Toasted Southern Snowballs Recipes

TOASTED ALMOND SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• In a medium skillet over medium heat, toast the almond flour, stirring constantly, until golden brown and fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes. Immediately pour flour into a small bowl to cool. Watch carefully: Once the flour begins to toast, it will happen very quickly.
• Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a handheld electric mixer, beat butter and 1 cup confectioners' sugar on low speed until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in egg yolk, brandy and almond extract until well combined.
• Reduce speed to low and gradually add all-purpose flour, salt and toasted almond flour until just incorporated.
• Scrape the dough into an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Using your hands, roll dough into 1-inch balls and place balls 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12 to 18 minutes, until cookies begin to brown at edges. Rotate cookie sheets halfway through for even baking.
• Place 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar into a sieve. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, sift a thick layer of confectioners' sugar over the tops. Once cookies are cool, put remaining 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar (plus any sugar in the sieve) into a shallow bowl and toss cookies again in confectioners' sugar.

SNOWBALLS II

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cream the butter with 1/2 cup of the confectioners' sugar and the vanilla. Mix in the flour, pecans, and salt. Roll about 1 tablespoon or so of dough into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven until bottoms are golden, about 15 minutes. Do not allow these cookies to get too brown: it's better to undercook them than to overcook them. While cookies are still hot, roll them in confectioners' sugar. Once they have cooled, roll them in confectioners' sugar once more.

ALMOND SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and salt to soft peaks, then add sugar and beat again until peaks are stiff. Beat in almond flavoring. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in half of the coconut. Sprinkle in the nutmeg and flour, stir, then fold in the remaining coconut.
• Using a melon baller or other small scoop, or working with 2 spoons, form 9 "snowballs" a couple of inches apart on each of 2 cookie sheets. Bake snowballs 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove from oven and garnish each snowball with half a cherry and a couple of slivered almonds. Transfer to a rack or serving plate to cool.

JAM FILLED PECAN SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• HEAT oven to 350 degrees F. Place pecans, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and salt in bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade. Pulse machine on and off to break up nuts, then process until nuts are finely ground. Add butter a few pieces at a time, pulsing on and off to incorporate, then process until mixture is smooth; pulse in vanilla. Add flour and pulse machine on and off until incorporated, scraping the dough down once or twice. Process until the dough begins to form a ball.
• REMOVE dough from machine, form into a very flat disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or until firm enough to roll into balls. Dough may be refrigerated overnight.**
• LINE two rimmed jelly-roll pans with parchment paper. Roll dough between lightly floured palms into 1-inch balls and place on prepared cookie sheets 2-inches apart. Make an indentation with your thumb or finger in center of each cookie to make a deep well, going about three-quarters of the way down into the cookie. If cracks form, simply press any cracks together.
• BAKE 13 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown on the bottoms and around the edges. Place cookie sheets on cooling racks; sift remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar over warm cookies. Immediately fill the indentations with jelly and allow to cool completely.
• *To toast pecans: Place pecans in dry nonstick skillet; cook over medium heat, shaking pan until nuts are lightly browned.
• **You may freeze dough up to 1 month; defrost in refrigerator overnight before proceeding
• Cookies may be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks; these are best stored in single layers separated by waxed or parchment paper.

TOASTED SOUTHERN SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Mix together the marshmallow creme, orange marmalade, and orange juice concentrate. Add the very finely crushed vanilla wafers and mix well. Roll into 1 inch balls. Then roll in the toasted coconut flakes. You can also do it without toasting the coconut, but I like the crunch of toasted flakes. Prep time includes the time to toast the coconut flakes.

ALMOND SNOWBALL COOKIES

Steps:

• Pulse the almonds and sugar in a food processor until very finely ground. Add the butter and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape the dough off the inside of the bowl, if needed. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and pulse to combine. Add the flour and salt and pulse to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a large piece of waxed paper and roll into a log about 15 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Cut the chilled dough into 1/2-inch pieces and roll by hand into balls. Space the cookies evenly on the prepared baking sheets and bake until slightly golden, rotating the sheets once, 15 to 20 minutes. Put the confectioners' sugar in a pie plate. Briefly cool the cookies on a rack, then gently toss in the confectioners' sugar until evenly coated. Return to rack, cool to room temperature, and then toss again in the confectioners' sugar.

SUMMER SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• With an ice-cream scoop, form ice cream into 8 balls, dipping scoop in hot water as you work and dropping balls onto prepared dish. (To prepare the dish, tightly cover a baking dish with plastic wrap, stretching it over the top; this will prevent the snowballs from flattening on the bottom.) Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
• One at a time, remove balls from freezer, roll in desired coating (1 1/2 cups total), and return to freezer. Freeze until set, at least 10 minutes, before serving.
• TOFFEE CHIPS: Use toffee chips straight from the bag, or crush up your favorite candies.
• TOASTED COCONUTS: Spread sweetened shredded coconut on a rimmed baking sheet; bake at 350 degrees, tossing occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
• TOASTED ALMONDS: Spread sliced almonds on a rimmed baking sheet; bake at 350 degrees, tossing occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.