Brown Sugar Snowballs

Brown Sugar Snowballs are soft and moist, yet hold their shape quite well! They are prepared with basic ingredients but have such an extraordinary flavour. These cookies melt in your mouth and just might be that one treat you don’t want to share with anyone this holiday season!!

These cookies are the result of testing a recipe several times over. When I started out preparing cookies for Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas – Volume 6, I promised myself that I would test a cookie recipe only twice because nearly all cookies use butter and the price of butter is just too high at this point. Luckily, with these Brown Sugar Snowballs, I found that I could cut the butter in half and substitute it with vegetable shortening. It works like a charm!

Initially, this dough was supposed to form a sandwich-type cookie, and it could, but after testing the recipe a third time – yes, I broke my promise to myself – I realized that these cookies did not need to be sandwiched with anything. The flavour was perfect just the way it was and didn’t need to be muddled with. As an added bonus, I prefer rolling cookies into balls rather than chilling the dough first and then rolling it out with a rolling pin. So, this is a win-win for me!

I’m going to tell you all about this cookie recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the cookie recipes! Before I get into this brand-new series, let me make mention of the three previous holiday confection countdowns that I just finished up this year.

Back in October, I kicked off the holiday season with a holiday recipe series called Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Donuts and followed that up with a second series called Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Appetizers. And now, I’m starting out on this new series, which is the sixth annual instalment! I cannot believe that this is the sixth year in a row that I’ve shared Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas! But, before we get to a list of ingredients and instructions for today’s recipe, let me tell you about this series and more!

LORD BYRON’S 24 COOKIES OF CHRISTMAS SERIES

Another holiday series, Lord Byron? Yes – why not!? Welcome, Dear Reader, to the fourth of my annual holiday recipe series for this season! This one is called Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas – Volume 6! I will try to keep the recipes in this series quick and easy, just like in previous years. Even if a recipe looks complex, I promise you that it is not! My goal, as always, is to share recipes with you that are not too complex to whip up as a holiday treat for your family. 

Like every other holiday series I’ve shared over the years, this series will share a new recipe every day for the next 24 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW SO THAT YOU NEVER MISS OUT ON NEW RECIPES!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series! Even though this is the fourth series for this holiday season, you can always look back at previous years if you just cannot wait until the next recipe is published. Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! Like in previous holiday recipe countdowns, I like to mix up the recipes in the series so that there is something for everyone. Are you ready!!??

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Butter – Make sure your butter is softened and at room temperature.
• Vegetable Shortening – More commonly known as Crisco, vegetable shortening helps to keep baked goods lighter and flakier. If you don’t have any, you can substitute it with half butter and half margarine. You MUST make sure your butter and margarine are both at room temperature, otherwise, it will not work. Combine both ingredients with a spatula until well-mixed.
• Brown Sugar – First of all, it has way more flavour than regular white sugar! And, in this recipe, brown sugar helps to keep the cookie moist and soft.
• Eggs – Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your eggs are at room temperature too – just like your butter!
• Vanilla Extract
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Baking Soda
• Salt

HOW TO MAKE BROWN SUGAR SNOWBALLS

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set those aside for now. Next, add the butter, vegetable shortening, and brown sugar to a mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy – about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Beat until well combined.

Portion out one tablespoon of the cookie dough mixture and roll it into a ball. Roll the ball into the confectioner’s sugar and place the balls onto the prepared baking sheets leaving two inches of space between each ball. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes.

Once they’re baked, remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to rest on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling. Dust the tops of the cookies very liberally with the remaining confectioner’s sugar.

BROWN SUGAR – LIGHT AND DARK?

Many times I’m asked the question, “Should I use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar?” Well, Dear Reader, the fact of the matter is that both will work just about the same way, so it doesn’t matter much. Brown sugar, both light and dark, is a mixture of sugar and molasses. What differentiates the two is the amount of molasses. Light brown sugar consists of 3.5% molasses whereas dark brown sugar has 6.5%.

In light brown sugar, the molasses is what gives it its colour, caramel flavour, and moist texture. In dark brown sugar, the increased amount of molasses makes the sugar more dark in colour but also adds richness to the flavour. In most cases, light brown sugar is used in baking unless otherwise stated. Dark brown sugar is most often used in sauces, like a homemade barbecue sauce or that glaze you put on your ham for Easter dinner.

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for long periods of time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze your Brown Sugar Snowballs, you certainly can! Pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer-friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight-fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!  

You can freeze these cookies for up to three months. If you plan to give previously frozen cookies as a gift, I would lay them out on a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. If packaging, wait until they are fully thawed and dust them once again with more confectioner’s sugar. Carefully set them in a cookie box or tin and tie them with a ribbon.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!