In the weeks leading up to Christmas we will be featuring some family favorites for holiday baking. One of the most popular treats anytime but particularly at Christmas is the Snowball. This recipe is virtually a Newfoundland icon. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who has spent any time in this province and has not sampled a Snowball. More a confection than a cookie, a proper snowball should be soft, fudgy and slightly chewy. Many people find this recipe to be a bit of a challenge but if you follow the method closely and are precise in your measurements, you should have no problems.
Key to the success of this recipe is the length of time that the base of the recipe is boiled. More precisely, it is the temperature that the mixture reaches when boiling that is critical. Much akin to making fudge, you are looking for the mixture to reach soft ball stage or near soft ball stage on a candy thermometer. Use one if you have it but if not, the five minutes gentle boiling as directed in the recipe is a pretty dependable guideline. It is also very important not to stir the mixture as it boils or you risk the sugar crystallizing and leaving you with a hard, crumbly finished product.
In a large saucepan, combine and boil together gently over medium high heat for 5 minutes or until mixture reaches about 230 degrees F on a candy thermometer:
3 cups sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
1 & 1/4 cups milk
Once mixture begins to boil it is very important not to stir it at all.
Mix together
3 cups large rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened fine coconut
12 tbsp cocoa
Add the boiled mixture to the dry ingredients until well combined and chill well. until mixture is able to be shaped into 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll the balls in additional coconut. Makes about 4 dozen. These should be stored in the fridge. These freeze very well (my kids eat them frozen all the time)
My husband only liked his mothers snowballs and no one could make them as good as hers until I made your snow ball recipe and now he chooses these snowballs over his mothers. He calls the "YUMMY"
ReplyDeleteHey, what can I say, I'm good! LOL!;) Really glad he enjoyed them. My mission to banish bad snowballs marches on!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for posting this recipe! I'm a Newfie living in Georgia and wanted to bring something different to my office party cookie exchange. I remembered snowballs but not the recipe, so went online and found yours. I made these last night, and as I type, my coworkers are raving about them.
ReplyDeleteYour other recipes look so great, I can't wait to try more!
Do you happen to have a recipe for Newfoundland dressing?
Thank you again!
I just tried making a batch of these. Right now I have a soupy bowl of chocolate sauce and tough/hard oats. I used "large" oats as the recipe indicated - which are also called old-fashioned (Mine are Quaker Large). Should I have used quick oats? Or - will this eventually turn into the snowballs that I have been craving?
ReplyDeleteHi Robin,
ReplyDeleteIt is normal for the mixture to be a little soupy before it cools. Hope they turned out well in the end. Barry.
when boiling the first three ingredients,will u stir before it boils or will sugar stick to bottom of pot.thanks Rose.
ReplyDeleteHi Rose,
ReplyDeleteIt is advisable NOT to stir these ingredients as they boil. This can cause the sugar to crystalize and ruin the proper fudgy texture of these snowballs. If these turn out hard, you've done something wrong.
Those are not Snowballs. Snowballs have a creamy marshmallow center with a chocolaty coconut shell. So yum.
ReplyDeleteThe above cookies are called coconut balls. My mom made them for me every Christmas in Hampden Bay NFLD :)
Oh Jackie, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet! ;)
ReplyDeleteI never quibble about the names if these things. It is a silly exercise to try and convince someone that something they've known by one name their entire life is really something else! I'm sure there are other names for them; just as I am sure that there are many, many thousands of Newfoundlanders outside of your Mom's kitchen in Hampden Bay who have always known these as Snowballs.
The Snowballs you speak of are a commercial English confection anyway and not a cookie; this recipe an attempt to recreate that candy.
Call them coconut balls if you want but leave others to call them as they please as well. There is no right and wrong here, only good taste! ;)
In Musgrave Hr. They call them 'Fiddle Diddle's' lol, they have many names!
DeleteHi! Can these be frozen?
ReplyDeleteYES! !n fact they freeze quite well and I am not a big fan of freezing anything.
ReplyDeleteI can't count the number of these fudgy morsels my siblings and I pinched from my Mom's basement freezer when we were kids. ;)
We call them snowballs, always have....from Botwood NL...and the ones with marshmallow in the middle, we call them marshmallow snowballs :) both delicious... some people call them by lots of names...either name is fine.... no right or worng....just delicious!!!
