Snowball Cookies

Snowball cookies are basically small, round shortbread cookies containing nuts, and dusted with powdered sugar. They are a buttery delight during holidays. This treat is actually quite popular all over the world-- although in different countries, they may go by different names.

For example, they are also known as “Mexican Wedding Cookies”, Russian Tea Cakes, Italian Wedding Cookies, Snowdrops, or Butter Balls. But whatever you call them, they are easy to make and a real crowd pleaser during holidays, parties, special events, or just a snack any time. 

Snowball Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened but not melted

5 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

¼ tsp salt

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups finely chopped walnuts, almonds, or pecans

1 ½ cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and salt.

2. Add flour in small amounts, beating after each addition. Stir in the nuts until well combined.

3. Divide dough in half. Pack each half tightly, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 45 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Remove dough from fridge and use your hands to roll into 1-inch balls. Place dough balls 1 ½ apart on prepared baking sheets.

6. Bake dough balls in preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes, or until cookies are just beginning to brown around the bottom edges. Do not over bake.

7. Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes. Spoon the powdered sugar into a sifter and dust the cookies with powdered sugar while they are still warm. Let cookies cool completely, then dust them again with powdered sugar. Serve.

Royal Icing For Decorating

Royal icing is a timeless classic. Its smooth, satiny (sometimes glossy) finish adds an elegant look to your baked goods. It can also be worked through a small piping tool, to make fine detailed lines. It is best to keep it tightly covered in a container, or sealed in a piping bag, when you are not directly working with it, as it tends to dry up fast. 

Also, remember there are 2 consistencies when working with royal icing-- "piping" consistency, and "flooding" consistency. The difference is how much water you use. Less water makes a thicker icing for piping. While more water makes a thinner icing for flooding. 

"Piping" is of course for piping lines. This can either be done on the outer edge, or in the middle. 

While "flooding" is used to fill in or flood an entire surface area with a glossy, smooth layer of icing. You most often see this technique being used to decorate holiday or special occasion cookies. It is also used on cakes and other goods. Some people will only use one technique, or the other. But quite often, you will see both techniques being used on the same baked good. 

 

NOTE: Lining the edges with some piping, is a great way to contain the flow and keep a clean look while flooding, as it creates a barrier. 

Of course, you can also add food coloring for different colors! I strongly recommend "gel" food coloring, because it is more concentrated and it ads less water. Thus there is less impact on the consistency of your icing. 

With that being said-- let's get to the recipe, so you can start decorating!

Royal Icing For Decorating

Ingredients:

2 egg whites

1 lb powdered sugar (454g)

¼ tsp cream of tartar (1g)

1 tsp vanilla (5ml)

2-4 tbsp water (10-20ml) -- less for piping, more for flooding

Directions:

1. Sift powdered sugar into the bowl of a kitchen mixer (you can also use a large bowl with a hand mixer). Add cream of tartar. Blend well a low mixing speed.

2. Add the egg whites, one at a time, while continuing to blend. Add vanilla and enough water to reach desired consistency. If you want it thicker for piping lines, use less water. If you want it thinner for “flooding”, use more water. Decorate as desired.

Melissa's Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread cookies are a favorite during Fall and Winter holidays! But who says you can't have them whenever you want? 

This recipe makes about 24 cookies, using a standard-size gingerbread cookie cutter. You can also use smaller cookies cutters, or do lots of different shapes like Christmas trees, candy canes, snowflakes, etc. 

The decreased flour and the use of brown sugar make for a more chewy cookie. I like to separate the recipe into multiple portions (3 equal portions if you want each to make 8 cookies-- 4 equal portions if you want each to make 6 cookies).  This way, I can bake only one portion. Just enough for a small treat! Then freeze the others for another day. 

Sure, you can buy this dough in the store. But let's be honest... You really only see it during Christmas time. Also, many times when you go looking for it, the store either doesn't have it in yet, or they are out (because people tend to hoard gingerbread dough). But if you know how to make it, you can simply whip up a bunch and freeze it for whenever you need it! Then its just as convenient as the store-bought kind, only it tastes better. 

Melissa's Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:

4 cups all purpose flour (544g)

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1.5 tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp salt

12 tbsp (1 ½ stocks) unsalted butter (170g)

1 cup packed brown sugar (220g)

1 large egg

¾ cup molasses (255g)

½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a medium size bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Set aside. 

2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until well combined. 

3. To the butter/sugar mixture, add the egg, molasses and vanilla. Blend very well. 

** Pro Tip: If you rub a thin layer of cooking oil all over the inside of the measuring container, the molasses will pour out and release from the container much more easily. Don't worry, this won't mess up your recipe, it is too small an amount of oil. 

You may notice that the mixture will begin to separate, looking gritty and clumpy. This is fine, and completely normal. It is just the sugar dissolving and separating from the butter fats and the egg. 

4. Remove about 1/3 to ½ cup of your flour/spice mixture and set aside to use later for rolling out the dough. 

Add the remaining flour/spice mixture to your wet ingredients, mixing only half in at a time. Blend well. 

5. Divide dough into 3 portions. Each portion will make about 8 gingerbread men (do 4 portions if you want each to make 6 gingerbread men). Place dough portions on sheets of plastic wrap and flatten them a bit. Wrap them tightly and place in the refrigerator to cool for 3 hours. This will make them easier and less sticky to roll.

6. Coat your rolling surface lightly with some of the flour you saved. You can also coat your rolling pin. Unwrap a portion of the dough and place on the rolling surface. Roll dough out so it is about ¼ inch thick. 

7. Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes of cookies. Release the dough from the cookie cutter. Peel away the excess dough from outer edges of the cookie shape and carefully place cookie shape onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat until the entire portion of dough is used up, re-rolling the scraps to cut more. If dough becomes too sticky, place in the freezer a few minutes. If I have a small dough ball left over, I usually roll it into a ball and flatten it slightly, and that will serve as my one round cookie, that I can eat fresh from the oven! 

8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C).

9. While oven heats, place the baking sheet with cookie shapes in the freezer for 10 minutes. This helps the cookies hold their shape better in the oven. 

10. Remove baking tray from freezer. Bake cookies at 350 degrees F. for 7 to 10 minutes, depending how hot your oven bakes. Be aware, smaller sized cookies may only need 5 minutes. Check them early! Allow cookies to cool, then decorate and enjoy!  

TIP: You can eat these cookies as they are. Or you can decorate them with Royal Icing in a piping bag. 

Click Here For My Royal Icing Recipe

If you are not big on cookie decorating, a light dusting of powdered sugar adds a festive look. Also, in our family, we often just spread some of Mom's Buttercream Frosting over the top. 

Click Here For Mom's Butter Cream Frosting Recipe: