The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 9: Nutballs

Inside: One of my all-time favorite cookies, handed down from my German mother-in-law. These no-bake spicy cookies are easy to make and quite unique. Try ’em for something different this Christmas.

Nutballs cookies. — Nutballs delivered via a sled! *Photo courtesy of Mike Moore.*

Margaret’s Nutballs

I can’t help noticing a theme emerging from our DIY projects and recipes this Christmas season–balls! Ornament balls, cheese balls, nutballs. Heck, even the Hillbilly Christmas Wreath has a round shape. I promise, it wasn’t planned! Well, the wreath was. . .

Mostly this season we’ve been winging it. You know what they say about the best laid plans. Of course, if there weren’t a lot of plans to begin with, then, well . . .

This post was supposed to run after the cookie reflection post, but I had some problems with the recipe. For one, it’s written from the way Europeans do recipes–they weigh just about everything, it seems! So this was in ounces, and in the past I think I made it by looking at ounces in a package and then eyeballing it from there. So I had this batch made that I hadn’t figured out the amount of walnuts measured by cups. Then, upon sampling it, the dough tasted pretty bland. Mom said it was a dud–and it was! Which got me to thinking, I should have bought fresh spices. I definitely recommend fresh spices. You think it hasn’t been that long, but just give ’em a taste. You’ll see maybe you’ve had that bottle of allspice for two years instead of six months.

The third issue is one that doesn’t bother me but bothers a lot of other people. Raw eggs. Well, I learned something. You can buy pasteurized eggs that are uncooked. I actually didn’t know that but wondered why, when we had bought a particular brand of eggs, they had the letter P stamped on them. Problem solved.

Fourth dilemma, if you can call it that, was the “drying” time. I had thought it could take days, but Mike said growing up they’d often sample a few that were a bit soft, but after sitting out to dry overnight, they were ready. I’m taking him at his word. He grew up eating them, after all.

Okay, we’ve dealt with the issues, so now onto the recipe!

Closeup of nutballs. — I love these cookies!

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The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 9: Nutballs

Author: Margaret Moore

Recipe type: Cookies

Cuisine: German

Prep time: 30 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 2 - 2½ dozen

Ingredients

1½ + ¾ finely chopped walnuts (meal consistency)
6 tablespoons of Truvia
1½ teaspoons of ground cloves
1¾ teaspoons of ground allspice
2 egg whites, beaten (use pasteurized eggs)
4 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Instructions

Set aside ¾ finely chopped walnuts into a small bowl for rolling balls in.
In a large bowl, add 1½ cups of finely chopped walnuts, Truvia, cloves, and allspice and mix well.
Add beaten eggs and vanilla extract into the mixture.
Form into balls no larger than 1-inch.
Roll balls into the remaining nut meal and set aside to dry on a sheet of wax paper.
Best left to dry overnight.
Enjoy!

Notes: If you want to use granulated sugar instead of Truvia, use 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon. Originally this recipe was made with rum. I experimented with using rum extract, which worked well, so you might replace half (or more) of the vanilla extract with rum extract. I used Watkins brand. For long-term storage, monitor these cookies. Often when making low carb or Keto desserts, they need to be refrigerated. I know when we used to make these with sugar, we just left them out and they were fine. I don’t know if that will work with these.

One final word. If you’re a fan of things like spice cake or chai tea, then this recipe will likely be your thing. It’s a unique recipe, and one that I have cherished over the years, thanks to Margaret who graciously shared it with me.

Happy cookie sampling!