Believe it or not, this recipe came from an old church cookbook in Bayard, Nebraska. Mrs. Edna Schneider, (a faithful congregant in our small German community), provided us this recipe— and thank goodness she did!
This has been on “my favorites” list ever since I can remember, as my Mom, sister, and I always made them at Christmas. They are definitely a hit during the holidays, but would equally be a favorite any time of year. A final list of accolades: they are “no-bake”, come together in minutes, and are naturally gluten-free! If you are in a pinch for time, you can press the entire mixture into a 13×9 pan, top with the coconut, and cut into squares. I hope you enjoy these as much as our family does.
Date Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 Eggs
- 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1/8 Teaspoon Salt or “a pinch”
- 1 Cup Butter cut into pieces
- 1 1/2 Cups Pitted Dates Chopped into small pieces
- 4 Cups Rice Krispies Cereal
- 2 Cups Dried Coconut Unsweetened. Finely Shredded.
Instructions
- In a heavy-bottomed skillet or pan, place in the Butter and melt over very low heat. Turn off heat while you prepare the date mixture.
- Chop Dates and set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the eggs until creamy. Add the Brown Sugar and pinch of Salt, and whisk again to combine.
- Return to the skillet with the melted butter and turn heat back on to “low”. Add the Dates and stir. Add the Egg-Brown Sugar-Salt mixture and thoroughly combine. Continue to cook on “low” heat for about 15 minutes while stirring and “smashing” the dates into a paste-like consistency. **I find it helpful to use a manual potato masher. **It’s VERY important to keep the burner on a very low setting, otherwise the eggs will cook and the dates could burn. Just be patient. I’ve found 15 minutes is the perfect time for everything to break down and come together, somewhat resembling a carmel.
- After the mixture has broken down, take it off the heat. Add the 4 Cups of Rice Crispies, and thoroughly mix to combine. (Like you would “Rice Krispy Treats”. )Allow the mixture to cool for about 5 minutes, until you can handle rolling it in your hands.
- Place the Coconut in a bowl. Take a Tablesppon of the Date-Rice Krispie mixture and roll it in your palms to form a small ball. Roll the Date Ball into the shredded Coconut and coat evenly on all sides.Place the finished Date “Snowball” on a parchment lined cookie sheet, and allow to cool completely. (Another hour or so.) Cover the cookie sheet with foil or plastic wrap to store. Alternatively, place the cookies in an airtight container. The cookies will keep for about a week or so…if they last that long!
Notes
*If you don’t want to take the time to roll these into individual balls, you can “press” the mixture into a 13×9 pan and top with a generous layer of coconut or crushed walnuts. Just press the topping into the mixture a little so that it adheres to it. Cut it into squares and enjoy!
*You can play around with different coatings as well. Any type of crush nuts works, and is very tasty.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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