Candy Cane Snowballs Food

CANDY CANE SNOWBALL COOKIES

Steps:

• With an electric mixer, beat the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the flour and salt, then the nuts until evenly blended. Divide the dough in half, form each half into a disk, then wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat. With a cookie scoop or spoon, portion the dough and roll into 1-inch balls. Place the balls 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cookies are just set but not yet brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely (if you would like to roll some of the cookies in powdered sugar to make a traditional version of snowball cookies without the chocolate and peppermint, do so now while the cookies are still warm. Leave any cookies you'd like to top with chocolate plain and let cool.)
• In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the white chocolate. Ensure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water and that the water doesn't bowl. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate in the microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring between each and watching carefully so that the chocolate doesn't burn. When the chocolate is nearly melted, remove it from the heat (or microwave) and stir until smooth.
• Dip the tops of the cookies into the white chocolate, then immediately sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies while the chocolate is still wet. Transfer to a plate to let the chocolate set. Enjoy!

CANDY CANE SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Gradually beat in flour. Stir in pecans. Refrigerate, covered, until firm enough to shape, 3-4 hours., Preheat oven to 350°. Shape dough into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets., Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely. , Dip tops of cookies into candy coating, allowing excess to drip off; dip into crushed candies. Let stand until set.

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.

WHITE PEPPERMINT SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cut the cookie dough into 8 pieces. In bowl of electric mixer, on medium speed thoroughly combine the dough pieces, peppermint extract, 1/3 cup crushed peppermint candies, and 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar.
• Roll the dough into 1-inch diameter balls. Arrange, 2 inches apart, on parchment lined cookie sheets and bake until set, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on cooling racks.
• Add 1/2 cup of the remaining powdered sugar to a small bowl. While the cookies are still warm, roll them in the sugar. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies and serve.
• As the cookies cool, they will flatten slightly.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cut the roll of cookie dough in half. Put the halves in separate large mixing bowls. In 1 bowl, thoroughly mix 1/4 cup of the flour and the peppermint extract into cookie dough. In the second bowl, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour and enough food coloring to make a red dough. Mix well with gloved hands until the color is well blended.
• Divide the white and red dough into 24 pieces each, (for a total of 48 pieces). Roll each piece into a rope 8 inches long and about 1/4-inch in diameter.
• To shape candy canes, arrange 1 rope of each color side by side on parchment lined cookie sheets. Gently twist together and shape into a candy cane. Repeat with the remaining pieces, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are very lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest, about 5 minutes, before transferring the cookies to racks. Gently remove them from the cookie sheets with a long metal spatula and cool on cooling racks.

CANDY CANE SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar. Stir in vanilla. Gradually add flour. Stir in pecans. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until easy to handle. Roll into 1-inch balls. Place 2-in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 F. for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip the top of each cookie into the candy coating, then into the peppermint candy.

DIRTY SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Combine cream cheese and cookie crumbs. I use my hands for this. Mess, but easier than trying to use a spoon.
• Let mixture cool in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Roll mixture into bite size balls and freeze for one hour.
• Melt almond bark in a double boiler.
• Dip frozen balls into almond bark and place on wax paper lined cookie sheet. Freeze until bark is hardened.