Coco in the Kitchen

Treats for the whole family!

Snowball Cookies (Italian Wedding Cookies)

| butter, nuts, old fashioned, sugar

Sleigh bells ring
Are you listening
In the lane
Snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
We’re happy tonight
Walking in a winter wonderland

Gone away, is the bluebird
Here to stay, is a new bird
He sings a love song,
While we go along
Walking in a winter wonderland

Winter Wonderland is such a sweet song, a throwback to a time when life was more simple in many ways. There were no dishwashers, touchscreens or iTunes and no such thing as personal digital valets (you know, Siri). But, there was plenty of quality time with friends and family – gatherings around the fire, storytelling and singing. Kids played in the streets, kicking a ball around or getting into snowball fights. Since it does not snow where we live, I decided to come up with my own rendition of Winter Wonderland at home with my little blue-eyed beauty.

We Armenians call them Ghurabia, while in Greece, they are known as Kourabiedes. Then, Mexicans and Italians alike simply call them Wedding Cookies. Tea cakes in Russia translate into Snowballs here in the West. Fabled to be from the Middle Ages, the same basic recipe popped up in so many different places on the global map that it had to be really good. Word travels fast when you are a foodie with a raging sweet-tooth.

Whatever you call them, the combination of butter, nuts and sugar proves impossible to resist. Their cute round shape and final flocking with powdered sugar are what make them look like adorable bite-sized snowballs. Whether the eggs were left out accidentally or intentionally isn’t clear, but either way, it is a brilliant exclusion because these sweeties have a decent shelf-life, that is if any stay in the cookie jar long enough for it to matter.

Do not even think about using margarine or shortening, unless you are strictly vegan. Butter is better for you. Whether you want to hear it or not, you are an animal and as such, you are not build to process stuff that comes from a laboratory. Can’t pronounce it? Don’t eat it! If you absolutely must cut calories, drop the burger and grab a bowl of soup, but, never skip dessert. Life is short and not worth living without something sweet like homemade Snowballs. Mine take an interesting turn with fresh lemon zest and fragrant tea leaves folded into the batter.
Now is that wonderful time of year when I am looking for any excuse to convince Daisy to put on her apron and bake something sugar and spice and everything nice with me. Mildly sweet, crumbly little nuggets of nutty goodness, Snowball cookiess are so yummy, you will pardon the imperfections in their figures.
Whether you use walnuts, pecans, pistachios or almonds, they promise to taste terrific and since there is no egg in the mix,  they keep for nearly 2 weeks in an airtight container and freeze beautifully. Just revive them with a fresh dusting of confectioner’s sugar after they thaw.
Based on an Italian recipe just-a like-a Mama used to make, mine is very easy and great to make with the kids. Rolling the dough may be almost as much fun as eating the cookies fresh out of the oven.
Snowball Cookies
Adapted from Rocco DiSpirito
Makes about 6 dozen 1-inch balls

Ingredients
3 sticks butter, at room temp.
3/4 cup powdered sugar + extra for dusting
1 lemon, zest only
1 tsp Earl Grey tea leaves
pinch salt
1 1/2 cups ground almonds
2 vanilla beans or 4 tsp extract
3 cups flour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350*F.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Beat butter until creamy, then slowly incorporate the sugar.
Add the zest, tea, salt, almonds and vanilla. 
Mix until light and fluffy.
Slowly add the flour and mix just until it disappears into the batter.
Shape teaspoons of the dough into balls and arrange about 1-inch apart
on the baking sheet.
Transfer to the warm oven and bake 15-20 minutes. Do not allow the cookies to brown.
Allow the cookies to cook a minute or two before tossing them into confectioner’s sugar.
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or freeze until ready to serve.
It’s been a long time since I have seen snow. Daisy was a giggly little two-year-old, sliding down the snowy hill with Shawn over and over and over again. Time slips by so quickly. One day, she will be old enough to pack her bags and run off to study Italian in Florence. I just want to stop the clock and savor every moment with her. Luckily, a big rainstorm finally came to town and holiday cheer is in the air. Snowball cookies are in order. The fact that they are so well-traveled attests to their popularity. Rolling a big batch with my little sweetheart was so much fun. I can’t wait to bake more of them, but the best part are the memories in the kitchen that will last long after the cookies are gone.

Comments

  3. Oh Colette, these are the yummiest! They definitely bring back memories of my mom making them during the holidays! I'll have to try your recipe this Christmas, I've never made them with tea leaves and lemon zest! And yes, if I was your neighbor I would not skip dessert, but I would have to be attached to my trusty, Lose It! app. to keep the pounds away! Happy Friday my dear friend!!!

  4. They look lovely and I have to try them.
    Just thinking about days that we didn't have Facebook, Instagram, and the iphones…life was so much better…yet if it wasn't for all the technology I would have not met you xoxo

  6. I was just thinking “Whatever happened to Rocco?” He used to be EVERYWHERE. This is just beautiful. I would love to be feasting on a snowstorm of these beauties.

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