Christmas Pudding Balls (No-Bake Cookies)
- 2 12 cups walnuts
- 2 cups raisins
- 14 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 dash cinnamon
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1 ounce brandy
- If you're using dried ginger, reconstitute according to package at this point.
- Chop your walnuts in a food processor until smooth.
- (I like to bake them at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes first, to bring out the oils, but that's entirely optional).
- Add your ginger and grind in the food processor until distributed.
- (make sure to add the reconstituting water if you're using dried ginger).
- Add cinnamon and nutmeg to the mixture and blend for a few seconds to mix.
- Finally, slowly add the raisins, then the brandy, and process until the mixture begins to clump and form a large ball in the processor.
- (you may not need all 2 cups of raisins; it depends upon the amount of oil in the walnuts -- and the amount of brandy you decide to use!
- I'm always a little heavy-handed when it comes to liquors in my cooking, hehe).
- This next part is a little bit tedious.
- After kneading the honey into the mixture by hand, break off pieces of the dough with your thumb and index finger and roll into cherry-sized balls.
- These cookies are quite rich, so the smaller you make them the better.
- Make sure that they DO NOT TOUCH when you set them down, otherwise you're going to have to do it all over again.
- Also, if you find that it becomes difficult to roll the cookies, don't be afraid to wipe the oil off your hands.
- Now for the fun part!
- Roll your cookies in powdered sugar, place in a cookie tin, and enjoy!
- (I personally add this additional step: the day after you make the cookies, roll again in powdered sugar, then roll the sugared cookies around between your hands to give them a beautiful matte frosted finish.
- They almost look like marzipan if you do it just right; perfect for the holiday season!
- ).
walnuts, raisins, honey, fresh ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, brandy
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/christmas-pudding-balls-no-bake-cookies-201011 (may not work)