Oh my, you may live in an area where snow does not appear at holiday time, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have “Snowballs”!! These have been in my family for so many years (Thank you Mom.), I can’t count them. Originally baked with regular all purpose flour, ( which I also made for others in the family) they’ve been transitioned into gluten free for all of you ( and me) who love holiday cookies. So, PLEEEEEZE try them. You may just be adding them to your holiday baking list from now on. Note: Don’t eliminate the Cream of Tartar. It’s essential.
Ingredients:
- 2 Sticks Unsalted Margarine ( Does not do well with butter, sorry.)
- 1 ½ cups Confectioner’s Sugar ( plus more for coating later on)
- 1 teas Pure Vanilla Extract
- 3 cups Flour Blend: 1 c. Garbanzo Bean, ¾ c. Sweet Rice, ½ c. Tapioca, ¾ c. Sweet
- Sorghum
- 1 teas. Baking Soda
- 1 teas. Cream of Tartar
- ¼ teas. Salt
- 1 large Egg
- ¾ cup Ground Walnuts ( grind to very fine)
Okay, this recipe is prepared and then the dough is chilled for either several hours or overnight. It’s best to handle when chilled.
After the baking process, you must “roll”, coating them immediately in confectioner’s sugar. That must be done before any cooling so the sugar sticks and coats the cookie. That part is very important.
Directions:
Cream the margarine and 1 ½ c. confectioner’s sugar until smooth and light. Add egg, vanilla extract and beat again.
Combine the dry ingredients in another bowl and stir well, including the walnuts. Then add to the wet and beat until smooth and silky.
Place on a sheet of saran or waxed paper in a ball. Chill as stated above.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
I use Silpat sheets, but if you are not, don’t grease the cookie sheet.
Roll bits of dough into balls of about 1 inch in diameter.
Put on a sheet, spaced about 1 inch apart to allow for any spreading.
Bake for anywhere from 12 to 15 minutes, since ovens vary. Just keep an eye on them: YOU DON”T WANT THEM GOLDEN. They should be a “medium beige” in color and the bottoms will only be light gold in color, not browned. While they’re baking, get a bowl ready with about 1-2 cups of powdered sugar for coating in a few minutes.
Immediately take the bowl with confectioner’s sugar and roll or turn them so each side is coated with white sugar.
Allow to cool after the coating process for a few minutes and then store in an airtight container. That’s key. Airtight!
