Best Toasted Almond Snowballs Recipes

ALMOND SNOWBALL COOKIES RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a 3/4 size cookie sheet or 2 regular cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, cream together 1/2 lb butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla, until smooth.
• Switch to paddle attachment and gradually mix in 2 cups all purpose flour and 1/2 tsp salt. Once incorporated, add 1 cup almond meal and 1/2 Tbsp orange zest and mix until well blended. The dough will stick slightly to the spatula but not to finger tips. If very sticky, add 1-2 Tbsp more flour.
• Shape dough into 1-inch balls (a small ice cream scoop makes it easy and exact). Place them on prepared baking sheet 1 inch apart. You should get 38-40 cookies. Don't make them too large or they won't bake through properly. Bake 11-13 min, or until bottoms are golden and edges are barely golden (I bake 11 min for softer cookies). Remove from baking sheet and cool 5 min.
• Fill a bowl with powdered sugar and roll the cookies in it while they are still warm (not hot). Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.
• Once cookies are at room temp, roll in powdered sugar again or dust the tops with a mini sieve for a snowy look.

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.

ALMOND SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Bake almonds in a single layer in a shallow pan 6 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Cool completely (about 20 minutes). Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
• Process almonds in a food processor 30 seconds or until finely ground.
• Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add vanilla and 1 cup powdered sugar, beating well. (Dough will be crumbly.)
• Combine flour, salt, and almonds; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended.
• Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls, and place 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
• Bake at 325° for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 2 minutes. Transfer to wire racks, and cool 10 minutes. Roll cookies in 1/2 cup powdered sugar.

ALMOND SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and salt to soft peaks, then add sugar and beat again until peaks are stiff. Beat in almond flavoring. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in half of the coconut. Sprinkle in the nutmeg and flour, stir, then fold in the remaining coconut.
• Using a melon baller or other small scoop, or working with 2 spoons, form 9 "snowballs" a couple of inches apart on each of 2 cookie sheets. Bake snowballs 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove from oven and garnish each snowball with half a cherry and a couple of slivered almonds. Transfer to a rack or serving plate to cool.

SUMMER SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• With an ice-cream scoop, form ice cream into 8 balls, dipping scoop in hot water as you work and dropping balls onto prepared dish. (To prepare the dish, tightly cover a baking dish with plastic wrap, stretching it over the top; this will prevent the snowballs from flattening on the bottom.) Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
• One at a time, remove balls from freezer, roll in desired coating (1 1/2 cups total), and return to freezer. Freeze until set, at least 10 minutes, before serving.
• TOFFEE CHIPS: Use toffee chips straight from the bag, or crush up your favorite candies.
• TOASTED COCONUTS: Spread sweetened shredded coconut on a rimmed baking sheet; bake at 350 degrees, tossing occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
• TOASTED ALMONDS: Spread sliced almonds on a rimmed baking sheet; bake at 350 degrees, tossing occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.