Just because I live in Florida and the temperature hasn’t dipped below 70 yet doesn’t mean I don’t associate the holidays with a little frostbite and snowfall. Winters in New Jersey over the past couple years have not been fun; there was more snow than I care to recall and the thermometer boasted single-digit numbers way too often. It’s nice not worrying about wearing a hat, gloves and scarf everyday, but I do miss looking at snow and the idea of the cold weather at this time of year. So in honor of the past holidays spent dressed in multiple layers and freezing my butt off, here is a snowy treat for you to enjoy: Chocolate Peanut Butter Snowballs!
I had some Betty Crocker Peanut Butter cookie mix in the pantry from when my family was visiting. My sister and I were going to bake cookies one night but never got around to it. I wanted to use up the mix, but not as plain old peanut butter cookies; that’s too simple! I searched the kitchen for other ingredients to pair with the cookies for a fun holiday treat and settled on using dark chocolate and powdered sugar to complete my cookie.
For the snowballs, you’ll need about 1 cup of your preferred chocolate to melt and a cup of powdered sugar, along with the ingredients that the cookie mix called for: 1 egg, 1 tbsp water and 3 tbsp vegetable oil. Make the cookies according to the recipe on the bag (this is easier than spelling your own name). Of course, I would have made the cookies from scratch if I didn’t already have this mix sitting there begging to be used. It’s always more satisfying to make something completely on your own, but I wanted to use up the mix.
After your cookies are done baking, let them cool. While you’re waiting, you can prepare your chocolate and “snow.” Melt the chocolate in the microwave, about 20 seconds at a time, until it has reached its liquid form. Pour the powdered sugar in a large sealable bag. Place each cookie into the bowl of chocolate and cover completely, then toss it into the bag of powdered sugar. Once all of your cookies are coated in chocolate and placed in the bag, shake it up until they are completely covered with the powder. Using a spoon or some other handy kitchen utensil, pick out each cookie and lay it back onto your cookie sheet. Some of them may be stuck together, but they should be easy to pull apart and probably will need to go back into the bag of sugar for another coating.
