Snowball Cookies

By miss5elements

Bake up a batch (or three) of chef Valerie Gordon's mouthwatering holiday cookies, which also make a star appearance in her hotly anticipated new cookbook, Sweet ($21; amazon.com). Note her secret weapon; vanilla bean paste (Nielsen-Massey, $11/4oz; surlatable.com). It imparts a more intense flavor than regular extract and creates appealing speckles in the dough.

Ingredients

• 1 c unsalted butter, softenend
• 2.25 c confectioners' sugar
• 2 t vanilla bean paste
• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 1 c roasted almonds, finely chopped

Details

Servings 40
Adapted from instyle.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Using a mixer, cream butter on med speed until light & fluffy, ~3 min. Add 3/4c of confectioners' sugar & vanilla paste; mix well. Add flour 1/2c at a time, mixing until thoroughly combined. Fold in the almonds.
2. Turn dough out, divide into 3 portions, & shape into disks. Wrap disks individually in plastic wrap or waxed paper & chill for 1 hr.
3. Position racks in the upper & lower thirds of the oven; heat to 350F. Line 2 lg heavy baking sheets w/parchment paper or silicone liners.
4. To form cookies, break off a piece of chilled dough that's the size of a measuring tablespoon. Roll dough between your palms into a ball, & place on the lined baking sheets, leaving 1" between each cookie.
5. Bake for 17-20 min, until the bottoms of the cookies are slightly golden - lift up one of the cookies w/a spatula to be sure. Let cookies cool somewhat on the baking sheets on cooling racks for 5 min.
6. Put remaining 1.5c confectioners' sugar in a small bowl. Drop 1 warm cookie at a time into the confectioners' sugar & roll until it's completely covered, then shake off any excess & put on a cooling rack. Let cool completely.