Day 1: Snowballs (12 Days of Christmas Cookies)

This is the FIRST day of Just Enjoy Food’s 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. The recipe for Day 1 is Snowballs. I was new to the Snowball cookie before this year. I found the traditional recipe (full of gluten and sugars) when I was researching recipes to make for our church’s small group. We were going to hand the cookies out with coffee on a college campus and collectively decided to make the “regular” versions because the majority of college students don’t care. So I made the recipe the way it was written. I have to be honest, I haven’t cooked with wheat flour or sugars in over two years and I almost forgot how to do it. I am very used to (and comfortable with) using my nut and seed flours and my non-refined sweeteners. I’m walking proof that you can cook exclusively grain-free and be completely satisfied without any deprivation! But as I was making the Snowball cookies for church I couldn’t get the idea to make them healthy out of my mind. And a couple of days later I made a batch of these. And they are amazing!!

The traditional recipe calls to roll them in powdered sugar. Now, powdered sugar is out of the question, but I didn’t want to forgo the white topping because it’s way more pleasing to the eye. So what did I do… coated the tops in a little arrowroot powder. Arrowroot doesn’t taste at all, but gives a great white coating to the cookies!

“On the first day of Christmas Just Enjoy Food gave to me… a recipe for some snowball cookies” (Can’t you just hear it in the song)

Ingredients

2 sticks organic butter, softened

2 cups pecans, finely chopped (I use a food processor)

1/4 cup raw honey

1 teaspoon Stevita stevia (or omit and increase honey by 1 Tablespoon)

2 1/2 cups almond flour

3 Tablespoons coconut flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Arrowroot powder, to dust the top of the cookies

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and butter a cookie sheet or lay parchment paper down
In a medium bowl combine all ingredients and mix well with a hand mixer
Using a cookie scoop, place the cookies put on a cookie sheet (12-16 per cookie sheet)
Bake for 17-19 minutes, until golden brown
After 5-10 minutes out of the oven and the cookies are cool to the touch, coat the top of the cookies with arrowroot powder to give them the look of powdered sugar

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

**We have also made these cookies with raw cashews instead of pecans and they turn out great. Our new favorite way is to make them with 1 cup cashews and 1 cup pecans.

12 Days of Cookies: Day 1 Snowballs

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Meghan Birt

Serves: 3 Dozen Cookies

Ingredients

2 sticks organic butter, softened
2 cups pecans, finely chopped
1/4 cup raw honey
1 teaspoon Stevita stevia (or omit and increase honey by 1 Tablespoon)
2 1/2 cups almond flour
3 Tablespoons coconut flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Arrowroot powder, to dust the top of the cookies

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and butter a cookie sheet or lay parchment paper down
In a medium bowl combine all ingredients and mix well with a hand mixer
Using a cookie scoop, place the cookies put on a cookie sheet (12-16 per cookie sheet)
Bake for 17-19 minutes, until golden brown
After 5-10 minutes out of the oven and the cookies are cool to the touch, coat the top of the cookies with arrowroot powder to give them the look of powdered sugar