Rice Flour Snowball Cookies
米粉スノーボール
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Snowball cookies are usually made with butter and wheat flour, but this preschool version swaps in rice flour, sweetened soy milk and vegetable oil, so it contains no egg, milk or wheat. The dough comes together in one bowl with no eggs to beat and no butter to soften, and the little balls bake up light and crumbly, melting in the mouth the way a snowball cookie should. A final dusting of finely ground sugar gives them their snowy look, which children love.
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Ingredients
Amounts for 1 child (1 serving). An adult counts as 2 servings.
One serving here is 1.5× the portion served to a child in a Japanese preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Seasonings
- 7.5 gsugar
- 10.2 gsweetened soy milk (Japanese chosei tonyu)Japanese 'prepared' soy milk that is lightly sweetened and flavored to taste milder than plain soy milk. Substitute: Regular (original, lightly sweetened) soy milk from the supermarket.
- 10.2 gvegetable oil
- 6 gpotato starch (katakuriko)Japanese potato starch used for thickening sauces and coating fried foods. Substitute: Cornstarch: start with the same amount and add a little more if it is still thin. It thickens a little less than potato starch and needs a couple of minutes at a gentle bubble to reach full thickness.
- 0.5 gbaking powder
- 0.8 gsugar
Ingredients
- 24 grice flour
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- sweetened soy milk (Japanese chosei tonyu) (調製豆乳)
- Japanese 'prepared' soy milk that is lightly sweetened and flavored to taste milder than plain soy milk. Substitute: Regular (original, lightly sweetened) soy milk from the supermarket.
- potato starch (katakuriko) (かたくり粉)
- Japanese potato starch used for thickening sauces and coating fried foods. Substitute: Cornstarch: start with the same amount and add a little more if it is still thin. It thickens a little less than potato starch and needs a couple of minutes at a gentle bubble to reach full thickness. Read the guide: Katakuriko (Japanese Potato Starch) and What to Use Instead → Guide: japanese-school-lunch.com/articles/katakuriko-potato-starch/
Directions
- 1
Mix the sugar and soy milk together well. Add the oil and mix until emulsified.
- 2
Add the rice flour, potato starch and baking powder and mix well, then gather the dough into a ball with your hands.
- 3
Roll out the dough and shape it into small balls (dust with a little rice flour if the dough sticks). Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in an oven preheated to 170°C (340°F) for about 20 minutes.
- 4
Grind the sugar finely in a food processor. Once the baked cookies have cooled a little, arrange them on a plate and dust the ground sugar over the top.
The cookies are very fragile straight out of the oven, so let them cool completely before plating.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 235.5 kcal | 471 kcal | 235.5 kcal |
| Protein | 1.8 g | 3.6 g | 1.8 g |
| Fat | 10.6 g | 21.3 g | 10.6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 33.5 g | 66.9 g | 33.5 g |
| Fiber | 0.3 g | 0.6 g | 0.3 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.2 g | 0.3 g | 0.2 g |
| Calcium | 15 mg | 30 mg | 15 mg |
| Iron | 0.2 mg | 0.3 mg | 0.2 mg |
| Potassium | 48 mg | 96 mg | 48 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 235.5 kcal | 1.8 g | 10.6 g | 33.5 g | 0.3 g | 0.2 g | 15 mg | 0.2 mg | 48 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 471 kcal | 3.6 g | 21.3 g | 66.9 g | 0.6 g | 0.3 g | 30 mg | 0.3 mg | 96 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese preschool portion); an adult serving is double. They were calculated by a licensed Japanese nutritionist using the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. "Salt equivalent" is sodium × 2.54, the standard Japanese measure. Allergen flags cover egg, milk and wheat only and come from the nutritionist's records. Soy sauce and miso are made with wheat but are usually allowed on Japanese wheat-free school menus, so check with your doctor.





