Chocolate Snowballs

These are a favorite of my family. It comes from a Betty Crocker recipe and they are soooo easy to make. You don't even need to be good at baking to make these, yet they seem to be more popular than the more decadent treats. They work great for Christmas but really you can make them anytime.

Chocolate Snowballs:

Ingredients - 

1 pouch Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
1/2 cut melted butter or margarine (I use margarine)
1 egg
1/4 c. all-purpose flour (I usually use Gold Medal)
1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
About 60 unwrapped Hershey Kisses (approximately one bag)
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. water OR vanilla extract

The only changes I really make to this recipe is I took out the chopped almonds and almond extract. I personally am not a big fan of nuts inside of baked goods and I don't think many kids are either. On top of that these are one of my fiance's favorite baked goods I make and he is allergic to almonds. I add in a tsp. of water to make up for it. Vanilla extract works too, but the cookies are sweet even without added vanilla flavor so it's not necessary. The water is more to keep the right consistency.

Directions - 

First: Make sure to unwrap all of the Hershey kisses.

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cookie mix, butter/margarine, eggs, flour, cocoa, and water/vanilla extract (or almond extract if you like). Mix until soft dough forms.

Next, roll dough around a chocolate kiss. Balls should be about 3/4 in. in diameter, just big enough to completely cover the chocolate kiss.

The recipe says to use an ungreased cookie sheet but I almost never suggest this unless you are using a good quailty non-stick pan. If not, using a Pam spray or grease with butter/margarine.

Tip: If greasing with butter or margarine, use a plastic Ziploc bag to spread butter/margarine onto the cookie sheet. Just put your hand inside the bag and smear a thin layer over the whole sheet. This way you have easy clean-up and minimal mess.

Bake snowballs for 8-10 minutes at 375. Then let cool for 5 minutes.

Roll snowballs in powdered sugar, let cool for 15 minutes, and then roll again if desired.

Tip: if you are one of those people who likes their chocolate cool, store snowballs in a tightly-sealed container inside of the refrigerator. These baked goods taste really good chilled.