Sandys Snowballs Food

EASY CHRISTMAS PECAN BALLS

Steps:

• Put all ingredients except powdered sugar into a large bowl.
• Mix thoroughly by hand, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350° F. Roll cookies by hand into 1-inch balls.
• Place on ungreased or parchment-lined cookie sheet an inch apart.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until set but not brown.
• Let stand on cookie sheet about 2 minutes, then gently roll each one gently in powdered sugar. Let cookies cool.
• Once they cool (15-20 minutes), roll again (gently) in powdered sugar. Store loosely covered.

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.

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.

SWEET SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Meanwhile, crush the biscuits and Maltesers in a large bowl with a rolling pin.
• Add mini marshmallows, dried cranberries and cake crumbs, then the chocolate and golden syrup. Mix well. Tip desiccated coconut onto a plate. Drop large spoonfuls of mixture onto the plate, then roll them around, coating in coconut and shaping into balls. Place on a baking tray and chill for 30 mins before serving. Sprinkle with edible glitter if you like.

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.

SANDY'S SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Cream butter until smooth and creamy, using an electric mixer.
• Using a wooden spoon, stir in cake flour,vanilla, egg,& salt until mixed well (using an electric at this point could make the dough too tough).
• Stir in the ground nuts.
• Shape into 30 small balls and bake on parchment lined baking sheets at 350 F for 10 minutes (they will appear to be sitting in puddles of melted butter as they bake - this is normal), then rotate your trays in the oven and continue baking another 5-10 minutes, or until they just start to turn golden.
• Roll in powdered sugar while hot.
• Let cool.
• When cool, roll again in more powdered sugar to coat.
• Store in wax paper lined cookie tins.