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!

cookies of christmas past

Today I bring you a recipe from my Christmas past.  This is the one cookie I remember making every Christmas, and pretty much only at Christmas time.  It is actually my deceased grandmother’s recipe, which gives it just so much more meaning to me.  Plus, it is a super easy recipe and tastes wonderful!  Of course I couldn’t just make the original recipe… I had to “health it up” a bit.

But first, let’s talk about the cookie press before we start.  A cookie press is a device used to easily make cookies in to pretty shapes.  Sort of like a cookie cutter but 10x easier.  Your dough has to be a soft dough without a bunch of stuff in it though.  Therefore, perfect for these cookies.

There are several different types of presses.  A hand press (like mine or this one) or an electric press.  I am lucky enough to have my grandmother’s antique hand press and it still works perfectly.  My mom and I have tried newer versions and an electric, but they don’t work nearly as well.  But, that’s just my opinion and you can find one you love using for yourself.

Vegan Cream Cheese Press Cookies
Makes 6-7 dozen cookies.  Original recipe adaptation in brackets.

1 cup Earth Balance [1 cup butter or margarine]
1/3 cup Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese [3 oz. cream cheese]
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 2 tablespoons water [1 egg yolk]
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
[Or just 2 1/2 cups AP flour]
Cookie press

Grab all your ingredients.

Make a flax egg by adding 2 tablespoons water to 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed.  It will gel nicely after you let it sit a few minutes.  Or, you can just use 1 egg yolk.

Cream together butter and cream cheese.  Add the sugar and flax egg and cream well.  Then add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.

Slowly add the flour. Mix until all is incorporated until adding in the next batch.

If you want, you can add some food coloring to make the cookies a bit more festive.  I used green food coloring because I wanted to make Christmas trees.  (You will notice that mine look more like shamrocks than Christmas trees.)

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30-60 minutes.  You don’t have to do this, but we always have in my family.

Fill cookie press and press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet (OK, I greased mine).  Add sprinkles if your heart desires.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Let cool on tray for 2-3 minutes and then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

So, mine definitely don’t look like the Christmas trees I was hoping they would, but oh well.  Shape doesn’t effect the taste!  I would’ve done red and make poinsettias like we used to when I was a kid, but I was out of red food coloring.

                                     

  

These aren’t the sweetest cookies in the world, but they are still delicious.  And they make the BEST tasting cookie dough in the world.  OK, that might be an exaggeration, but my dad, brother, and I would seriously eat this by the spoonful when my mom would make them every Christmas.  Soooo goooooood!

I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does!