Snowball cookies have become  such a staple in Newfoundland’s houses, I don't think you could walk into one of their kitchens  during the holiday season and not see them lying out in a tin, squished against one another , lined up in rows, with the extra coconut scattered between the treat and the floor of the tin. It's a tradition in so many homes in Newfoundland passed down through generations. Some of my earliest memories of Newfoundland include sharing  the dessert with my grandma. Every Christmas, without fail, there have always been snowballs at my family’s dinner table. 

Though my parents have long since moved from Newfoundland, it remains a tradition around the holiday season, always has been. Each year, after the tree was up and decorated, my mom and I would set aside time to make our snowball cookies; it's one of my favourite traditions of ours. She would mix the oats and cocoa together, and I'd squish and mould them into little balls. We would always make way more than we could possibly eat, we'd have them in the fridge for days. Putting them in the fridge gives them extra texture and makes them so much better. I always have one after we're done baking, but they never taste quite as good as they do when they've been in the fridge for a few days. 
For most of the house parties we'd go to, my family would bring a tray of them so that everyone could enjoy a little taste of Newfoundland. My parents have a lot of friends from there, and they would already have some laid out, but you can really never have too many snowballs. They've always been my favorite of the treats we make around Christmas. I have so many childhood memories of sneaking them from the fridge.
​
Thinking of the treats always brings a smile to my face, taking me back to all those Christmases before, all the warm memories of my family all together. After every dinner, when the tray of cookies were brought out, and Newfoundland’s snowball cookies were always the first ones eaten, everyone quickly snacking on them one after another before they were all gone in just one night. 


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
  • Approximately 1 1/2 cups extra coconut to roll the balls,​
Instructions
  1. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and milk. (This mixture will foam up while boiling so a larger pot is recommended.)
  2. Boil together gently over medium heat for 5-6 minutes or until mixture reaches about 225-230 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 in the fridge, until mixture is able to be shaped into 1 1/2 inch balls. The mixture will be quite soft and sloppy while it is still hot. It will not firm up until it is very well chilled.
  5. Roll the balls in additional coconut.
  6. Makes about 4 dozen. ​