Coconut Cherry Snowballs

This is a very simple little confection that is perfect for the holidays. Whip some up to serve to those friends who just called to say they're coming over, or to take to that party you were just invited to, or any time you just don't have enough energy left to bake something. It makes a fun activity for the kids too.

The Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups coconut
1 1/4 cups icing sugar
1/4 cup butter (softened)
1 tsp almond extract (optional)
Glacé or Maraschino cherries

Equipment:

Measuring cups and spoons
A couple of bowls
A spoon
Your hands

Notes:

*I use medium, unsweetened coconut in the mixture and fine unsweetened for dusting. You can use shredded coconut but it will be a little harder to roll into balls.
* If you aren't a fan of cherries, you can substitute anything you like, such as chocolate chips, dried fruit or chopped nuts.
* The almond extract gives this a really nice flavour. It's kind of bland without it. But if you really don't like it, leave it out, or substitute a different flavouring.

*You can substitute margarine for the the butter to make it more economical.
* I am only using half the amounts listed in the ingredients here, because I don't want to have too many. A full batch will give you about 24 balls, depending on how big you want them to be.

Place the coconut, icing sugar, butter and almond extract in a bowl and mix. You can begin with a spoon, but you will probably need to use your hands in the end.

Keep mixing until everything sticks together and forms a nice little round ball.

*If your mix seems too dry, add a bit of butter. If it's too sticky, add a couple more spoonfuls of sugar.

Pinch off a small piece and roll it into a ball. Make an indentation and insert half a cherry (or a whole one of you prefer). Wrap the coconut mixture around the cherry and roll the ball in coconut.

Or you can flatten the ball slightly and make an indentation on top. Sprinkle a little coconut over it then set a half cherry in the indentation.

Experiment with a variety of toppings/fillings and decorations.

1) White chocolate

2) Melted Hershey's almond bar (my new favourite)

3) Caramel and chopped pecans. (I just used caramel ice cream topping.)

4) Original Cherry

5) Rolled in coloured sugar

Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Let warm to room temperature before serving. Will keep for several days. I have never tried freezing these, but I'm sure you probably could.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have fun making your own coconut snowballs. Please leave comments telling me what you think and add any suggestions you have. :0)