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Christmas: Coconut Snowballs

Source of Recipe

From "Cold Weather Cooking" by Sarah Leah Chase


Recipe Introduction

"Three favorite flavors of Christmas abound in these buttery morsels—lemon, orange, and coconut. The glistening sugar coating recalls one of the most poetic lines from 'Twas the Night Before Christmas: 'The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow gave the luster of midday to objects below."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
â—¦ ½ cup sugar, plus additional for coating
â—¦ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
â—¦ Pinch of salt
â—¦ 2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
â—¦ 1 ½ cups flaked coconut, lightly toasted
â—¦ 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
â—¦ 1 tablespoon grated orange zest


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and ½ cup sugar together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and salt. Gradually stir in the flour to make a fairly stiff dough. Work in the coconut and citrus zests until evenly distributed. Shape the dough into small balls about 1 inch in diameter. Place in rows about ½ inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake until the bottoms of the cookies just begin to take on a hint of color, about 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool a minute or two, then roll in a shallow dish of sugar to coat. Cool completely and store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Makes about 4 ½ dozen cookies