Cinnamon Snowballs Recipe

These melt-in-your-mouth cookies are ideal for the winter holidays.
Makes 3 dozen

INGREDIENTS

1cup unsalted butter at room temperature
¾ cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup ground or very finely chopped almonds
2 cups all purpose flour


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cream butter and powdered sugar. Add vanilla, cinnamon and almonds and continue to mix. Add flour gradually. You may have to use your hands to incorporate it as the dough will become tough. Do not over knead.
3. Chill the dough for 30-60 minutes. Then roll into one inch balls and place on a cookie sheet. Since there is no rising agent, the cookies will not expand so can be placed closely together.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes until set but not brown. Remember cookies continue to bake on the sheet even after they are removed from the oven so place them on a wire rack immediately or bake a couple of minutes less if you plan to keep them on the cookie sheet.
5. Once cookies have cooled for 5-7 minutes, roll them in powdered sugar. If they are too hot, the powdered sugar will melt into a sticky layer and if they are too cool it will not adhere well. For extra spiciness you can mix a bit of cinnamon with the powdered sugar you roll the cookies in. I suspect you could also use a bit of colored, granulated sugar to make them more festive (though I haven't yet tried this).

These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 3-5 days. If you don’t like almonds you can