JASMINE MATCHA SNOWBALL COOKIES (VEGAN).

I grew up making two kinds of holiday cookies, recipes that were my mother’s family heirlooms: raspberry linzertorte bars and pecan snowball cookies (or Russian or Mexican wedding cookies, depending who you ask). Suddenly, in the midst of my reigning savory preference, I decided it was high time to make some snowballs. Except I wanted mine laced with the fragrance of jasmine and bright with matcha green tea.

The truth is, I’ve been avoiding holiday cookies since my mom died. The thought of making the recipes that, for me, are so tied to my mother’s warmth, her physical presence, felt akin to making a conscious decision to make things hard on myself. But this year, the eighth since she died, it felt plausible that I could remember her, I could conjure her recipes, without inflicting unnecessary pain. I’d also seen my friend Alanna put matcha in the snowball cookies from her gorgeous cookbook, and have wanted to do the same ever since.

Of course, green tea is never in its optimal form without jasmine, so I had to add another layer of tea magic into the mix. And since I’ve been feeling a tad sniffly, I thought I’d avoid the dairy of butter and swap it out for Earth Balance’s Vegan Buttery Sticks. The result: Pure cookie heaven.

These cookies are astoundingly easy to make, and making the swap of Earth Balance for butter was completely undetectable—not a single person who tasted them had the slightest sense that they were dairy-free. And the texture? As powdery and crisp and crumbly and dense and rich as you’d expect from the ideal snowball.

Chatting with the Earth Balance team, I learned about one recent study they’re particularly proud of: In a nationwide study, 74% of people who were served food that contained a “sneaky swap” of a non-dairy or meat alternative loved what they ate. I don’t have any eating restrictions, but I do have a lot of vegan and dairy-restricted friends, so knowing that I can make these snowballs without butter is huge. Holiday vibes in abundance for all.

While I’d love to say that I ate a mountain-full of jasmine matcha snowballs myself, it was far more fun to take them with me to two separate holiday parties this weekend—and watch as people wolfed them down without a clue they were vegan. They’ll keep beautifully in a sweet cookie tin (just throw down some parchment paper and layer them with parchment in between) for a few days, or in your freezer, for a few weeks.

The combination of matcha and jasmine is one of my all-time favorites, and there’s nothing like biting into a cookie with the hue and scent of springtime in the depths of winter. You’re welcome. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to make my return to savory goods, starting with this jalapeño cornbread!