Chocolate Egg Snowball Food

CHOCOLATE SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips., Shape dough into 1-in. balls; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until set and bottoms are lightly browned, 15-20 minutes. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Roll warm cookies in confectioners' sugar. Cool completely on wire racks. If desired, reroll cookies in confectioners' sugar.

CHOCOLATE SNOWBALL COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add the egg, milk and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight. , Shape into 1-in. balls; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° until tops are crackled, 7-8 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Roll in confectioners' sugar.

CHOCOLATE-FILLED MERINGUE SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 250° F. Generously grease cookie sheets with shortening.
• In medium bowl, stir powdered sugar, cookie crumbs, pecans, chocolate chips, bourbon and corn syrup until well mixed. Shape 1/2 teaspoonfuls into balls; place on sheet of waxed paper. (If necessary, flour hands to shape balls.)
• In small bowl, beat egg whites with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Stir in vanilla.
• Drop balls 1 at a time into meringue. With spoon, coat well to form 1-inch balls; place on cookie sheets. Swirl top of meringue with spoon.
• Bake 30 minutes or until meringue snowballs are crisp. Immediately remove from cookie sheets.

CHOCOLATE SNOWBALL CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line 10-cup ovenproof glass bowl or 10-cup metal bowl smoothly with foil. Spray foil with nonstick spray. Combine dark rum and instant coffee in small bowl or ramekin; stir to dissolve coffee.
• Combine chocolate chips and butter in large bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water. Stir until chocolate and butter are melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water. Using electric mixer, beat in sugar, then coffee mixture. Beat until mixture cools to lukewarm, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Transfer batter to foil-lined bowl.
• Bake cake until top is cracked and dry and tester inserted into center comes out with some moist batter attached, about 1 hour 5 minutes. Cool cake in bowl on rack 15 minutes (center of cake will fall). Press edge of cake firmly to level with center of cake. Refrigerate cake uncovered until cold, at least 6 hours and up to 2 days.
• Invert bowl with cake onto platter, allowing cake to fall onto platter. Lift off bowl; peel off foil. Beat cream in large bowl until peaks form. Spread whipped cream all over cake, mounding cream in center. Cut into wedges and serve, or refrigerate up to 6 hours.

CHOCOLATE SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Melt the chocolate and shortening together over hot water, cool.
• Beat in the sugar until well blended. Add the vanilla.
• Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.
• Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder, and stir into the chocolate mixture.
• Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Cover the bowl and chill for several hours or overnight.
• Divide the mixture in the bowl into halves, then each half into three equal pieces. Each piece makes one dozen cookies. Roll one piece into a log and cut log in half, then each half in half. Cut each small piece into thirds and you will have 6 dozen equal sized cookies.
• Roll each piece into a ball.
• I always mix these up in November and freeze them raw. Just set the balls on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet and set them in the freezer until they are hard. Now put the frozen cookies into a zip lock bag or rigid storage container.
• Now the fun part. If the balls are frozen roll each ball between your palms for a few seconds. Roll each ball in sifted powder sugar to coat thoroughly. Place the balls 2 inches apart on baking paper or lightly greased foil.
• Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes. Check after 8 minutes, ovens vary quite a bit. The cookies will be very soft, but will become firm as they cool.

HOLIDAY CHOCOLATE SNOWBALL COOKIES

Steps:

• Set oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare a ungreased cookie sheet.
• In a bowl, combine butter and sugar, beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.
• Add the melted chocolate, egg, vanilla and milk; mix well.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
• Add to the creamed mixture, mix well.
• Mix in the nuts (if using).
• Chill the dough for 1-2 hours, or until firm enough to shape into 1-inch balls.
• Place balls about 2-inches apart on prepared cookie sheet.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes (8 minutes for softer/fudgier cookies), tops will be soft.
• Remove carefully from cookie sheet, roll immediately in icing sugar to thoroughly coat cookie.
• Cool on wire racks; then roll again in icing sugar.