ReplyDeleteTammy
This year for Christmas, I wanted to make snowballs for the first time -- and no matter where I looked, I could not find the recipe. I made the recipe that my mother gave me - knowing it wasn't what I was looking for - with just OK results. So into google I pop the phrase - Newfoundland Snowball cookies -- and this is where I end up! And just by the picture alone, I know these are the cookies I am trying so hard to prepare! Guess I'm cookie making again this afternoon - thanks for posting the recipe.
ReplyDeletePen
You're very welcome, Pen. This continues to be one of the most popular recipes in this site and one of the most searched Newfoundland recipes on Google.
ReplyDeleteMy coworkers were driving me crazy this afternoon, begging me to bring them a treat for break time tomorrow, but with a busy schedule and no time to shop, this was the perfect solution. They turned out perfectly, and I even had enough left to treat my husband.
ReplyDeleteThanks for another great recipe!
Help! I didn't get my snowballs rolled in time and now they won't stick together nor can I get the coconut to stick. Can this be fixed?
ReplyDeleteSorry Shawna but I think you are in a do-over situation. I think it's possible that you may have overboiled the sugar butter milk mixture too
ReplyDeleteThe best that I've had in a loooong time!! I made these today and they are chocolatly and chewy. Just as a snowball should be! I have tried many a snowball & snowball recipes over the years and this is at the top! Thanks for sharing, and thanks for giving all of the tips with your recipes. I think it is what makes the difference! Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michelle...this was my Grandmothers recipe and the only one I've ever tried or felt the need to! ;) I stick with the best when I find it. Thanks for reading, Barry.
ReplyDeleteI am so thankful for your detailed directions! I made some snowballs tonight (without the benefit of my mom around) and used the recipe in her Newfie Cookie book. They came out without nearly enough chocolate and I made the mistake of stirring whilst boiling. I'll try again tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteHowever, her recipe has evaporated milk. Do you use regular milk? Thanks!
You can use either Lauren, I know my Nan always used good old Carnation evaporated in hers for years. Good luck with your next attempt.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this recipie! I've been looking everywhere online for this one. I'm from NFLD and I didn't even think that it was a Newfoundlander thing. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the snow ball recipe i didnt get a chance to make this one yet ,but there are so many different ones i know im going to enjoy making these ...Carolyn
ReplyDeleteHi Barry, Can I use minute oats instead of larger oats and margerin instead of butter? Thanks, Sharon
ReplyDeleteYou can get away with margarine as long as it is not soft spreadable margarine in a tub. That is NEVER a good idea for any type of baking. I don't use minute oats at all. I find them too fine and they are more processed so they will soak up more moisture and the snowballs will be dry instead of fudgy.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering what type of milk I should be using? (skim, 1%, 2%, carnation, etc?)
ReplyDeleteWhole milk. You can use reconstituted carnation (1/2 water) if you like. Nan always did.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering how long typically should you leave them to cool? Do you put them in the fridge to cool? My boyfriend's family is from Newfoundland and he was searching and searching for a recipe that seemed right finally I type in authentic Newfoundland snowball, and BAM! There you were. Hope I get the cooling right! Thanks a bundle for posting :)
ReplyDeleteI do let them cool almost completely in the fridge before rolling them in balls.You kind of have to in order for them to hold together properly. Hope you enjoy them. Barry.
ReplyDeletedang it.....i used .5% milk and they are not wanting to stay in a ball!! will they eventually stick together???
ReplyDeleteAre they crumbly and falling apart? If so, start over. :(
ReplyDeleteHey great recipe! Made them this Christmas in my gift tins amongst some other goodies and boy were the snowballs by far the biggest hit! Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I was wondering if you might have heard of strawberry snowballs?? My mother in-law used to make them for my husband but they have lost contact many years ago anywho if you had heard of these and might have any idea what I could use to make them that would be amazing my husband is longing for (another) taste of his childhood. Thank you once again for posting this recipe.
ReplyDeleteStrawberry Snowballs sound great. Never heard of those but if you track down the recipe let us know.
ReplyDeleteHey Colleen I would think that you could make a strawberry ganache. So it would be more like a strawberry truffle. A traditional ganache is just boiled whole cream, butter, sugar, and chocolate. You put it in the fridge, form balls and roll them in what you want or dip in chocolate and you have a truffle. So you could boil cream, sugar, butter, and a bit or strawberry puree. Put it in the fridge and then form balls and roll in coconut.
