Scottish Snowballs (Raspberry Jam Sandwich Cookies Dipped in Coconut)
Scottish Snowballs are a classic raspberry and coconut biscuit (cookie) treat from Scotland. I grew up with them and think it’s time they made an appearance here in the US, especially for the holidays!
Do you remember treats you used to have as a child? I do. Lots of them, and these Scottish snowballs rank as one of my favorites.
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A traditional Scottish treat!
You may have seen my Snow Cookies which are similar. They are made with raspberry jam sandwiched biscuits, have the same icing and just a bit of coconut, based on a classic Scottish snow cake. I just received a comment on the recipe yesterday from a reader named Amber who told me she won a very competitive cookie contest with my Snow Cookies! That now makes three contests that these cookies have won.
Although Scottish Snowballs are almost made the same as Snow Cookies, they’re really not as similar as you might think. The Snowball experience is very different than its cookie cousin! They are not hard like a biscotti, but not like a soft ricotta cookie, either. You’ll just have to make both to taste the difference!

Would you believe that someone just asked me today if I have the recipe for Scottish Snowballs? It’s true!
You may also enjoy coconut tartlets!
These are not to be confused with the marshmallow snowballs made by Tunnock’s, which are coated with chocolate and covered in coconut (also yummy, though), and similar to Scottish macaroon bars.
One last Scottish version of snowballs which I’d like to share with you is my friend Jill’s granny’s recipe. We have some kind of “close psychic bond” (Keeping Up Appearances fans will appreciate that description 😂) and do things like making the exact same thing at the same time! We both posted snowballs today! Jill’s are healthier, no bake type of holiday treat. I love how Jill decorated some of them to look like Christmas puddings!
Without further ado, I present to you my favorite recipe for the Scottish Snowballs that I grew up with!
Scottish Snowballs
recipe slightly adapted from Lofty Peak recipe book
Ingredients
Please use a scale for best results.
- 2 oz (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
- 2 oz (1/4 cup) caster (Baker’s) sugar
- pinch of salt
- 8 oz (1 1/2 cups + 1 tbsp) self rising flour (self raising), sifted
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp milk
- good quality raspberry jam (I like Mackay’s, Trader Joe’s or Bonne Maman)
- confectioner’s (powdered) sugar
- a little milk or water
- unsweetened, shredded coconut (please do not use sweetened as it won’t work in this recipe)
Preheat oven to 400˚ F (200˚ C)
Directions
Make the dough
Cream the butter and sugar with the pinch of salt. Add the egg with a little flour and mix well.
Stir in the milk and add the rest of the flour. Mix to a fairly stiff dough.
Divide into 16 equal pieces and roll into balls. Place on parchment or silicone mat lined cookie sheets, leaving a bit of space for them to grow. Press down a little. If you’d like smaller snowballs, divide into 24 pieces.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until very lightly golden brown. Remove from tray and allow to cool completely.
Assemble and decorate
When cool, sandwich equal sized cookies together with raspberry jam.
If you are able to leave them for about half an hour, do so as the jam will set making it easier to dip.
Combine about 1 cup of confectioner’s (powdered) sugar with enough water or milk to make a runny glaze in which to dip the snowballs. Have a bowl of shredded coconut ready. Dip the snowballs in the glaze (it should look like this) and allow extra glaze to drip off.
Next, roll in the coconut.
Set aside to dry and continue to dip the remaining snowballs.
These will keep for about 4 or 5 days in a tin. Perfect for the holidays, but obviously any other time you feel like a coconut flavored treat!
Ta dah! Scottish Snowballs!
Delicious with a cup of tea!
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Scottish Snowballs (Raspberry Jam Sandwich Cookies Dipped in Coconut)
A traditional Scottish treat with that great coconut and raspberry flavor combination!
Ingredients
- 57 g (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
- 57 g (1/4 cup) caster (Baker's) sugar
- pinch of salt
- 225 g (1 1/2 cups + 1 Tbsp) self rising flour, sifted
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp milk
- jar of raspberry jam
- 120 g (1 cup) confectioner's (powdered) sugar (more as needed)
- a little milk or water
- unsweetened, shredded coconut for dipping the cookies
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400˚ F (200˚ C)
- Cream the butter and sugar with the pinch of salt. Add the egg with a little flour and mix well.
