hot cocoa snowball cookies

A Christmas cookie tray just wouldn’t be complete without snowball cookies and/or Russian tea cakes! I’ve always enjoyed the chocolate kiss snowballs, but this year I decided to try something a bit different. These hot cocoa snowballs are so good! Enjoy with coffee, tea, or (the obvious) cocoa!

Feel free to try different flavor extracts in these cookies. This time I used mint, but orange, rum and raspberry are all good too!

Note* You can mix these by hand but it really is soooo much easier with a table top mixer (such as a Kitchen Aid.)

~ set oven to 350 degrees F. ~

2/3 cups unsalted butter, softened

3 oz. full fat cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup of your favorite, sweetened hot cocoa mix (such as Ghirardelli or Swiss Miss)

1/3 cup powdered sugar + more for coating

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract (or flavor of your choice)

1 and 3/4 cup all purpose flour

Place butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a *table top mixer. Mix, using paddle attachment, until thick and smooth. Add: cocoa mix, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, flavor extracts, and flour. Mix on low until incorporated, and then turn the mixer on medium until everything is mixed well.

Chill dough for 1 hour.

Once dough is chilled, roll into walnut-sized balls. Place an inch or two apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until firm. Allow cookies to cool for 2 minutes before rolling them in powdered sugar. Place them on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, roll them in sugar again and store them in an airtight container. They’ll keep for 5 days on your counter. Refrigerate or freeze whatever you don’t eat within that amount of time.

Enjoy!

~Melissa