Well, it certainly didn’t take long for me to fall behind on posting my holiday cookies, did it? As much as I am able to plan which cookies I’d like to bake, shoot photos, and edit, I run out of time when it comes to posting — especially when the new lights I’ve been using for my night photography aren’t quite delivering the results I’d like, but I continue to learn. I’ve also never been good at planning a variety of posts and lining them all up to auto-publish, but I’ll have to work on that, too.
In the meantime, I’ll share these snowball cookies with you. They’re my favorites so far of those I’ve made this season: a pleasant bite of citrus with the coolness that a dusting of powdered sugar always provides.
They’re just about the only thing remotely snowy I’ll ever see in our extreme southwest corner of the country!

Coconut-Orange Snowball Cookies
- 1-1/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2-1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar (sifted, then measured)
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon coconut extract
- 2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1-1/2 tablespoons grated orange peel
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
The directions can be found here.
Notes:
- For those of you who have stopped reading because you don’t like coconut, I can say that these have tricked a few people who just didn’t know the coconut was in them. I used unsweetened coconut, it’s toasted and cooled, then nearly ground with a rolling pin. It blends right in with the other ingredients.
- I chose not to use coconut flavoring because I never enjoy artificial flavors in anything. I used organic orange extract instead and omitted the orange zest, although I’d include it next time to accent the orange flavor even more.
- I’m used to cookies of this type having nuts, and I didn’t miss them in this variety but know they would be excellent.
- You’ll definitely need to roll these in the powdered sugar more than twice after they’re out of the oven. I also gave them a healthy sprinkle after they were placed on the platter.
Don’t forget to check out my fellow cookie bakers this holiday season. Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen, Courtney of Coco Cooks, and Judy of No Fear Entertaining who are all returning this year, and Michelle of Big Black Dog, Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook, Renee of Flamingo Musings, and Tiffany of The Nesting Project who will be joining us this year. A special nod goes to Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes who started the group last year, but cannot join in on the craziness this year.
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{ 17 comments }
I love the idea of adding coconut and orange to these cookies. And the snowman- fabulous!
Looks delicious!! Great photos!
The snowman highlights the fun in these cookies Kellypea. I have tried 2 different types of cookies so far this year and neither has turned out…sigh.
Are you serious? How annoying! Last year, I was ready to throw dough over some of the recipes I chose. You’d think with the amount of practice we’ve had it wouldn’t be an issue to make a simple cookie, but sometimes, they get the best of me. Hang in there!
Love the snowman lifting the weights/cookies! So cute!
Great photos of an all white subject! Just what lights are you using for your night photography? I hate this time of year when I can’t use natural light for my food photos!
You’d laugh if you saw them. They’re inexpensive clamp lights I purchased at Home Depot and I’ve been experimenting with different bulbs. The light box diffuses any light I use, I just need the right kind. The new bulbs are annoyingly yellow.
Beautiful cookies! I’m also curious about how you’re doing your night photography– are you using a light box?
Thanks! Yes, I’m using a large light box but have been experimenting with different bulbs for my lamps. I’ve resisted setting custom white settings even though I know I should so end up having to deal with editing photos far more than I normally do. I shoot using a manual setting so it’s always a big learning experience.
I love that last picture! I admit, I’m one of the coconut haters. That’s why I went with the lime snowballs instead. =)
mmm, coconut. for me, coconut is an improver of almost everything. is improver a word? it should be. also, your snowman is adorable.
Beautiful Kelly!
These are beautiful! Well worth the wait. You did such a great job!
Your snowballs look delicious! And I love the red ribbon running over them. Striking photo.
Very cute photos.
This is my kind of cookie – my last post was all about coconut cookies too!
I’ll have to add this one to my repertoire.
I love that last photo! You really made these prefect. So appropriate for the Holidays.
Wow, these look so perfect and beautiful. I think I might have a go at them!
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