Healthy Spiced Snowball Cookies

Traditionally known as Russian Tea Cakes or Mexican Wedding Cakes, these cookies have a shortcake like texture that melts in your mouth. With origins from the Middle East, these cookies were brought to the west during the Medieval Ages and adapted across many cultures, becoming a timeless holiday favorite. For my adaption, I added spices for an extra fun twist and to pay homage to St. Nicholas’ Mediterranean origins.

These cookies are low on sugar to avoid a sugar high and inevitable crash that comes with it — perfect for Santa late on Christmas Eve. My adaption of the traditional recipe is dairy-free and gluten-free, but you may choose to use regular flour and butter.

Makes about 40 cookies.

Ingredients

• 1 cup coconut oil or dairy-free butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp almond extract (optional)
• ½ cup coconut sugar (stevia or monk sugar may be substituted)
• 2 ¼ cups almond flour or gluten-free flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice blend
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¾ cup chopped toasted nuts of your choice (hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, pecans or a blend!)