Candy Cane Snowballs Recipes

Steps:

• 1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar. Stir in vanilla. Gradually add flour. Stir in pecans. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until easy to handle. Roll into 1-inch balls. Place 2-in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 F. for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip the top of each cookie into the candy coating, then into the peppermint candy.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease 4 baking sheets.
• Beat butter and brown sugar together in a bowl using an electric mixer. Stir in vanilla extract. Stir in flour gradually; mixture will be crumbly. Add pecans and work into the dough.
• Pinch off dough in teaspoons; roll in hands to form balls that are about 1/2-inch in diameter. Place onto the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until firm and browned on bottoms, 15 to 18 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Roll warm cookies in confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cut the cookie dough into 8 pieces. In bowl of electric mixer, on medium speed thoroughly combine the dough pieces, peppermint extract, 1/3 cup crushed peppermint candies, and 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar.
• Roll the dough into 1-inch diameter balls. Arrange, 2 inches apart, on parchment lined cookie sheets and bake until set, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on cooling racks.
• Add 1/2 cup of the remaining powdered sugar to a small bowl. While the cookies are still warm, roll them in the sugar. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies and serve.
• As the cookies cool, they will flatten slightly.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cut the roll of cookie dough in half. Put the halves in separate large mixing bowls. In 1 bowl, thoroughly mix 1/4 cup of the flour and the peppermint extract into cookie dough. In the second bowl, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour and enough food coloring to make a red dough. Mix well with gloved hands until the color is well blended.
• Divide the white and red dough into 24 pieces each, (for a total of 48 pieces). Roll each piece into a rope 8 inches long and about 1/4-inch in diameter.
• To shape candy canes, arrange 1 rope of each color side by side on parchment lined cookie sheets. Gently twist together and shape into a candy cane. Repeat with the remaining pieces, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are very lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest, about 5 minutes, before transferring the cookies to racks. Gently remove them from the cookie sheets with a long metal spatula and cool on cooling racks.