Is it cold enough out there for you?

With the recent Arctic Blast that brought us snow yesterday and the below freezing temperatures I felt like making snowballs.  After going outside to wrap and protect my fruit trees and salvage what crisply frozen Winter greens I could from my garden I decided that it was too cold to stay outside and make snowballs.  So I went inside and made them there instead!

Now this cookie recipe is an age old recipe.  Who knows where it first originated as it goes by sooo many names such as: Mexican Wedding Cakes, Italian Butternuts, Russian Tea Cakes just to name a few.  But I have read that it is a cookie that has a history that dates back as far as the 18th century. I make these little balls of heaven every single year and over the years I have tweaked the standard recipe to create a lovely, nut filled shortbread type cookie that will melt in your mouth.  Mine includes ground almonds, instead of chopped pecans or walnuts and I like to use a Vanilla Bean with a couple little drops of Amaretto to really make the almond flavor sing.

It’s a super easy cookie to make and if you have little ones around they will have fun helping you to shape them into little balls, while keeping snug and warm during this Arctic Blast.  It also keeps really well.

For this recipe I use unsalted butter.  If you are going to use salted butter omit the salt.
Vegan & Lactose Sensitive – If you are vegan or  lactose intolerant, substitute the butter for Margarine. Please note that vegetable oil spreads will make these cookies spread out and flatten a bit.
Gluten Free – If you are gluten intolerant, substitute flour with your favorite GF All Purpose flour and add an additional 2 Tablespoons of water

Snowball Cookies

• 2 Sticks (1/2 Cup) unsalted Butter, softened
• 1/2 Powdered Sugar
• 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 Cup Cake Flour
• 1 Vanilla Bean, seeds scraped out
• 1 teaspoon Amaretto
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Cup Almond Flour, or finely ground Almonds

For Dusting:

• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cornstarch

Dusting Instructions:
Combine in a bowl and set aside

Snowball Cookie Instructions:
Using a mixer or by hand, cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together until they are all well combined.
Divide the dough in half and form two large balls.  Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge to cool for at least 1 hour and as long as overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°, prepare baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
Now go get one of your chilled dough balls out of the refrigerator.  Begin shaping balls by rolling about 2 teaspoons worth of dough at a time into balls using your hands.  They should be just a little smaller than a walnut in the shell.  Place them about 1/2″ apart on a baking sheet (if you are using Margarine – place them 1″ apart).

Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom, the tops will be a very pale golden brown.
Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the Powdered Sugar and Cornstarch that you made earlier.
Give them a gentle roll until they are well coated.
Reserve a little of the Dusting recipe to sift over the tops of the cookies right before serving.

Images by Kelly Cline ©2010 All Rights Reserved
All content, text and images are  ©2010 All Rights Reserved and may not be used or reposted without express written consent.

Truffles.  Butter.  Herbs.  Alone these three things are simply beautiful, but put them together and you will be transported to a place where creamy butter flirts with aromatic white truffles and fresh herbs come in to elevate the whole lot for a little taste of Heaven on Earth.

Aren’t truffles freakin’ expensive?!  Well yes, fresh truffles can fetch $200,000 for a White Truffle a little over 2 pounds… BUT there are alternatives out there that don’t require you to squander the kids college fund or take a second mortgage on the house to get yourself in on some of this action.  White Truffle Paste & White Truffle Paté are available and considering how a little goes a long way, they are a good value to enjoy a little decadence on occasion.  And come on… aren’t you worth a little luxury now and again?

So what do they taste like?  They are certainly in the umami class of tastes.  They can be described as meaty, heady and even a little hint of garlic.  If you have ever had a Porchini and you know how heady and aromatic those mushrooms are, well a truffle is that x10.  White Truffles love to be infused in oil, butter, and anything creamy.  They are a beautiful addition to eggs, cheese, potatoes, risotto, chicken or pork.

So what I have concocted is a compound butter infused with fresh herbs and white truffles.  You can make this ahead and freeze it, it will keep beautifully.  It is versatile too.  You can use it to flavor pasta, put it on sliced baguette and toast it for an amazing crostini, top a steak with it, add it in last minute to a white sauce or beurre blanc or you can do what I did and stuff it up under the skin of a turkey breast and roast it.

Truffled Herb Butter

• 4-5 Tablespoons unsalted Butter, room temp
• 2  Tablespoons fresh Herbs, chopped (any variety is fine, I used Rosemary, Sage, Oregano & Tarragon)
• 1/2 Teaspoon White Truffle Paste or 1 large grape-sized fresh White Truffle, shaved with a Microplane grater
• 1/4 Teaspoon ground White or Green Peppercorns
• Pinch of Sea Salt

Place all ingredients into a small bowl and mix together until all ingredients are well incorporated.  Use within 3 days or store in the freezer and slice off as much as you need as you go.

This stuff will add a serious nom factor to whatever you decide to use it for. Once your friends and family taste the creations you make with this sexy little butter they will think you are some kind of culinary genius… yet you can be a culinary newbie and still whip this up with ease.  I’ll be posting a couple recipes for a fancy Grilled Cheese and that infamous Roast Turkey Breast shortly.

***Cook’s Note:  If you don’t have access to or you dislike truffles you can substitute crushed garlic or smashed roasted garlic.  It won’t be the same thing but you will have a pretty delicious Garlic Herb Butter.