Traditional Newfoundland Snowballs, it wouldn’t be a holiday without them. A no bake coconut chocolate treat that freezes great. For as long as I can remember these Snowballs have been on every single Christmas cookie platter. Delicious little chocolate coconut bites that are no bake which makes them very easy!
This week I’ve been taking part in a virtual cookie exchange hosted by one of my blogging friends, Norine. She is the home cook extraordinaire! I can’t tell how how many pies, cakes and cookies she has on her site. So, if you are into sweets and looking to do some baking over the coming weeks, check her out at Norine’s Nest!
There are other bloggers participating as well and each day someone shares a cookie recipe. And today is my turn. I can’t think of a better cookie to share than these traditional Newfoundland Snowballs.
What Makes Snowballs So Great
Growing up we didn’t only have these during Christmas, but that is how I remember them the most. On those icy days in December coming in from school and digging into the ice cream tub in the freezer to fish one out. They were always stored in old ice cream tubs. Never Tupperware boxes, fancy freezer bags, or over priced airtight containers that promised no freezer burn. No, just this, just an old ice cream tub and it always worked a treat. And you know what? I think I always ate them frozen and kind of prefer them this way. Even Oliver, my son, likes them frozen. Must be something in the genes. That or we lack patience for them to defrost!
So what makes these cookies so great? Ummm, they have chocolate so that’s always a good starting point. To be honest, they are just chocolate, coconut and oats and they are just delicious. I only ever make them at Christmas time but can’t remember a single Christmas without them.
This is a recipe my sister gave me years ago and I’ve been making them each year ever since I got my hand on that recipe. But like a lot of things, I think they are best when she makes them. In fact, I prefer pretty much everything made by someone else. Tell me I’m not alone in not always wanting to eat my own food? Hahahaha! As much as I love to cook for my family, there are more times than I can count that by the time dinner is served, I’m sick of looking at it and make a sandwich. True story! I know some of you out there can relate, right?
Okay, let’s look at the cookies.
Notes about the snowballs
- The mixture should be quite soft and not too easy to form into balls at first. You want the mixture to be sloppy. They harden when they set and you don’t want them to be dry. Once you are happy with you mixture, have ready a large clean surface to roll them out. How many you get will depend on how big you roll them. I usually get around 3 dozen.
- These have to be refrigerated not baked! So even easier. You can keep them in the fridge for about one week. In the freezer much longer! I haven’t frozen them for longer than a month.
Anyway, these are a great cookie to add to your Christmas cookie platter or to share for a cookie exchange.
Happy baking friends and I’ll be back with more cookies soon.
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Get the recipe!
Newfoundland Snowballs
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup butter
- 1 Cup evaporated milk
- 1 Cup granulated white sugar
- 1/4 Cup cocoa powder
- 2 Cups rolled oats
- 2 Cups desiccated coconut * plus more for rolling
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan set over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the evaporated milk and sugar. Stir until combined and bring to a slow boil. Add cocoa powder and continue to stir and simmer until you have a syrup like consistency. This will probably take about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and leave to cool. Pour the chocolate mixture into a large mixing bowl. Pour in the oats and coconut and mix until combined.
- Scoop out the cookie dough with a tablespoon and form them into little balls. Continue until you have used all the dough.
- Pour extra coconut onto a large plate. Roll all the balls in the coconut.
- Place in an airtight container and put in the fridge to set for about an hour.
Notes
Thanks For Stopping By & Hope To See You Soon!
Not used to using oats. Got rolled oats and it says they cook in 90 seconds . Does that make them instant. They don’t hold together with the mixture??
I’ve only used large rolled oats for this recipe. I think the oats you have must be instant if they cook in 90 seconds. Instant rolled oats are smaller so I’m not sure what the consistency could be. This mixture will be really sloppy until refrigerated. I hope this helps.
I have been making a version of these cookies for about 60 years. I have used both old fashioned oats and quick cooking oats and both work. Might need to use a little extra of the quick cooking kind, but those oats make a more delicate snowball – the oats are less obvious.
I add a cup of miniature marshmallows and some rum flavoring to the hot mixture at the end of cooking, after removing it from the heat. The marshmallows really help the cookies hold together and I think makes them easier to work with. And I add in a cup of finely chopped walnuts with the dry ingredients at the end.
I am about to experiment with making them with cashew milk and plant butter (we used to call that margarine when I was young – lol) to bring them to a dairy free cookie exchange in a part of the world where they have never heard of Newfoundland snowballs! I’m thinking they’ll be a hit!
Hi Patricia, I really like the different variations you make. The mini marshmallows sound like a great addition, I’m going to have to try that out sometime for sure. Yes, plant butter….lol! We called it margarine growing up too. We usually had Eversweet at our house. I think your Newfoundland Snowballs will be hit for sure!
Is the coconut sweetened in this recipe? Looks yummy!!
Hi Terri it’s sweetened coconut, sorry for the late reply. I missed this one in the inbox. Going to put it in the recipe card. Thank you!