Stirring it up! Special baked goods play a key role in many of the winter holidays whether it be Christmas, Chanukka, Pancha Ganapati, Kwanzaa, Chinese New Year or any number of others celebrations. Here’s a yummy recipe for cookies to help us encourage winter, Pecan Snowballs.
2 c. pecans
1 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. icing sugar
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2t. vanilla
1 c. icing sugar (for rolling cookies in)
On a baking sheet, bake the pecans at 350° for 7 to 9 minutes, or until fragrant, stirring once. Let cool then chop finely and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter with sugar until smooth.
Beat in vanilla.
With a wooden spoon, stir in flour, salt and pecans using your (clean!) hands to finish the mixing and to form the dough into a mound.
Wrap in plastic wrap, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Form dough into 1 inch balls and place 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake at 325° for 18 – 20 minutes or until lightly golden.
Remove to racks and let cool for 5 minutes.
Using the 1 cup of icing sugar, roll baked cookie balls in icing sugar then return to rack to cool completely.
Roll once again in icing sugar.
Snowballs can be stored in an airtight container for up to one week or frozen for up to 3 months.
Makes about 40.
Dishing it out! My first Christmas in Texas, my friend Jacquie invited me to a cookie exchange at her home. While I can’t remember the exact number of guests, I believe were each to make 5 dozen cookies of the same recipe, bring them festively wrapped in groups of four, along with 12 copies of our recipe and a cookie tin for our own collection of cookies. One dozen of the cookies were for refreshments at the party, the others were for sharing, 4 of each variety went into our tins. We visited over glasses of wine and plates of cookies – what a wonderful variety of delights for so little work!. I’m not sure how Jacquie managed to organize it, but after several years there were, I think, upwards of 30 ladies at the cookie exchange. No, we didn’t have to make 30 dozen cookies – Jacquie did some mathematical magic and we each went home with a super selection of our friends’ baking. Thanks, Jacquie, for your recipe for Pecan Snowballs.
