Newfoundland Snowballs

Newfoundland Snowballs 

UPDATE: Here is a revisit of one of the most popular recipes ever featured on Rock Recipes and one of the earliest. This iconic Newfoundland treat is among the most searched Newfoundland recipes on the internet and is the way many folks discovered this website in the first place. This recipe came from my Nan, Belinda Morgan of Port-de-Grave, Newfoundland and has been made in our family for over 50 years. I have sampled these all over the province and have never yet found any as good as her soft, fudgy version. It is and will always be for me, the perfect and most authentic Newfoundland snowball recipe.

Originally Published on November 7, 2007.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas we will be featuring some family favorites for holiday baking. One of the most popular treats anytime but particularly at Christmas is the Snowball. This recipe is virtually a Newfoundland icon. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who has spent any time in this province and has not sampled a Snowball. More a confection than a cookie, a proper snowball should be soft, fudgy and slightly chewy. Many people find this recipe to be a bit of a challenge but if you follow the method closely and are precise in your measurements, you should have no problems.

Key to the success of this recipe is the length of time that the base of the recipe is boiled. More precisely, it is the temperature that the mixture reaches when boiling that is critical. Much akin to making fudge, you are looking for the mixture to reach soft ball stage or near soft ball stage on a candy thermometer. Use one if you have it but if not, the five minutes gentle boiling as directed in the recipe is a pretty dependable guideline. It is also very important not to stir the mixture as it boils or you risk the sugar crystallizing and leaving you with a hard, crumbly finished product.

The Perfect Newfoundland Snowballs Recipe

Recipe by Barry C. Parsons

Newfoundland Snowballs - the most searched for Newfoundland recipe on RockRecipes.com. Soft chocolate fudge balls with the goodness of oatmeal and coconut. These freeze exceptionally well and my kids actually prefer to eat them frozen, just like I did as a child.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 2 hours, including chilling time
Yield: 4 dozen
Ingredients

• 3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 3 cups large rolled oats
• 1 cup unsweetened fine coconut
• 12 tbsp cocoa
• 1 1/2 cups extra coconut extra coconut to roll the balls

Cooking Directions

1. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and milk.
2. Boil together gently over medium high heat for 5 minutes or until mixture reaches about 230 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
3. Mix together the oats, 1 cup coconut and cocoa.
4. Add the boiled mixture to the dry ingredients until well combined and chill well. until mixture is able to be shaped into 1 1/2 inch balls.
5. Roll the balls in additional coconut.
6. Makes about 4 dozen. These should be stored in the fridge. These freeze very well (my kids eat them frozen all the time, just like my siblings and I did as kids)