Thursday, December 9, 2010

Snowballs at You, Birbitt!


The aging process has you firmly in its grasp if you never get the urge to throw a snowball. ~Doug Larson

It seems that Birbitt and I share a favorite cookie (she called them by a fancier name), however she has yet to find a recipe that works for her.

I apologize, Birbitt, for taking so long to get this posted, I just have been Internet challenged lately. Here is the recipe for which you asked.

Snowballs

1 cup of butter (Use the real thing!)
½ cup of powdered sugar
1½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
½ teaspoon of almond extract
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans
up to 2 teaspoons of milk, if needed
powdered sugar to coat cookies

Preheat oven at 325°F. Beat butter, sugar, and flavorings together until fluffy. Add milk IF it is a dry day (as it tends to be in the winter). Stir in flour and then stir in pecans. Shape in 1-inch balls. Placed on an ungreased cookie sheet, parchment paper works even better. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the bottoms begin to turn a bit golden. Let them cool to just slightly warm before removing them from the pan. Then roll in powdered sugar. Allow them to cool completely and roll them in powdered sugar again.

Personally, I never have added the milk. I have found that softer butter tends to cause the cookie to flatten more and finish baking darker, but I was using granulated sugar then. Recently I have found that powdered sugar works more predictably in keeping the round shape and light color, but they may be a bit more on the dry side.

I have made these cookies every Christmas for years and they are always a favorite when I give them away. I like to make them because they fit all on one sheet! I hope this recipe works for you, Birbitt.

~ My Lord, thank you for my friends and that I was finally able to fulfill a request. Please let my computer problems be behind me. ~