Small Batch Lemon Snowball Cookies Gluten Free

Buttery and soft inside of a gluten free lemon snowball cookie.

Small Batch Lemon Snowball Cookies Gluten Free

Whip up a blizzard of sunshine with these incredibly soft gluten free small batch lemon snowball cookies! The melt-in-your-mouth cookies are bursting with lemon and dusted with powdered sugar snow. A delicious counterpart to the pecan snowball cookies and festive addition to your Christmas cookie platter!

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Chill1

Total Time1 25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: GF

Servings: Cookies

Calories: 88kcal

Author: Erin Cernich

Equipment

Ingredients

¾ cup blanched almond flour
¼ cup tapioca flour
⅛ teaspoon salt
3 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup powdered sugar plus 3 tablespoons for dusting
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon zest 1 small lemon
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Instructions

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, tapioca flour, and salt.
¾ cup blanched almond flour, ¼ cup tapioca flour, ⅛ teaspoon salt
In a medium mixing bowl, add the butter and 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Using a hand held mixer, beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Continue to beat on medium speed until smooth and combined. Note – see the Notes below for using the stand mixer.
3 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, ¼ cup powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, 2 teaspoons lemon juice
In increments, sprinkle the dry ingredients over the butter mixture and beat on low speed until all of the flour has been added. Once all the flour is added, turn the speed up to medium and beat until all the flour is incorporated, no dry streaks remain, and a moistened dough forms. Note – The dough will seem dry as you're adding and mixing in the flour, but continue to mix and a dough will form.
Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, the 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar.
Using a tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop and roll into a ball 12 cookies. Place on the baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for 10 to 11 minutes, or until the edges turn light golden brown.
Cool the cookies on the baking sheet set on a wire cooling rack for 5 to 7 minutes. Then (carefully if still very warm), roll the cookies through the powdered sugar and set on the wire rack to cool completely. The first powdered sugar coating may melt into the cookies, and that's ok!
Roll the cooled cookies through the powdered sugar one more time for the pretty powdered sugar coating. The cookies can be stored covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Notes

Serving Size - This is a small batch recipe that can be doubled.
Yield - The recipe as written using a tablespoon to portion the dough will yield 12 cookies. I do not recommend making the cookies larger, as the center of the cookies may bake too soft.
Stand Mixer – You can use your tilt head stand mixer and the standard attachments with a small 3 quart mixing bowl. The small mixing bowl is more effective for small batch recipes. Otherwise, the regular size mixing bowl may not mix the butter effectively (it will just smear it along the side of the bowl!)
Chill The Dough – Because of the butter, the cookie dough does need time in the refrigerator to allow it to chill and firm. Otherwise, the cookies may spread/melt when baked.
Freezing the Cookies - Baked and coated cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Place in a freezer bag, and thaw at room temperature.
Freezing Cookie Dough - The lemon snowball cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Form into the cookie balls after chilling and place in a freezer bag. Thaw in the refrigerator. Or the cookie dough balls can be baked frozen - add 1 or 2 extra minutes to bake.

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