These holiday sweets are a breeze to bake.
This week’s post includes two cookies for you to try. What I’m calling Snowdrifts is a Weight Watchers® recipe, according to several online posts. It only has three ingredients — angel food cake or white vanilla cake mix, Greek yogurt, and vanilla. The second cookie comes from my family’s recipe box, although these have been around for a long time. We called them Snowballs.
Although both recipes have confectioner’s (powdered) sugar, they couldn’t be more different. The Snowdrifts are more of a tiny cake with a defined chew. Snowballs are a very “short” (crumbly with a high fat content) cookie that will melt in your mouth, much like the snowflakes we catch on our tongues.
The holidays are approaching, so let’s get baking! First up, Snowdrifts.
To make Snowdrifts, which yields 2½ dozen cookies, you’ll need these ingredients:
1 package vanilla white cake mix (or angel food)
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Confectioner’s sugar to decorate cookies
Online comments pointed to cookies made with angel food mix tending to spread a little more than desired, so I chose the white cake mix. And, as with most super-simple recipes, quality of ingredients is important. Get the full-fat yogurt and the best vanilla or even vanilla bean paste. Read instructions for converting the vanilla paste versus extract on the jar if you go that route.
Follow these directions to make Snowdrifts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Using a stand mixer, combine the cake mix, yogurt and vanilla. This dough will be dense and stiff. Measure a full teaspoon per cookie and drop two inches apart on a parchment-lined sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool about two minutes on the sheet before transferring to the wire rack. Let the cookies cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar. I thought edible glitter in silver would be pretty, but it looked more like ground pepper on these cookies! Best to stick with the powdered sugar or decorate with blue sanding sugar or nonpareils in wintery colors.
Having never made Snowdrifts before, I had no idea how they’d turn out. Visually, it’s a pretty little “cookie” but the texture is very different. It’s closer to a macaroon (without the coconut) or maybe a French Madeleine. The tang of Greek yogurt definitely comes through.
There also was a tacky (as in slightly sticky) quality to this Snowdrift. The few I stored at room temperature in a covered plastic container were super sticky the next day, so stored the remaining cookies, without the dusting of sugar, in a zip-top bag inside my refrigerator. When I served these, I dusted them with confectioner’s sugar just before serving.
You can’t get any easier than three ingredients, and they present well on a platter. The final texture, however, threw me a little, but if you like macaroons, give these a try.
Now, on to the Snowball cookies. These were baked every year for the holidays when I was growing up. I love the buttery goodness and delicate texture. We almost always used pecans, but I remember one year when my Uncle Lou brought mom walnuts from trees on his property. Almonds also are a suitable swap for pecans.
To make Snowballs, which yields 3½ dozen cookies, you’ll need these ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup ground pecans
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups sifted flour
The recipe my mom and grandma used came from an old cookie recipe booklet that, judging by its yellowed paper and tattered pages, dates to the 1960s. It may have come with their Mirro cookie press. In the booklet, these cookies are called Butterballs but they went by the name of pecan balls or snowballs at our house. Although there are a few more ingredients than the Snowdrifts, these still are simple cookies to make.
Follow these directions to make Snowballs
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
I used my standing mixer again to cream the butter. Gradually add the sugar and salt and continue creaming until fluffy. Add pecans and vanilla.
Gradually add the flour (keep at a lower speed to avoid flour from flying everywhere) and continue mixing until dough is thoroughly combined.
With a buttery dough like this, I like to chill the mixture for 15 to 20 minutes in the refrigerator. Shape teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and place two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. There’s enough butter in this dough, believe me, the cookies won’t stick.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes; do not brown. Roll the warm cookies in additional confectioner’s sugar. Store in airtight container.
About the blog
Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.
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