Sweetened Condensed Milk Snowballs (2024)

Prepared with only five ingredients, Sweetened Condensed Milk Snowballs are light and fluffy, and only slightly sweet. They look plain and drab, but they are quite delicious, very easy to make, and extremely budget friendly too!

There’s always that one person who will lean over your beautiful Christmas cookie platter, looking for a cookie that has no nuts, no chocolate, no sprinkles, etc. They prefer simple sweets without all of the added, fussy bits. For that person in your family, prepare these Sweetened Condensed Milk Snowballs. In fact, you could make two batches – make the plain one you see pictured here, and one with your favourite holiday recipe add-ins!

I absolutely love to make these cookies. They’re just so easy to make! Not only do you get to mix everything together in just one bowl, but there’s no need to roll the dough into balls, or to use a rolling pin. Just use a cookie scoop to portion out the cookie dough, and set them right onto your prepared baking sheet. They hold their shape in the oven, and bake up light and airy.

There are probably a million Christmas cookies that have the word “snowballs” in the title. In fact, I have a few of them right here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen. The most popular of the snowball recipes that I have are my Traditional Newfoundland Snowballs. I prepare a batch of those every year. They make a great addition to a cookie platter or a cookie tin that you prepare for friends and neighbours. A few weeks ago, I posted another snowball-type of recipe in my 12 Truffles of Christmas series. If you missed it, my Cherry Snowball Truffles can be found here.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE:

• Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature! To be perfectly honest, I have made these with both salted and unsalted butter and there’s no difference in taste or appearance once all is said and done. Use what you have on hand.
• Canned Sweetened Condensed Milk – This recipe has not been tested with low fat condensed milk. Depending on where you live, the size of the can my differ. Be sure to have at least 1/2 cup!
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Baking Powder – This is used to increase the volume of the batter and to add texture as well.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – This superfine sugar is sometimes called powdered sugar. It is used in frostings quite often. When dusted lightly onto cakes and cookies, it adds just a touch of sweetness, but more importantly, it looks very visually appealing!

SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK

I have a lot of recipes here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen with sweetened condensed milk as one of the ingredients. (Click here to see them!) Growing up in Newfoundland, it was always something I’ve been aware of. But, that’s not the case for everyone. I get many questions from readers about it. For someone not familiar with the gooey, sticky canned milk, it might be easily confused with canned Carnation condensed milk, for instance. Let me explain what it is here.

So, first of all, it’s condensed. The milk is condensed by removing water. This can by accomplished by applying heat. The water will evaporate causing the milk to condense, which thickens the milk. Sugar is added to sweeten the condensed milk. The main purpose of adding sugar is to prolong the shelf life of condensed milk, which can sit on room temperature shelves for years. Sugar prevents microorganisms from growing in the milk and helps to thicken it even further—it’s added after the milk has been boiled, reduced, and pasteurized.

If you find an unsweetened condensed milk, it’s most likely that it’s simply evaporated milk or condensed milk, which is thick, but not gooey and sticky. Evaporated milk is often used as a cream added to tea or coffee. If you are unfamiliar with it, please read the can carefully. Also, shake it – can you feel the liquid splashing about inside the can? If so, it’s not sweetened condensed milk; it’s evaporated or condensed milk only!

HOW TO MAKE SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK SNOWBALLS

This is an easy recipe and comes together very quickly. The first thing you want to ensure before you get started is that the butter is at room temperature. I cannot stress how important this is! If the butter is not completely softened, you will not get a dough to form with a consistency that will pack together well. The butter must be soft, but not melted, so do not put it in the microwave to soften it. Leave butter at room temperature for 3-5 hours or even overnight!

Add the softened butter to a mixing bowl and beat until light and creamy – about three minutes. Next, pour in the sweetened condensed milk and beat into the butter for two minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again for another minute or two. Finally, add the flour and baking powder. Beat into the butter and milk mixture until mixed through.

Using a cookie scoop, portion the dough into mounds onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Be sure to leave at least two inches between each mound of cookie dough. Bake for 12 minutes at 320 degrees F. Remove from the oven and leave the cool slightly on the pan for five minutes. Finally, remove from the baking sheet and transfer to a wire cooling rack. Use a sifter to liberally dust the cookies with the confectioner’s sugar. Allow cookies to fully cool before storing.

HEY – WHAT ABOUT ADD-INS?

You can add things to the cookie dough to make these Sweetened Condensed Milk Cookies different or less plain – if that’s your thing! Extracts will work in this recipe, but please keep in mind that the cookies you see in the photos do not have any extract. Adding extract will change the consistency of the cookie dough, so depending on how much you use, your cookie might be flatter when it has finished baking. In any case, never add more than two teaspoons of extract. Peppermint extract or orange extract would be so good!

You can also add chocolate chips or festive red and green candy coated chocolates, like M&Ms, for example. You might also consider adding nuts. If you add any nuts, like peanuts or pecans, for example, be sure to toast them first to get the maximum flavour. I would even consider adding coconut to these cookies. Again, toast the coconut first.

Finally, something chewy would also work well. What about dried cranberries or raisins? What about candied cherries? They’re always a great choice and always make cookies look extra festive and colourful! There really are so many options. If you decide to add anything to your cookies, pay attention to the recipe card below so that you know when to add it and how much to add.

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for long periods of time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze your Sweetened Condensed Milk Cookies, you certainly can! Once cooled, pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight fitting lid too. I usethesequite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!

You can freeze these cookies for up to three months. If you plan to give previously frozen cookies as a gift, I would lay them out onto a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. If packaging, wait until the condensation has evaporated. Whenever I work with anything covered in confectioner’s sugar, I like to use a glove to prevent getting fingerprints on it as much as possible! Once thawed, dust once more with confectioner’s sugar and pile into cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon, or stack in a cookie tin/box.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down to follow me and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection ofChristmas Recipes right here! There are over 100 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!