I’m quite disappointed that it has yet to snow where I live.

After all, it’s already December 8th! Yet, it seems as if the weather is purposefully refusing not to cooperate. It’s barely gotten below 40°F most days, and on the days that do drop below freezing, there hasn’t been a cloud in the sky!

It looks like my winter break may not see a White Christmas after all.

However, I am an extremely stubborn person. Meaning that if the weather refuses to give me a little snow, I’ll just have to create some for myself…

With these delicious little Russian Tea Cakes!

These cookies look like little baby snowballs, all covered in powdered sugar and such! And they taste like little drops of heaven, lemme tell you. Perfectly sweet, with a nice crumbly texture that practically melts-in-your mouth. Yet completely, utterly, unbelievably healthy.

(That is, without the powdered sugar. But, what’s a “snowball” cookie without a little snow?)

Instead of loading up these cookies with butter, sugar, and white flour, as the classic recipe calls for, I instead choose to use gluten free coconut flour, coconut oil, Greek yogurt, and stevia, for a lower-calorie and higher-protein alternative. Additionally, if you’re missing that buttery flavor achieved when you use an entire cup of butter for one recipe, no worries — you can add a touch of butter flavoring to achieve just that!

These cookies are surprisingly simple to make and astonishingly delicious… I made an entire batch last night, and only half of them remained when I left for school this morning!

If you’re like me, and are suffering an unfortunately warm winter season, then why not create your own White Christmas with these melt-in-your-mouth treats?

Russian Tea Cakes (aka Mexican Wedding Cookies)

• 3 tbs melted coconut oil
• 1 c coconut flour (or other gluten free flour of choice)
• 3/4 c stevia
• 3 tbs nonfat Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp butter flavoring (optional)
• 1/2 c chopped pecans
• pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir until combined. The mixture should look like large bread crumbs. Scoop up a tablespoon of the batter and press into a ball, then roll between your hands until smooth. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and repeat until all the batter has been used. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until golden. Remove and spray lightly with cooking spray. Roll in powdered sugar or coconut flakes. Let cool and top with crushed candy canes. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information (from myfitnesspal.com)

Calories: 84

Fat: 7g

Carbs: 5g

Protein: 2g

(Yields 15 cookies)

The nutrition information does not include the powdered sugar cookies are rolled in, as this can vary depending on how coated you choose to make them.