Snowy Day Cookies

On Wednesday I shared my Snowy Day table setting, an easy switchover from the simple Valentine's Day setting of a couple of days prior. On that table sat a plate of aptly named “Snowy Day Cookies.”  Some of you may have recognized them as a popular holiday cookie that goes by various names from Snowballs to Pecan Balls to Mexican Wedding Cakes and/or Mexican Wedding Cookies. Others of you may have said to yourselves, “Is she thawing out some old cookies from Christmas?”  Even the notion!  No. They were fresh, and with a fresh spin. This is a cookie that I love. This is a cookie that should be enjoyed year round. This is a cookie that, because of its simplicity, can be tweaked a bit to give it an entirely different taste. I was in a tweaking mood, so I gave mine a tiny bit of extra flavor with a pinch of espresso powder and a bit of cinnamon. They were positively addicting. That stack of cookies went down throughout the day, but no one would admit to eating any. I did see powdered sugar trails, however, and was able to easily identify the culprit. Time to make more!

Snowy Day Cookies

1 cup butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cups finely chopped pecans

Confectioners' sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Cream butter and granulated sugar. Gently mix in flour, cinnamon, espresso powder, and pecans.  Form into balls about 1" to 1-1/2" in diameter, and place on ungreased cookie sheets spacing about 2" apart.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to stand for 2-3 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet and roll each ball in powdered sugar while still hot, and then a second time when cool.  Makes about 2 dozen.

This post is linked to:

Create It Thursday

Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday

Friday Finds

Malted Milk Snowball Cookies

 How is everybody doing this morning?  For those of you who labored over Thanksgiving dinner, are you among the living today, or are you going to, like me, take the day off?  I suggest that you do, and then take a deep breath, and break out the baking supplies, because cookie baking season has officially begun!

I'm going to start off with a new twist on an old favorite. I think, hands down, the Snowball Cookie (a.k.a. Pecan Balls and Mexican Wedding Cakes) is my favorite. This is always the first cookie to make it's departure from the cookie tray, so I try to make a double batch. They are a bit labor intensive considering the initial rolling into balls, and then the double rolling in confectioners' sugar to ensure a thick coating. I like to make my recipe slightly different from the norm by adding a touch of malt powder. You can use either chocolate malt powder or vanilla malt power, but my preference is the latter. The flavor is not overt; it just gives it a little something extra that makes people say, “Mmmmmm.”

Malted Milk Snowball Cookies

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup vanilla malt powder 2 cups finely chopped pecans 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup butter, softened Powdered sugar for rolling Heat oven to 325°F. In the work bowl of a stand mixer combine butter and granulated sugar. Beat until well combined, 1-2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients except powdered sugar. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until well mixed. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 18-25 minutes or until very lightly browned. Cool 5 minutes; roll in powdered sugar while still warm and again when cool. This post is linked to: Show and Tell Friday  Friday Unfolded Fridays Flash Blog Simple and Sweet Fridays Foodie Friday