Snowball Cookies

 

 

One of my favorite memories from growing up is making holiday cookies with my mom.  We made all kids of Christmas cookies, painted ones, sprinkle ones...you name it. Now I just LOVE baking. And these little balls of butter, chocolate and pecans are a no brainer at the holidays.  It is..

 

 the snowball cookie

 

For me it's not Christmas without these simple little cookies
They are pefect to share at your work, holiday party or cookie swap....or they are perfect with a cup of cold milk. While you are sitting in front of the tree. Listening to your favorite Christmas tunes. Try them, and enjoy..

 

Snowballs (recipe courtesy of inthelittleredhouse.com)**

 

3/4 c butter, room temp

1 tsp vanilla

1 TBS water

1/8tsp salt

1/3 c sugar

1 1/2 c flour

1 c chocolate chips

1 c chopped pecans or walnuts (I choose pecans)

Powdered sugar, for dusting.

 

Cream butter, vanilla, water, sugar and salt. Add flour and mix well. Stir in chocolate and nuts.

Form into 1” balls. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Cool for a few minutes. Roll in powdered sugar (or "make it snow" on top of them) while still warm.

 

**I noticed that they tuned out way better when I chilled the dough for 10 minutes before baking, otherwise I had melted snowballs.

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

My Christmas baking has officially started.  I decided to start the season off with one of my favs...chocolate crinkle cookies.  I posted these 2 years ago on my blog and they such cute little pillows of fudgy delight that I wanted to post them again.  

This time, however, I decided to Christmas them up just a bit more by adding the smallest hint of peppermint.  These give them such a great little twist and go perfect with a tall cold glass of milk.  I know that Santa would go crazy over a plate of these cookies when he stops by your home. 

 This recipe is super easy, and best made while listening to Christmas carol's, watching the snow fall outside,  and drinking a glass of wine.  Enjoy.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Makes about 6 dozen cookies

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (optional)

In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture.  Add peppermint extract and combine.  Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into one inch balls with lightly oiled palms. Coat each ball in confectioners’ sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets. (I also rolled some in Christmas sprinkles!)

Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

Enjoy!

Things I love...Christmas Cookies

The second Thanksgiving is over I am thinking, "Christmas Cookies".  If I didnt' have to worry about my figure, I would make Christmas Cookies everyday. It's one of my favorite parts of the season, and I thought I would share a few of my favorite cookie recipes with you.  All are so festive and perfect for that holiday cookie swap you have to go to.

Candy Cane Blossoms from Baked Perfection

 

 

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

 

 

 

Chocolate and Peppermint Covered Shortbread

 

 

Cooking Classy's M&M Cookies

Our Italian Kitchen's Swirl Cookies

 

 

 

Snowball Cookies from the little red house

I would love to hear what your fav's are in the comments.  Have a great weekend!

Oceanside Designs personalized ornament giveaway!

I love holiday shopping.  I love deals and I love buying gifts for people (and myself).  What I love more is shopping for the holidays on my couch.  Etsy is one of my favorite places to shop for anytime, and Oceanside Designs is the perfect place to shop for everyone on your holiday list!

Jen's Wreath Giveaway!

The holidays are going to be here before you know it...I can't even belive Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away! Well this is the perfect time to start looking for that perfect addition to your holiday decorations. A fresh pine door wreath from Jen's Wreaths!

These fresh wreaths from Minnesota will greet you with the scrumptious scent of fresh pine. And they are all beautiful.Their company has grown so much that they now also offer centerpieces, ornaments and swag decorations. 

Happy Birthday to me, and an AMAZING giveaway for you!

Yes, it's my birthday.  Woo hoo!  Actually I have to say, this is the first time I was dreading a birthday.  This is the first year the numbers are really starting to bother me.  But there is no stopping it, so to celebrate, Jack and I went downtown for a sleepover at my sisters house.  We ate and shopped and ate some more.  Pictures of that are in the works.  In the mean time, I'll entertain you with a PG-13 picture of me.

I also want to share with you something I got in the mail today from Crayola and MyBlogSpark! I LOVE IT!

 

And since Jack is OBSESSED with Cars, I know he will love it too! And with the holidays coming, this is the perfect gift for any little (or bigger) one!

Remember how cool it was to receive the Crayola 64 Box with the built-in sharper as a holiday gift when you were growing up? Just imagine how excited your kids will be to turn an iPad into an interactive coloring book using burnt sienna, carnation pink and a rainbow of Crayola colors from the Crayola digital 64 Box! The Crayola ColorStudio HD app and iMarker let kids’ imaginations run wild as they color moving, animated scenes that come alive with music, sound effects and hidden surprises. The app is free on iTunes App Store with the purchase of the iMarker for $29.99 at Toys R Us, Best Buy, the Apple Store andwww.griffintechnology.com. Kids can select from 64 colors in the digital Crayola 64 Box and then use the iMarker to create the look of Crayola crayons, markers, paints and colored pencils as the stylus interacts with an iPad. The digital coloring pages respond with movement and sound as the pages come alive as kids color. Animated images stop moving on the screen so kids can easily color them in without going outside of the lines, so objects look picture perfect when they start moving again. Tidy up your page with an eraser function or an “undo” arrow that removes larger areas of color. In addition, kids can save their work in a gallery to be emailed, printed or uploaded to Facebook (mom’s account, and with her permission and help of course!), and also free draw, play interactive games and create their own customized coloring pages they can print and color off-line. The best part is one of my wonderful readers will win the following:  (1) Crayola Story Studio Comic Maker: Spider-Man (1) Crayola Story Studio Fairy Tale Maker: Disney Princesses (1) Crayola Story Studio Adventure Maker: Disney/Pixar Cars (1) Crayola iMarker to use with the ColorStudio HD app for iPad (1) Free download of the ColorStudio HD app This is a $60 value!!!! “Disclosure: The Crayola High Tech Holiday prize pack, product information and prize pack for giveaway have been provided by Crayola through MyBlogSpark.” {{to win}} enter below and please, tell your friends!