eskimo balls

Back in college, before my friends got married and moved away, we would always get together for one big New Year’s potluck party.  Each person would bring a different dish to share – somehow I was ALWAYS in charge of salad.  (Do my friends know me or what.)  One of the main features at these parties were Stefanie’s Eskimo Balls, and of course all the ball jokes you could ever think of to go with them.

They are probably one of my all time favorite cookies!  Not only do they taste absolutely DElish, they are also super easy to make!  I think I could easily wolf down 10 of them, they are THAT good!       

And yes, you MUST call them Eskimo Balls AND tell ball jokes as you serve them…

Eskimo Balls
Adapted from this recipe.  Makes ~2 dozen balls.

3/4 cup Earth Balance (or butter)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (dark chocolate is the best!)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon rum (I used coconut but you can use any flavor, or just water)
2 cups quick oats or semi-processed rolled oats (see below)
1/4 cups powdered sugar

Gather the necessities.  The original recipe calls for water, but I gave it a little twist by adding coconut rum.  You can skip the rum if you want, since I don’t really think you can taste it that much.

If you are using rolled oats, you are going to need to grind them up a bit in a food processor.  About 10 pulses should do it.  You don’t want them to be completely ground, just broken up a bit.  If you have quick oats, just use those – I but the HUGE bag from Costco to fit my everyday oatmeal habit.

Mix all the ingredients except the powdered sugar in a bowl.  Refrigerate the dough overnight.

Once thoroughly chilled, form 1” balls.  I use a cookie scoop because I am a perfectionist and like them all to be pretty much the same size.

 

Roll in powdered sugar to coat thoroughly.  I only used 1/4 cup but you are more than welcome to use more if you’d like.  Place them back in the fridge for a little while longer.

 

ENJOY!