I always figured that snowball cookies were at least one of the few quintessential Christmas cookies – right up there with gingerbread men and sugar cookies for Santa Claus. I’m not sure they ever really did it for me the way other things do, until I added a peppermint flair to them! It’s the perfect amount of peppermint too – enough to be festive and great-tasting, but it’s not overpowering either. Also, these are super cute and pretty. Add them to any holiday platter or class party spread.

Also, it needs to be said that the Ghirardelli Peppermint Chunks are amazing and the kind of thing you might want to buy tons of bags of – before they disappear after the season. They are THAT good for year-round baking, don’t you think?

Peppermint Snowball Cookies:

What You Need:

2 ¼ Cup All-Purpose Flour
2/3 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 Cup Butter (Softened)
¼ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Peppermint Extract
½ Cup Ghirardelli Peppermint Chunks (roughly chopped)
Red Food Coloring
*1 Cup of additional powdered sugar for coating

What You Do:

1 – Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2 – Then, in a medium size bowl, beat the softened butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy

3 – Add in the flour, salt, extract, and about 4-5 drops of food coloring, and beat until incorporated

4 – Stir in Ghirardelli Peppermint Chunks

5 – Scoop out about 1 tablespoon of dough and form into a ball

6 – Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet, and repeat until cookie sheet is filled

7 – Place in oven for 6-8 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly golden brown on the bottom

8 – Let cool for 5-10 minutes

9 – Place about a third of the additional powdered sugar on a cookie sheet

10 – Next, Place the cookies on the powdered sugar and sprinkle with the additional powdered sugar

11 – The cookies can be rolled in the powdered sugar as well.

12 – Enjoy right away or store in an air-tight container!