My Mother’s Secret to Perfecting Snowball Cookies

My mom, the queen of Christmas cookies (even years after her loss of life), made dozens and dozens of sorts every year. To get forward of Christmas, most individuals purchased electronics on Black Friday; My mom, alternatively, purchased butter, sugar and nuts. A few of my earliest cookie recollections had been their Christmas snow globes. Buttery, nutty, and melt-in-your-mouth tender, they had been scrumptious! What actually intrigued me was the creamy, sugary frosting hidden beneath the layer of powdered sugar that gave them their identify. It appeared inexplicable how every cookie was frosted neatly and evenly, that’s, till my mother shared the key. He rolled the recent cookies in powdered sugar, which melted right into a glaze from the residual warmth. Then, to get that basic snowball look, she rolled them once more after they had been chilly. Theirs had been fairly spectacular, in order that was an inexpensive place to begin for me to dig deeper.

What I favored about theirs was the buttery, almondy taste and the creamy frosting. What I wished to enhance was texture, and I approached it in three particular methods: baking time, dough dealing with, and substances.

Strive totally different strategies

Concerning baking time, Mother’s recipe (and several other others I cross-referenced with) suggested towards baking an excessive amount of, saying quarter-hour was sufficient. The feel at that time was a bit doughy and lacked crunch, so I elevated it to 22 minutes, which was a step in the fitting course, however not lengthy sufficient to work.

As for the dough, I assumed the cookies would unfold and flatten in the event that they had been too gentle. I chilled the dough after mixing it, however discovered that this made it brittle and tough to type into balls; They crumbled in my palms. So I took stage spoonfuls of the softened dough, gently rolled them into balls, and froze them for 10 minutes earlier than baking. It helped management the unfold.

I additionally tried utilizing a scoop-sized scoop of ice cream (inherited from my mother) with out rolling, pondering that rolling would compact the dough and make the cookies dense and laborious, but it surely turned out that it did not considerably have an effect on the feel. I saved the rolling step to offer the cookies a prettier form.

kinds of nuts

As for the substances, particularly the nuts, the unique recipe known as for uncooked almonds, which I discovered made the cookies a bit gummy. So I toasted the almonds, which not solely enhanced the flavour but additionally added a pleasant crunch. Roasting evaporated among the water, permitting the fats to crunch the nuts, however the texture was nonetheless dense and doughy.

Subsequent take a look at: I used a fattier nut, one with the next fat-to-protein ratio, pondering that the additional fats (and fewer water) within the nuts would make the cookies mild and crunchy. I additionally toasted the nuts for a contact of nutty taste. They had been scrumptious and fewer doughy, however since almonds are conventional, I nonetheless wished to discover a technique to make them work. (I’ve used almonds right here, however you need to use pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts—roasted, after all!)

Enhancing texture and taste

Remembering my traditional recipe for dense, doughy gingerbread males (and different cookies, truffles, fast breads and biscuits), I added a bit baking soda. It supplies lightness and freshness, which is strictly what I wished in these cookies. Half a teaspoon was sufficient to offer them a bit taste and a few lightness, with out altering the character of those basic cookies (the baking powder would have made them soggy). Texture solved!

Lastly I added a pinch of salt. It could appear fussy, however including a bit salt provides steadiness and leaves a bit sting of curiosity on the tongue. It is what I at all times search for in one thing candy.

My mother might posthumously stay the Christmas cookie queen, however possibly I am going to take into account making a run for the crown sometime.

December 2015

Cooking mode
(Hold display screen lively)