Old Fashioned Snowball Cookies Recipes

SNOWBALL COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F.
• Process pecans in food processor until finely chopped. Transfer chopped pecans to bowl; stir in flour and salt. Set aside.
• Cream butter and granulated sugar in medium bowl 2 minutes or until fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low; add nut mixture. Beat just until dough is combined.
• Working with 1 tablespoon dough, shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place, 1 inch apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 16-18 minutes or until very lightly browned. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet 5 minutes; transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
• Place powdered sugar into shallow bowl; roll cooled cookies in sugar to coat. Store in airtight container. If necessary, re-roll cookies in powdered sugar before serving.

THE PERFECT NEWFOUNDLAND SNOWBALLS RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and milk. This mixture will foam up while boiling so a larger pot is recommended.)
• Boil together gently over medium heat for 5-6 minutes or until mixture reaches about 225 -230 degrees F on a candy thermometer. (The 5 to 6 minutes cooking time is usually quite accurate for me but don't start timing it until the mixture is fully at a rolling boil and don't stir the mixture while it boils.) For the record, my latest batch took exactly 6 minutes at a rolling boil and it was perfect.
• Mix together the oats, 1 cup coconut and cocoa.
• Add the boiled mixture to the dry ingredients until well combined and chill well in the fridge, until mixture is able to be shaped into 1 1/2 inch balls. The mixture will be quite soft and sloppy while it is still hot. It will not firm up until it is very well chilled.
• In updating this recipe I prepared a batch and let it cool down to almost room temperature before covering the bowl and refrigerating overnight. The next day, as can be seen in one of the photos above, the mixture was very easy to scoop and roll into balls.
• Roll the balls in additional coconut.
• Makes about 4 dozen. These should ALWAYS be stored in the fridge to maintain the soft yet slightly chewy texture. They tend to be too soft at room temperature.
• These freeze very well (my kids eat them frozen all the time, just like my siblings and I did as kids)

RUSSIAN TEA CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together butter, vanilla, almond flavoring and sugar.
• In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix to combine. It will look crumbly at first, but keep mixing until it comes together in a thick dough. Mix in walnuts.
• Shape dough into balls (about the size of golf balls). Place about 1 inch apart on parchment or silicone-lined baking sheets.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes, or just until set and firm to the touch (but not browned). Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes, then roll the warm cookies in powdered sugar. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Once cool, roll the cookies in powdered sugar again.

GRANDMA MINECCI'S SNOWBALL COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Beat shortening, butter, and white sugar together in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy; add eggs and vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Sift flour and salt into creamed butter mixture and stir just until dough is combined; fold in pecans. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and arrange on a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Cool cookies slightly and roll in confectioners' sugar. Cool cookies completely and roll again in confectioners' sugar.