Almond snowballs

These will melt in your mouth. And you can tuck a chocolate in the centre if you like

By Bonnie Schiedel

Preparation time 15 minutes
Baking time 8 minutes
Makes 42 cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour or 21/2 cups (625 mL) cake and pastry flour
3/4 cup (175 mL) ground almonds, about 100-g pkg
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1 cup (250 mL) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (250 mL) sifted icing sugar
2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla
1 cup (250 mL) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C). In a medium bowl, stir flour with almonds and salt until evenly mixed. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium, beat butter with 1/2 cup (125 mL) icing sugar until smooth. Beat in vanilla. On low speed or using a wooden spoon, beat flour mixture into butter mixture.

2. Scoop about 1 tbsp (15 mL) dough and flatten into a disc. To add a chocolate centre, press 2 chocolate chips or 1 chocolate chunk into centre of the disc. Roll dough around chocolate, forming a 1-in. (2.5-cm) ball. Repeat with remaining dough and chocolate. Place on an ungreased baking sheet, at least 1 in. (2.5 cm) apart.

3. Bake in centre of oven until puffed and golden on bottom when lifted, from 8 to 10 min. Remove cookies to a rack to cool for 5 min. Place remaining 1/2 cup (125 mL) icing sugar in a shallow bowl. Then roll warm cookies in sugar until evenly coated and return to rack to cool completely. Cookies will keep well stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to a week or in the freezer up to 1 month.

First published in Chatelaine.com's December 2008 issue.