I love Balls. Nut Butter balls to be exact. My first memory of these crunchy, buttery cookies originated at my Grandmothers house. Growing up, she would bake cookies every year for Christmas. Her jam thumbprints and butter balls were my favorite. She would bake dozens and store them in containers on the front porch to keep them cold. I can remember whenever I was over, sneaking out to the front porch, lifting the lid of each container, pulling back the foil, and shoving and entire cookie after cookie into my mouth, hoping that she wouldn’t notice them missing! Oh man. They were so good. I didn’t even care if they were frozen. Down the hatch they went.
I have a standard recipe that I follow. It’s not my grandmother’s, but it’s close. It calls for walnuts, I usually use pecans. Rather than vanilla, this time I decided to use Almond Extract. They came out well, without an obvious change to the flavor. I also love this cookie because it doesn’t call for eggs! Which can be nice when you are out, as we are right now! (crazy chickens and their molting!)
Nut Butter Balls
adapted from The Fannie Farmer Baking Book
16 tablespoons (2 sticks or 1 cup) butter, softened (I always use salted butter)
About 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt (which I omit when using salted butter)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine butter and 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla, beat well. Add flour and salt, mix completely. Stir in nuts. Roll dough into bite sized balls. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Don’t over bake! You want the bottoms to be slightly browned and the sides to be a pale yellow. Remove from oven and roll in remaining sugar. Set aside to cool completely. When cooled completely, roll again in remaining sugar.
