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These nutty, buttery cookies will melt in your mouth, leaving just a trace of orange flavor. An old recipe from my mom in North Dakota, they used to be reserved only for weddings and special occasions. But they're great for Christmas because they look just like snowballs! —Judith Weidner, Spearfish, South Dakota
This recipe is:
Contest Winning
Diabetic Friendly
Nutritional Facts 1 cookie equals 107 calories, 7 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 13 mg cholesterol, 52 mg sodium, 10 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 1 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1 fat, 1/2 starch.
Originally published as Nutty Orange Snowballs in Simple & Delicious November/December 2009, p33
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Reviewed on Mar. 03, 2012 by murphygranny
Loved them. Gave a few away but ate the rest myself. Am going to make again soon. They're not just for Christmas.
Reviewed on Feb. 14, 2012 by JoanieC1965
LOVED this recipe. Such a nice twist to have a butter cookie with orange high-lights. Course this recipe would be simple to exchange for any of the citrus flavors and or nut combinations you desire. Mine turned out great with the walnut/hazlenut combo. And I used the zest of an entire orange - way more than 1 teaspoon as the recipe called for. It was delish! Made them for Valentine's Day packaged in cute little cello bags. They were a hit. I will definitely be making these time and time again!
Reviewed on Dec. 30, 2011 by fresh246
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Made these today using orange zest instead of just grated peel. Next time I think i will add a touch of orange food coloring to give it a color other than dough. The powdered sugar did not ahere to it as well as in the photo. Decreased the amount of nuts to 1/3 cups because it seemed to be a lot. Tasted a bit flour-like to me and were more "crumbly" than melt in your mouth type, but the family enjoyed them.
Reviewed on Dec. 25, 2011 by J-zel
Just made these yesterday for our Christmas get-together. I couldn`t find orange extract so I used lemon extract and also added more orange zest. For the nuts, I used almonds; they were really finely crushed, powdery, and the package size was just what I needed.They are really, really good! Making them into balls was a bit time consuming but then I baked 28 in just one batch so it wasn`t that bad.Will definitely make these again, and not just for Christmas. :D
Just made these yesterday for our Christmas get-together. I couldn`t find orange extract so I used lemon extract and also added more orange zest. For the nuts, I used almonds; they were really finely crushed, powdery, and the package size was just what I needed.
They are really, really good! Making them into balls was a bit time consuming but then I baked 28 in just one batch so it wasn`t that bad.
Will definitely make these again, and not just for Christmas. :D
Reviewed on Dec. 23, 2011 by carolynstowers
I made the Snowballs today, Mexican Wedding cookies is my favorite of all cookies. I didn't have an orange so I used a lemon and lemon extract. They came out lovely and very tasty. I also used pecans for the nut. I have added this recipe to my recipe folder for future use. I'm sure I will be using this recipe for many years to come.
Reviewed on Dec. 22, 2011 by uwasv_waya
This is an answer for cyndee84. Most likely you had the butter to warm before using or you beat it to long in the mixer. When butter or lard is to warm it lets cookies flatten. Butter doesn't need to be at room temp. It needs to be soft enough to spread. It should be under 70F. DO NOT USE A MICROWAVE. Sometimes chilling the dough for 30 minutes will help with this problem. As for the taste that was most likely caused by to much pith in the orange peel. Pith is the white under the peel. To prevent this I never use peel when called for. Instead I just use an equal amount of flavoring. Thankfull before I used any zest I tasted some before buying. It was nasty because of the pith so I have never used grated orange peel or zest in anything. Now I gotta try this one but without the walnuts. I only use black walnuts, because I hate the taste of the english walnuts that are much cheaper, and their flavor would over power the hazel nuts. Usually the shelled walnuts are called California Walnuts if at all because that is where most of the shelled ones come frim n the USA. Most of the time they just have walnuts on the bag.
Reviewed on Dec. 24, 2010 by xicota
These are yummy! They taste even better the day after baking. Very easy to prepare. I like the combo of hazelnuts and walnuts. A keeper!
Reviewed on Dec. 31, 2009 by buxtehude
These cookies were wonderful. I'll never make regular snowball cookies again. Since my family does not like hazelnuts, I substituted walnuts and they were fabulous.
Reviewed on Nov. 29, 2009 by bamma8
Quick and easy with just a hint of orange.
Reviewed on Nov. 21, 2009 by rustycar58
Very easy to make and have a wonderful hint of citrus. It looks like a new family favorite for the holidays...or anytime.
Reviewed on Nov. 02, 2009 by Vkruzin
I first made these yesterday and had to make another batch again today! They are wonderful and so easy to make, sort of reminds me of an orange creamsickle. My neighbors love the fact that I use Taste of Home recipes so much cause they get to have a little of every new recipe that I try.
Reviewed on Oct. 17, 2009 by cyndee84
Please tell me what I did wrong, I made the recipe exactly as stated and when I put in the oven the spread out like a regular cookie and they did not taste very well. I am not sure what I did wrong??
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