Mexican Wedding Cookies (Snowballs)

snowballs

ground pecans

balls

golden brown on the bottom

toss the warm cookies in the powdered sugar once...

then twice...

until it looks like this.

So this post is a bit tardy... Snowballs are generally (at least in my family) made during the holiday season. Because of that we will change the name to Mexican Wedding Cookies, which you can have any time of year.

These cookies go by many names -- Wedding Cookies, Snowballs, Pecan Balls, Russian Tea Cakes, Butter Balls -- the list goes on and on.  The ingredients vary slightly for some, but they are all the same basic cookie made from flour, butter, sugar, and nuts.

For this version, I grind the pecans well in the food processor to help it blend evenly into the batter. I use salted butter for this recipe because of how the salt complements the sweetness of the cookie. Butter and powdered sugar are creamed, vanilla extract added, then the flour and baking powder, and finally the ground pecans are combined.

Ingredients

1 cup (1/2 lb) salted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus more for coating
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 rsp baking powder
1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Ground pecans in a food processor until similar consistency to flour.
3. In large bowl with hand mixer or in a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add vanilla and blend again until smooth.
5. Sift together flour and baking powder. Add to butter mixture, mixing on low until blended.
6. Stir in pecans until thoroughly incorporated.
7. Using a tablespoon or a small cookie scoop, scoop out balls of dough, roll into a ball, and place on cookie sheet (on parchment paper) about 1 1/2 inches apart.  Cookies will spread some, but not too much, so they can be placed somewhat close together. 
8. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.  Place on wire rack.
9. Let cool slightly then toss in powdered sugar until coated. Sugar will become somewhat sticky after the first coating because of the heat of the cookies. Let rest on wire rack for a few minutes and then roll again in powdered sugar. 
10. Cool completely and then place in air tight container. 

We keep our snowballs in the freezer -- you can't beat a cold, buttery, powdery cookie with a big cup of hot coffee.

Cranberry Coffee Cake Muffins

It is officially cranberry season which means, along with pumpkin-everything, we will now have cranberry-everything. Or, even better, pumpkin-cranberry-everything.  To join in with the festivities, I thought a little cranberry coffee cake might be in order.  Mostly because I wanted to bake something with cranberries and I think that everything tastes better with a crumb topping... am I wrong?

beautiful, bright, fresh cranberries... plus a bunch of other ingredients that I forgot to take pictures of...

...becomes this.

I was worried at first that I had added too many cranberries (the batter is PACKED with them), but they turned out perfectly spaced throughout the muffins. 

yum.

Cranberry Coffee Cake Muffins

adapted from Little B Cooks

Batter:

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

3 cups cranberries, plus 2 tablespoons flour and 1 tablespoon sugar to toss in.

Topping: 

1 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup cold butter

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Put liners in muffin cups and spray lightly with cooking spray.
3. Using a fork or pastry blender, mix topping ingredients together until crumbly.
4. Clean cranberries and let dry. In a medium size bowl, toss 2 tablespoons flour and 1 tablespoon of sugar in with cranberries and mix thoroughly until cranberries are coated.  (This ensures they won't sink to the bottom of your muffins.)
5. Mix dry ingredients in the  large bowl. 
6. Combine the milk, sugar, vanilla, and eggs with the melted butter. 
7. Stir butter mix into the dry ingredients until well blended. 
8. Fold in cranberries, using an ice cream scoop, drop into muffin tin. 
9. Sprinkle the topping bake for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick in the center comes out clean.

Apple Crumble Bars

Also known as "Yummy Apple Thingys", according to Marla. 

These bars are vegan, gluten free, and DELICIOUS. Buttery, not super sweet, and just the right combination of crust, slightly crisp apples, and crumbly topping. Similar to an apple crisp, but with a crisp, buttery crust.  

sweet, tart, giant Honeycrisp apples

ingredients: Gluten Free Flour (I used Pamela's), brown sugar, apples, vegan butter (I used Earth Balance), agave, vanilla. pecans, cinnamon, and kosher salt

apples, cinnamon, vanilla, agave... what could be better?

I couldn't wait and had to pull out a piece from the middle. 

crumbly topping, apples, crust. sigh.

Ingredients

Crust
1 1/2 cup Gluten Free flour (I used Pamela's)
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)

Apples
4 cups peeled, chopped apple
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1-2 tbsp agave (or pure maple syrup)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Crumb topping
1/2 cup GF flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold vegan butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Mix together GF flour, salt, and brown sugar with a fork, making sure there are no chunks in the mixture. Add the melted butter and combine until the mixture is dampened, similar to a graham cracker crust.
2. Scoop crust into a 13x9, oiled glass dish, and press down firmly. 
3. In a separate bowl, stir together apples, cinnamon, agave, and vanilla. Layer them into the pan. If mixture has leftover liquid, don’t pour it in with the apples.
4. In the same bowl you used for the crust, combine the ingredients for the crumb topping and mash together with a fork until the butter is combined and everything is in medium or small chunks. Put on top of apples and press down slightly, 
5. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 F, then cool at least 30 minutes before putting into refrigerator. Let cool in refrigerator for about an hour or until bars will hold together when cut.

Healthy Pumpkin Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from sheknows.com.

Makes 72 mini cupcakes

Cake:
1 can pumpkin puree
1 6 oz container of Greek yogurt (I used non fat)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 egg whites
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups whole wheat cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, depending on how spicy you like it
Cooking Spray

Frosting:
1 package low fat cream cheese
1 - 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, depending on how sweet you like it
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans
cinnamon

Directions

1. Put cupcake liners in mini cupcake tin.  Lightly spray liners with cooking spray.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
3. Mix pumpkin, yogurt, vanilla, egg whites, and sugar well in large mixing bowl until combined.
4. Sift together baking soda, baking powder, flour, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.  Mix in to pumpkin mixture until completely mixed.
5. Bake cupcakes for about 12 minutes, rotating half way through, or until a toothpick comes out dry when inserted.
6. For frosting, mix room temperature cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla together.  When muffins have cooled, frost and then top with a sprinkle of cinnamon and pecans.

Nutrition Info (not counting the frosting :) )

Calories 26.8

Total Fat 0.0 g

Cholesterol 0.0 mg

Sodium 58.2 mg

Potassium 13.6 mg

Total Carbohydrate 5.9 g

Dietary Fiber 0.3 g

Sugars 3.2 g

Protein 0.9 g