The Bakery

Welcome Cookie Lovers!

Entrée_de_la_Vallée_de_Luchon_à_Cierp_-_Fonds_Ancely_-_B315556101_A_MALBOS_1_002-1024x696 We are delighted to announce that that Willow and the Rose in Ashmead, famous far and wide for their Chelsea buns and other delectable treats has opened a bakery for the holiday season. A wide variety of small cakes, biscuits, and dainties will be available for sale daily except Sundays. Among them we offer Almond Snow Balls. There has been a clamor for our recipe for that particular treat, and we are please to present it here.

b8acd273f31fd5e67d369aa0ee08aeef-167x300 Almond Snow Balls

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1.5 sticks) sliced and softened
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla preferable pure extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon almond extract (you can vary the extracts)
  • 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  • 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
  • Have cookie sheets and parchment paper ready

Steps

  1. Pulse sugar and almonds in a food processor until finally ground.
  2. Add softened butter and mix until smooth, scraping the bowl as needed
  3. Add vanilla and almond extract
  4. If you have used a food processor for steps 1-3 you can add flour the same way or scrape the batter into a bowl and continue
  5. Add flour and salt to make a smooth dough
  6. Chill for 30 minutes—wrap it waxed paper and make a log our round lump
  7. Heat oven to 325 degrees
  8. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper
  9. Roll dough into balls with your hands to make 3/4-1″ balls
  10. Bake 15-20 minutes rotating once.
  11. Put confectioner’s sugar in a bag or pie tin
  12. Allow the balls to cook briefly before rolling them in the sugar
  13. Return them to a plate to cool completely
  14. Dip in the sugar a second time

Variations

Snowballs can be made with pecans or other nuts instead of almonds. Variations make use of coconut, anise, raspberry filling and inserted nut halves. There are many recipes available. The double sugaring method was recommended by the Food Network, that modern recipe collection

cookbook-200x300 If you are more interested in the Inn’s Chelsea Buns that recipe and many others can be found in that fine and familiar tome, the Dragonblade Historical Recipe Cookbook.

Adieu, readers and cookie lovers alike. I am sure you have many places to visit and want to keep hopping. You can find your next stop here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/840360825024065/?active_tab=discussionor

The-Bootmaker-Kindle-188x300 But before you go, here is a wee GIFT!

It is a reminder of the holidays in Ashmead, and you can grab a copy here.