Chocolate Snowballs

These chocolate snowballs swap the usual butter-and-pecan version for a deep, fudgy chocolate cookie that cracks open in the oven and gets rolled in powdered sugar while still warm.

The brown sugar matters here. It brings molasses notes that play against the bitterness of the unsweetened chocolate squares, so the cookies taste rich without being cloying. Chilling the dough overnight is essential. The dough firms up enough to roll into clean little balls and the cold also helps the cookies hold their dome shape rather than spreading flat.

As they bake, the tops crack open, and that’s the cue they’re done. The powdered sugar coats those craggy fissures and melts into the warm dough, giving each cookie that signature snowy look with peeks of dark chocolate underneath.

Pro Tips

• Use butter or hard stick margarine, never the spreadable tub kind. Soft fats won’t let the dough firm up enough to shape into balls.
• Roll the cookies in powdered sugar while they’re still warm. If you wait until they cool, the sugar won’t stick and you’ll get a thin, patchy coat.
• Pull them when the tops are cracked but the centers still look slightly soft. They firm up as they cool and stay fudgy in the middle.
• For an extra-snowy look, roll a second time once cookies are completely cool.

Variations

• Add a teaspoon of instant espresso powder to the dry ingredients to deepen the chocolate flavor.
• Stir in ½ cup mini chocolate chips for double-chocolate snowballs.
• Add ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract along with the vanilla for a holiday twist.