Welcome to my blog and to the Ninth Day of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies Bloghop!
My name is Susan and I am thrilled that my dear creative friend Janet invited me to be a part of this special baking bloghop. I love to bake, art, craft, sew and make ALL THE THINGS (like my handmade Scoutie Elf claiming today's bake).
I'm sharing one of my favorite family Christmas Cookie recipes – Sugar Balls. Colored in glistening sugars - these bite sized treats look like ornaments! I don't know how long this recipe has been passed down in my family, I just have a cherished handwritten recipe on an index card from my grandmother (along with about a dozen others). These hand-written cards are cherished and bring back so many childhood memories each year when the holidays roll around.
These cookies are colorful, quick and easy to make and don't require eggs or dairy. Grab some extra tiny hands to help and lets get baking!
SUGAR BALLS
Cream thoroughly —
1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sifted, confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
Stir in 1 tablespoon water
Add in 2 cups sifted flour & mix well
Stir in 1 cup chopped nuts (pecans or your choice)
Shape dough into 1" balls & roll some in red sugar, some in green
Bake 1" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet at 300° for 20 minutes or until firm to touch.
Cool thoroughly before removing from pan
Yield - 4 dozen
This is a super easy recipe and requires little prep work. Gather ingredients and follow along...
Feel free to use your choice of nuts. For the red & green versions, I used chopped pecans. For the second batch (lime green and purple), I tried pistachios. I had to toast these first as they were raw & unsalted.
Creme confectioners sugar with butter, then combine vanilla and water.
Next add sifted flour.
Combine flour into creamed sugar mixture thoroughly.
Completed dough before adding nuts. Feel free to try with whatever nuts you prefer. I used pecans here and also tried pistachios because I happened to have some for use in crusting fish. After you make the basic
dough, feel free to select your favorite nuts and colored sugar.
Mix nuts into dough. I'm added chopped toasted pistachios here.
Combine thoroughly to ensure even nut distribution. This dough can be made ahead of time and chilled.
Since I don't have any extra hands to help, I find it helpful to divide dough and roll into long 1" rolls then slice about 1" segments that easily roll into balls. The 1 inch size makes the perfect one bite cookie.
Roll some in green sugar.
Roll some in red sugar.
I also tried some rolled in this lovely vintage sugar I scored at my local "Fresh Market". I was surprised that the thicker grain of sugar held up in baking and didn't melt all over the pan.
Bake at 300º for 20 minutes or firm to touch. They keep shape very nicely. Be sure to let them cool completely before removing from pan or the cookies might crumble when you pick them up. When cooled, the sugar makes a nice crispy shell for the nutty goodness inside.
For the pistachio batch, I tried some other fun colored sugar I have in the pantry – lime green and purple.
Batch number two in the oven!
After baking. the purple sugar didn't change color or brown when baked – these are so pretty!
I gently sliced one in half just so you can see the inside. These lovelies are meant to be enjoyed in one bite.
The bottom of cookie (at top) has a bit of the colors melted together.
When cooled the cookies are ready to enjoy! I have placed each cookie in a decorative mini muffin liner ready to serve on a platter or pack into gift tins. These
certainly are a treat any time of year.
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