Newfoundland Snowballs

The origin of Newfoundland Snowball cookies are unknown, however, still very famous and popular in NL today, especially during the holiday season. These refrigerator or no-bake cookies are know by many names; Fiddle Diddles, Mud-balls, Coconut Balls, Filly Dillies, Golf Balls, just to name a few. There are many variations of this recipe, traditionally they are made with butter (or margarine), sugar, milk, rolled oats, unsweetened coconut (flaked), and cocoa. I use evaporated milk, butter, vanilla and a pinch of salt, the combination gives this delicious cookie a sweet creamy savoury fudgy texture.

Makes 36 servings (1½“ balls)

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats
2 cups unsweetened coconut
¾ cup cocoa (sifted)
Pinch of salt
1¼ cups evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
2½ cups sugar
¾ cup butter (cut in sm cubes)

Method

In a lg bowl, combine roll-oats, 1 cup coconut, cocoa, walnuts and salt – mix well and set aside.

In a lg saucepan, low-med heat, combine milk, vanilla, sugar and butter. Stir until all ingredients are totally dissolved. Increase to med-high heat (at this time do not stir mixture) and bring to a hard boil. Continue cooking for 10 minutes or until temperature reaches 235º – 240°F on a candy thermometer or at the soft-ball stage.

Remove from heat and let mixture settle (approx 1 minute). Carefully add mixture to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Place mixture in refrigerator until cool enough to handle. Shape into round balls and coat by rolling in remaining coconut. Store in refrigerator or freezer.

cleave up some junks and make a few splits – cut wood with an axe for a fire

kjp