The holidays are coming up fast, and despite the fact that I finally have weekends again and time to focus on the important things like baking and writing that kind of fell to the wayside while I was working full months at a time, somehow I still feel underprepared for the holidays. After a week, our Christmas tree finally has lights and ornaments on it. The only thing I have at the ready is an arsenal of cookie recipes that just scream “holidays” at me. These Orange Gingerbread Snowballs may just be the loudest of the bunch.
For starters, the name itself is pure winter and holidays: Orange Gingerbread Snowballs. You’ve got that bright winter citrus, the spice of gingerbread, and the earthy nuttiness of pecans which perfectly balance one another to create a completely tender, melt-in-your-mouth cookie.
These are everything you could ask for in a holiday cookie: easy to make, packed full of flavor, and small enough to finish in two bites, which means people are likely to go back and grab more. Because, honestly, one just isn’t enough.
One of the best parts about holiday baking is that there’s no lack of sounds you can put on in the background as you get to work baking one quick batch of cookies like these Orange Gingerbread Snowballs or multiple batches of five or six different kinds of cookies. From Christmas music to classic holiday movies to the super cheesy Hallmark movies that are all cut from the same script, there’s always a way to fill the kitchen with the sounds of the holidays while you get to baking.
I am all about the holidays, which is why I get a little frazzled when they come a bit quicker than I can prepare for them. Last year, I was so sleep deprived that I barely remember Christmas coming and going. This year, even though I feel a little behind, I’m determined to catch up! Which means baking whenever I can and throwing on all my favorite movies and songs at every free opportunity.
Yes, I am that person that will literally keep her mini tree up until the middle of March and the Nutcrackers marching until the snow fully disappears. That also means that I’ll be making the Orange Gingerbread Snowballs until spring hits and the sight of leaves growing on the trees, grass turning green, and flowers blooming give sign that the holidays are actually, officially over (to be fair, if you watch Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, then you know that the series of holidays actually ends with Valentine’s Day, so I may not be so crazy after all!).
| Cook Time | 12-15 minutes |
| Servings |
cookies
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- 1 cup pecans finely ground
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 orange zest only
- 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cloves
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp orange extract
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar for rolling cookies in
Ingredients
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- Preheat the oven to 325°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a food processor, finely ground the 1 cup of pecans. Pour the ground pecans into a large bowl, and whisk together with the flour, orang zest, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer, cream together the softened butter and 2 Tbsp powdered sugar until light and fluffy. This should take approximately 3 minutes.*
- Add in the molasses, vanilla extract, and orange extract one at a time, mixing until combined between each.
- Add in the dry ingredients half at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula between each addition. Mix until combined.
- Roll the dough into 1 inch (or 20 gram) balls. Place on the prepared baking sheets leaving about 1 inch in between each cookie. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, fill a small bowl with about 1-1/2 cups of powdered sugar. While still warm, roll the cookies in the powdered sugar. Allow to cool completely and roll in powdered sugar once more.
*These can also be made with just a large bowl and a wooden spoon, you just have to be ready to use some muscle to get the butter and sugar properly creamed together.