Day 8: No-bake snowballs

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/12/2023 (636 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Day 8 of our annual baked-goods celebration brings a coconut-dusted confection from reader Marlene Cyncora.

I used to make these every Christmas, and it was one of my children’s favourite treats. I had to hide them in order to have some left for Christmas Day. Of course, whenever I thought I’d found the perfect hiding place, not so! Someone always found them.

It’s an easy recipe to prepare and does not require baking.

Christmas Snowballs

250 ml (1 cup) dates, chopped
180 ml (3/4 cup) sugar
125 ml (1/2 cup) walnuts, chopped
125 ml (1/2 cup) butter
2 eggs, beaten
2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) salt
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla
500 ml (2 cups) Rice Krispies
1 pkg unsweetened coconut

Combine dates, sugar, nuts, butter, eggs and salt in a large pot on the stovetop over low heat. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.

Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Let cool for about 5 minutes and fold in Rice Krispies.

Form into 2.5-cm (1-inch) balls and roll in coconut to cover. Place in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and let cool. Store covered in the refrigerator.

— Marlene Cyncora

Looking for more Christmas treats? The Free Press has stored dozens of recipes from past years at wfp.to/cookies.

Eva Wasney
Reporter

Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva.

Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.