Tonight, I was crucial to the success of a rescue operation.
It has been bitterly cold in Montreal this week, with today’s high around minus 15 degrees. My plan was to avoid the cold by sitting at home by the fire and napping/watching TV all day. Midway through Jeopardy the call came; my brother needed help. He had parked his car outside a metro all day and it wouldn’t start. Normally I would let my dad handle this type of situation, but this time it was decided we both would go. We donned our snow gear, grabbed the jumper cables and headed out.
When we arrived at the scene my brother looked half frozen, but he refused to put on a hat. The plan was to push my brothers car out of it’s parking space so that we could boost it. The men attempted to push the car while I got the cables.
But the car wasn’t moving.
So I headed over to help. And with my measly little pipe-cleaner arms I succeeded in getting the car moving.
I don’t know what they would have done without me. We got the car out of the spot, boosted it and everyone headed home, safe and sound.
Once home, I felt it was time to reward myself with a hot chocolate and a couple of these Chocolate Hazelnut Snowball cookies.The recipe was adapted from this one in the December Food and Wine. These were the last of the Christmas cookies I made this year. The texture is kind of similar to biscotti, a great cookie to have with a cup of tea or coffee. I used hazelnuts instead the pecans called for in the recipe because of an allergy. I also cut the quantity of nuts used by half a cup, because I felt that the hazelnuts would overwhelm the cookie.
Chocolate-Hazelnut Snowballs
Makes 30-36 cookies
- 1 1/2 cups hazelnuts, finely chopped
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp instant espresso powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Icing sugar for coating
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast them for 5 to 10 minutes until lightly toasted.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla together until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder and salt together. Stir the flour into the butter mixture until well combined. Stir in the hazelnuts. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Roll the dough in to tablespoon sized balls and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. The cookies will be slightly firm to the touch when done. Let cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then cool completely on a rack.
Enjoy!
What She's Having 
-15?! Holy cow! I will send you warmth and sunshine from FL if you send me some of these snowballs! ;-)
Minus 15 degrees, that’s to cold for me. :-)
Sorry to hear about the problem with the car. Great recipe.
Holy cow! That’s FREEZING! And yes, I say all that work warrants a reward. These cookies sound fabulous!
There is nothing like Montreal cold. Montreal is the reason we bought our Canadian Goose coats. It makes New England feel tropical at 25 degrees :>) Glad you got your brothers car going. The cookies look like a sensational reward. Happy new Year to you!
I think you deserve more than a snowball cookie for all that! And, I am so impressed by how you’ve captured the light on those cookies, the combo of brown and white is so hard to shoot. Beautiful!
So glad you saved the day!!! And your chocolate snowballs were the perfect reward…they sound amazing! Beautiful photos, too~
Wish I could send a little bit of Southern California weather your way, keep warm!
It’s a good think you decided to go give a hand. You definitely deserved a treat! Have a terrific new year. :)
You definitely deserve snowballs as a reward for you valiant efforts. And I think I deserve some too. I haven’t saved anyone from car trouble, but I did do my husband’s laundry this morning. That counts, right?
I hope you have a great New Year’s. Thanks for the tasty recipe. I have a feeling I’ll be making these very soon :)
Laundry totally deserves a reward, especially since it was someone else’s. Happy New Year!
I love your chocolate hazelnut snowballs and especially as a reward for your efforts!
I’m just a cold weather wimp from California but I enjoy reading about your exploits in the frozen north country;-)
I love biscotti with a good coffee, so I think these would make an excellent reward for saving the day! Yum!
Yay, you saved the day! And these sweet tasty treats would save the day too.
Just wanted to say HAPPY NEW YEAR! :D
Thanks! Happy New Year to you too!
Brrrr that’s cold!! These snowballs look amazing and your photos are gorgeous. Love the addition of the espresso powder. :)