Snowball Cookies

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: cookie week on the blog! Last year I did my first ever cookie week and it was a huge hit, both for all of you and for the taste testers I had help me sample dozens of cookies. This year, cookie week may be even better. We are kicking it off with my take on a Christmas classic: snowball cookies. Many snowball cookies have nuts in them, but I’m keeping them nut free and using almond extract for a unique twist. This also makes the cookies allergy friendly because you can leave the almond extract out or add extra vanilla extract for anyone with nut allergies!

This week I have six new recipes coming to the blog and they are all my new favorites. These snowball cookies are the perfect addition to your cookie box not only because they not only taste delicious, they’re so pretty in your holiday cookie boxes! Once thing I love about these cookies is how buttery they are, almost like a shortbread. I also love that they aren’t overly sweet. Don’t get me wrong, I love a rich, sugary, chocolatey cookie, but these really add some balance to the richer cookies.

These easy snowball cookies use ingredients that are standard in any baker’s pantry, but I understand that some of you are new to baking and want to know what you need! Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this cookie recipe:

Cookie Week Ingredients 

• Flour: always use unbleached all-purpose flour unless the recipe calls for it otherwise. Other recipe developers may have a different preference, but for me, that’s what you need.  The other flours that some of my recipes will use this week are almond flour or oat flour. For almond flour and oat flour, I almost always use Bob’s Red Mill Brand. For all-purpose flour I buy a generic store brand since I use so much of it and it’s cheaper!
• Eggs: use standard large eggs. When baking, it’s important that you use eggs that are at room temperature. Typically when you make cookies your butter is easily softened (at room temperature) or melted. Either way, adding cold eggs to warm or room temperature butter will cause the butter particles to reharden and the fluffiness you’ve gotten from creaming together butter and sugar will be gone!
• Baking powder and baking soda: these ingredients may both be leavening agents, but they are not interchangeable. Baking soda is purely made of sodium bicarbonate and needs another acidic component to be activated. Baking powder has the acidic component already in it. You don’t need to know all the science behind it, just know that they are not interchangeable and pick the right one!
• Butter: I always use unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt in the recipe. When it’s the holiday season I keep sticks of butter on the counter so they are softened and ready whenever I need them. Some recipes call for melted or browned butter, which you can do from cold. But if you’re making lots of cookies, I recommend just keeping butter on the counter so it’s ready when you need it!
• Vanilla, almond, and peppermint extracts: Personally, I don’t have a favorite brand. I do recommend that you use pure extracts in your baking for the best flavor.
• Sugars: the sugars my recipes will use are granulated sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, turbinado sugar (or Sugar in the Raw), and coconut sugar. Coconut sugar and brown sugar can sometimes be used interchangeably, but otherwise it’s important to use the sugars required. All of these sugars are readily available at most grocery stores. If you’re using brown sugar, I like using dark brown sugar for extra flavor.
• Salt: I use regular Morton iodized salt in all my recipes, unless the recipe calls for flakey sea salt for topping. In that case, I use Maldon sea salt flakes, which are available online and I highly recommend having on hand.
• Peanut Butter: One of the recipes in this year’s cookie week uses peanut butter. It is important to use natural peanut butter where the only ingredients are peanuts and salt. Extra oils and sugars will change the consistency of your cookies.
• Maple Syrup: One recipe uses maple syrup and it is important to use pure maple syrup. Imitation syrups are usually made from corn syrup which will change the consistency of your baked goods. Honey can usually be uses as a substitute for pure maple syrup, but you will lose that delicious maple flavor.
• Chocolate Chips: Several cookies use melted chocolate, and you can use the brand that you prefer. A higher quality chocolate will give you a better flavor, but you can use a more inexpensive chocolate and still get delicious cookies.
• Cream Cheese: Two of these recipes use cream cheese. Use a regular brick of cream cheese, not a whipped cream cheese spread. Bricks of cream cheese have ounce markings on the packaging, making it easy to cut off what you need. All recipes that use cream cheese require it to be softened/at room temperature.

Cookie Week Kitchen Staples:

• Mixing bowls: Some recipes require you to mix the wet and dry ingredients separately. Use whatever size works for you!
• Stand mixer or hand mixer: I love my stand mixer and it’s truly a workhorse this time of year. But if you don’t have one or don’t bake often, a hand mixer and large bowl will also work. In a pinch and with a lot of elbow grease, you can cream together butter and sugar by hand with a wooden spoon and a large bowl.
• Measuring cups and spoons: Most people have these on hand, but know that it is important to measure your ingredients when baking and not guess (which you can sometimes get away with while cooking).
• Baking sheets: I use Nordic Ware brand rimmed baking sheets, but any rimmed baking sheet should work. Keep an eye on your cookies as they near the end of their baking time because different materials can slightly alter the cook time of the cookies.
• Parchment paper: Every one of my recipes will require you to line the baking sheets with parchment paper. Wax paper or foil will not work as a substitute.
• Cooling racks: These aren’t completely mandatory, you can always let your cookies cool on the sheet, but they are nice to have!
• Double boiler or DIY equivalent: A double boiler is a system that has two saucepans that stack on top of each other. You can boil water in the bottom portion and melt chocolate in the top portion without burning it. I don’t have a double boiler, and a great DIY version is to take a saucepan and put a heatproof bowl (metal or ceramic) over the saucepan filled with water. Make sure the bowl on top does not touch the water, and use an oven mitt while touching the top bowl and mixing the chocolate.

Cookie week is off to a delicious start with these snowball cookies! Check back tomorrow for another brand new recipe!

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