- Stir in the milk and add the rest of the flour. Mix to a fairly stiff dough.
- Divide into 16 equal pieces and roll into balls. Place on parchment or silicone sheet lined cookie trays, leaving a bit of space for them to grow. Press down a little.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until very lightly golden brown. Remove from tray and allow to cool completely.
- When cool, sandwich equal sized cookies together with raspberry jam.
- If you are able to leave them for about half an hour, do so as the jam will set making it easier to dip.
- Combine about 1 cup of confectioner's (powdered) sugar with enough water or milk to make a runny glaze in which to dip the snowballs. Have a bowl of shredded coconut ready. Dip the snowballs in the glaze and allow extra glaze to drip off.
- Next, roll in the coconut. Set aside to dry and continue to dip the remaining snowballs.
Notes
These will keep for about 4 or 5 days in a tin. Perfect for the holidays, but obviously any other time you feel like a coconut flavored treat!
Delicious with a cup of tea!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1 snowballAmount Per Serving: Calories: 98Total Fat: 2gCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 1g
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Loved this recipe….. took me right back to my childhood growing up in Scotland. Thank you.
I made them as a tester for my work cookie exchange and they were delicious although they didn’t look as nice as yours. Eventhough I left my jam to set, it ran into the glace as I was dipping them and then after I dipped them in the coconut and left them to set it all pooled at the bottom of the cake. Any suggestions on a fix for this? Also, since I have to make about 80 of these I’m wondering if I can just calculate the ingredients x 4 and make 3 batches. Any idea if this would work? I appreciate any input.
Hi Karen, glad you liked the recipe. I think that maybe the jam you used it too runny? Mine is very thick, so it doesn’t run. The Trader Joe’s raspberry jam works well as does Bonne Maman and McKay’s. Hopefully that fixes the jam issue.
That’s a lot of snowballs! How about making them smaller than mine? I’ve never made more than one recipe at a time, but since it’s just a cookie dough, I think what you want to do would work. Good luck and let me know how it goes, and don’t worry about making them the day before or the day of your event as I think they get better after a few days! :)
Thank you for your reply.
I like your idea of making them smaller. I think I will do that. I used Bonne Maman jam. I think I might try making the icing a bit thicker. Regardless, I had another “tester” with my cup of tea last night and had a little taste of heaven.
Just saw your Fern Cakes recipe in my inbox today. I will most definitely be trying these also. Thank you.
Good idea, Karen. I thought about that after I responded and that is another option to make the icing a bit thicker so it doesn’t run off as much. They are so nostalgic, aren’t they? Glad you’ll be trying the Fern Cakes, too! Thanks, Karen!
I followed this recipe to a tee and it didn’t turn out – not sure what went wrong. they didn’t spread and they weren’t cooked in the middle . Certainly was a cakey consistency that’s for sure – the only thing I can think of is that the unsalted butter wasn’t room temperature – it was straight out of the fridge – I’m so disappointed that they didnt work for me !
So sorry, Margaret, sounds like you didn’t bake them long enough, either. :(
In Scotland they’re not ‘cookies’ or ‘biscuits’…..they’re cakes. My granny used to make them for us every Sunday tea time in Glasgow.
Same as Cream Cookies, I have to call them Cream Buns or there would be much confusion. I’m writing for a mostly US audience and trying to entice them to try Scottish cuisine. I sometimes have to alter the name so they can find the recipe. Whatever they’re called, they’re DELICIOUS! :)
I was born in Glasgow. We always had these with tea. Another favourite was pineapple tarts
A must with tea!! Yes, I remember pineapple tarts, too.
Ok, it is after Christmas, but I want to make this amazing looking cookies. I might have sworn off sweets a little too early. This recipe looks amazing.
Definitely too early, Cathy!! I just made a double batch of these tonight! C’mon over! :)