Snowball Cookies

By: Robin Asbell

Recipe Information
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 30 (60 cookies)

It’s cold outside, so warm up the oven and settle in with a classic recipe - snowball cookies, just like grandma used to make. With vanilla on sale now at the Co-op, it’s a great time to stock up on ingredients for this beloved traditional cookie.

Ingredients

• 1 cup walnuts or pecans

• 1/2 pound butter, softened

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons vanilla

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

• 2 cups unbleached flour

• powdered sugar for coating, about half a cup

Preparation

Toast the nuts on a sheet pan for 10 minutes at 350⁰F, then move to a rack to cool completely. Use a food processor to grind to a fine mince, being careful not to over-process into nut butter. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper and reserve.In a stand mixer, or a bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter, salt, vanilla and powdered sugar until very fluffy. Add the nuts and mix, then sift the flour over the top and stir in. Form 1-inch balls of dough and place on prepared sheet pans. Bake in the 350⁰F oven for 12-15 minutes, switching the position of the pans between upper and lower oven racks halfway through.Cool on racks on pans until the cookies are firm enough to transfer to racks to cool. When cooled completely, roll in powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Tips & Notes

For a chocolate version, substitute 1/2 cup cocoa for 1/2 cup of the flour and proceed.

Double Eggnog Spiced Sugar Cookies

This post combines two recipes by Organic Valley and Simply Organic

Recipe information
Total Time: 20 to 30 minutes
Servings: Approximately 2 dozen cookies

This one’s for the eggnog lovers: quick-and-easy sugar cookies flavored with your favorite wintertime beverage. We’ve combined this with a recipe for eggnog frosting too - which is technically optional, but we say go ahead and treat yourself.

Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/2 cup salted butter, softened

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup eggnog

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a small mixing bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix butter and sugar until creamy, then add egg, vanilla and eggnog; mix well. When liquid mixture is combined, add the flour mixture and stir until well blended.

3. Roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut with cookie cutter. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Or roll dough into balls and slightly press on to an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8-12 minutes (depending on thickness) or until golden brown on the edges.

Frosting

Ingredients

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened

• 4 oz salted butter, softened

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup eggnog

• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preparation

Using an electric mixer or whisk, whip softened cream cheese and butter together. Whip in vanilla extract. Add half of the eggnog and powdered sugar and mix until blended. Slowly add the remaining eggnog and powdered sugar and mix until combined.