ReplyDeleteI had to go back up and look at the date
ReplyDeleteSnowballs chance in August had me laughing!
Just wondering if you start timing the 5 minutes after it starts to boil or as soon as you put the pot on the heat?
ReplyDeleteThe timing starts when it begins to boil.
ReplyDeleteHey Barry!! Have been making those for years, or a reasonable facsimile thereof! lol (They dry, crumbly ones).....Anyway, today I made YOUR recipe!!!
ReplyDeleteThey are DELISH!!!! I had to hide them from myself in the freezer...yep, good luck with THAT one, Lucy! lol
Thanks again...congrats on winning with the "Banoffee Pie" you made, and now I'm getting in the mood to do my Christmas baking...or getting a start on it!
SOO proud of you, you wonderful Newfie, you!!
BTW, also posted your link on my B&B Page!!!! People from all over check it, so wanted them to have some Newfie recipes!!
no such thing as a bad snowball. it is all about personal taste. i like the dry snowballs as do everyone i have ever served them. congrats. on big win and yes i did vote for you!
ReplyDeleteMy all time favorite growing up. I make them every christmas, making some right now as we sit here. We use to call them snowballs or mudballs!
ReplyDeleteWell My favourite treat come christmas. Love making them and especially eating them. Never make it to the freezer. They are soooooo...... good. Can't wait to make a batch!! Recipe helps me this year so they turn out perfectly.
ReplyDeleteCheeky!!
I'm having a really difficult time making these. I followed the measurements and instructions, I got the snowballs rolled into balls and coconut but they are not firm ( when i pick them up they are still a bit squishy, soft and a little difficult to eat) Ive been keeping them in the refrigerator. Did i do something wrong?
ReplyDeleteBesides for that the mixture for the snowballs is super yummy and fudgey ^_^
I chill the mixture before rolling, which is easier and I always store them in the fridge (or freezer, my kids eat them frozen all the time) It sounds like you are close to right for this recipe. You may want to boil the mix for another minute or two to see if that helps or you can always add a little extra oatmeal.
ReplyDelete12 Tablespoons of cocoa? is this correct?
ReplyDeleteaccording to my grandmother!
ReplyDeleteThis recipe was delicious. I was craving these snowballs from my childhood. I used to make them for Christmas each year as a child growing up in Newfoundland. There is another chocolate ball or snowball recipe my grandmother made and I made them also as a child. These had a coconut centre made with condensed mild and covered in melted chocolate. These were great. They tasted like the store bought chocolate bars but better. Wondering if you heard of this recipe. I think parowax was used in this recipe.
ReplyDeleteI think I have that coconut ball recipe in an old cookbook somewhere. I'll have to add it to my to-do list.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great reciepe. my parents are newfoundlanders and I grew up on these, I live in Chicago now and threw a christmas party last year with this recipe and everyone loved it so i will be making them again this weekend for our Christmas party this year
ReplyDeleteis it ok to use quick oats in this recipe?
ReplyDeleteQuick oats can sometimes absorb too much of the fudge mixture and make the snowballs crumbly.
ReplyDeleteI have only ever heard of these cookies as snowballs. That's what we call them here in NL here anyway! I can't wait to make them!
ReplyDeleteMy auntie used make me these every year for 24 years...this year she married a crackhead and has no time apparently...so im using your recipe.
ReplyDeleteThank you sooooo much! i've been wanting to know how to make these!
ReplyDeleteI've always known them as Snowballs, but i could never find the 'right' recipe
Hmmmm...I used 1% milk and have let the mixture sit in the fridge for 3 hours and it is still sticky and a more runny that I think it is suppose to be...is this normal? Can I add more oatmeal to make it dryer or do I have to start over? Thanks Barry!
ReplyDeletel'd add the oatmeal and see how that goes.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this recipe. I live in Texas now but am from Grand Falls. I lost my recipe and this is a godsend because I have a crowd of Newfies coming over on Boxing Day and can't wait to put these out. Merry Christmas from afar. Still prefer to be here with no snow.
ReplyDeleteI am from NF and these are called snowballs and sold under that name all over the place.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to make these today! Can't wait!! :)
ReplyDelete