Snowball Food

CREAMY COCONUT SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Line a 9x5-in. loaf pan with foil. Grease foil with 1/2 teaspoon butter; set aside. Pulse 3/4 cup coconut in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add cream cheese and remaining butter; pulse until blended. Gradually add confectioners' sugar; pulse until blended. Press into prepared pan. Refrigerate, covered, at least 3 hours. , Microwave candy coating and shortening until melted; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Using foil, lift coconut mixture out of pan. Gently peel off foil; cut into 36 pieces. Taking a few pieces at a time, roll each into a ball; keep remaining pieces refrigerated., Using a toothpick, dip balls one at a time in melted coating mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Roll in remaining coconut; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until set. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.

SNOWBALL

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside. , In a large saucepan, combine the butter, milk, cocoa and vanilla. Cook and stir over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat; stir in cracker crumbs and 1-1/2 cups coconut. Let stand until cool enough to handle., Using moistened hands, wrap about 1 tablespoon of mixture around each marshmallow (dip hands in water often to prevent sticking). Roll in remaining coconut; place on prepared baking sheet. Cover and freeze until firm. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer. May be frozen for up to 2 months.

SNOWBALL CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Prepare cake batter, in 2-1/2-qt. ovenproof bowl, as directed on package; scrape side of bowl. Beat cream cheese, egg and granulated sugar until well blended; spoon into center of batter in bowl.
• Bake 1 hour 5 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in bowl 10 min. Loosen cake from bowl with knife; invert onto wire rack. Remove bowl. Cool cake completely.
• Meanwhile, beat dry pudding mix, powdered sugar and milk in medium bowl with whisk 2 min. Stir in COOL WHIP. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Place cake on plate; frost with pudding mixture. Cover with coconut. Keep refrigerated.

ALMOND SNOWBALL COOKIES

Steps:

• Pulse the almonds and sugar in a food processor until very finely ground. Add the butter and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape the dough off the inside of the bowl, if needed. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and pulse to combine. Add the flour and salt and pulse to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a large piece of waxed paper and roll into a log about 15 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Cut the chilled dough into 1/2-inch pieces and roll by hand into balls. Space the cookies evenly on the prepared baking sheets and bake until slightly golden, rotating the sheets once, 15 to 20 minutes. Put the confectioners' sugar in a pie plate. Briefly cool the cookies on a rack, then gently toss in the confectioners' sugar until evenly coated. Return to rack, cool to room temperature, and then toss again in the confectioners' sugar.

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.