and sprinkling on the coconut. Of course they especially enjoyed eating them.
I’ve made these twice now and everyone seems to love them! I find the longer they sit out the better they taste. I generally make them two days before an event. It seems that the dough soaks up the cherry flavour the longer they sit out. I will definitely be baking these again
Oh great tip! My cookies didn’t last long enough to know ;) thanks for sharing.
Delicious. Will definitely make again. Will try orange juice instead of milk in the glaze.
Oh I like your thinking with the orange juice :)
Can these be frozen?
Honestly, I haven’t tried it. I know you can freeze snowball cookies in general, so I would guess yes.
I’ve been making cookies similar to this since my sons were kids BUT I’ve never seen a recipe that includes coconut & cherries. AND I LOVE IT!! I can’t wait to make these. And wanted to tell you that your photography is simply stunning!! Kudos!! ; o )
I love maraschino cherries, so I thought the hidden middle would be a nice surprise. And thank you so much! That means a lot.
Made these little bad boys and now I am addicted! This recipe is a keeper so will be making them every year. Thank you for this recipe
Thanks for the feedback! Glad you loved them.
I made these a couple of years ago for a bake sale at work. Every one LOVED them! Now I’m told I “have to” make them every year. My husband hides them so my brother in law won’t eat them all.
The best compliment! Thanks for sharing, Laura. Happy Holidays!
Do you think candied cherries will work, they’re in a little corn syrup, not dried, but not in a jar with cherry juice. Thanks.
I haven’t used candied cherries, but I think they’d be ok!
I’m always looking for new Christmas cookies to try. These might be it! I agree that almonds are a much better idea than quick oats. Great switch!
Let me know if you try them!
These are so PERFECT! Making them again to bring to Grandma’s house for Christmas. Nice!
Happy to hear it!
These are one of our absolute favorite cookies ever. I can never get enough cherry anything.
Glad you enjoyed them!
Do you think almond flour would work in place of ground almonds (I don’t have a food processor)? Thanks for answering the question about “Can they be mailed?” as these would be perfect to send to my mom. (I will probably use coconut milk or something non-dairy for the dough and glaze if I’m shipping though.) Can’t wait to try this recipe. I’m so impressed with all your unique cookie recipes!
Thank you for your patience as I was traveling out of town! Yes, typically almond flour is ground almonds so it should be ok.
Thank you!