The Perfect Newfoundland Snowballs Recipe
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Newfoundland Snowballs. The most searched for Newfoundland recipe on RockRecipes.com. Soft chocolate fudge balls with the goodness of oatmeal and coconut.
UPDATE: Here is a revisit of Newfoundland Snowballs, one of the most popular recipes ever featured on Rock Recipes and one of the earliest. This iconic Newfoundland treat is among the most searched Newfoundland recipes on the internet.
Many folks tell me this recipe is how they discovered my website in the first place.
This recipe came from my Nan, Belinda Morgan of Port-de-Grave, Newfoundland and has been made in our family for over 50 years.
I have sampled these all over the province and have never yet found any as good as her soft, fudgy version.
It is and will always be for me, the perfect and most authentic Newfoundland snowball recipe.
Originally Published on November 7, 2007.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas we will be featuring some family favourites for holiday baking. One of the most popular treats anytime but particularly at Christmas is the Snowball.
Newfoundland Snowballs, an iconic local recipe.
This recipe is virtually a Newfoundland icon. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who has spent any time in this province and has not sampled a Snowball.
More a confection than a cookie, a proper snowball should be soft, fudgy and slightly chewy. Many people find this recipe to be a bit of a challenge but if you follow the method closely and are precise in your measurements, you should have no problems.
Some crucial tips for success.
Key to the success of this recipe is the length of time that the base of the recipe is boiled. More precisely, it is the temperature that the mixture reaches when boiling that is critical.
Much akin to making fudge, you are looking for the mixture to reach soft ball stage or near soft ball stage on a candy thermometer. Use one if you have it but if not, the five minutes gentle boiling as directed in the recipe is a pretty dependable guideline.
It is also very important not to stir the mixture as it boils or you risk the sugar crystallizing and leaving you with a hard, crumbly finished product. I've added the two very short videos below to demonstrate what each stage of preparation will look like.
Don't worry, chill out!
Chilling the snowball mixture well is also very important. Many people start adding more coconut and/or oats to the recipe when they see how soupy the mixture is when it is hot. That is a mistake to be avoided.
Once chilled the mixture will be easy to scoop and roll into balls. This will take several hours or overnight as is mentioned in the recipe instructions below.
Looking for more Newfoundland inspired desserts?
Be sure to check out our Best Newfoundland Christmas Cookies Collection. They are definitely worth making at any time of year!
Like this Newfoundland Snowballs recipe?
You'll find over 200 more like it in our Cookies Category and if your looking for more traditional and traditionally inspired recipes browse our Newfoundland Recipes Category.
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The Perfect Newfoundland Snowballs Recipe
Newfoundland Snowballs - the most searched for Newfoundland recipe on RockRecipes.com. Soft chocolate fudge balls with the goodness of oatmeal and coconut. These freeze exceptionally well and my kids actually prefer to eat them frozen, just like I did as a child.
Ingredients
- 3 cups sugar
- ¾ cup melted butter
- 1 ¼ cups milk
- 3 cups large rolled oats
- 1 cup unsweetened fine coconut
- 12 tablespoon cocoa
- 1 ½ cups extra coconut extra coconut to roll the balls, approximately
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and milk. This mixture will foam up while boiling so a larger pot is recommended.)
- Boil together gently over medium heat for 5-6 minutes or until mixture reaches about 225 -230 degrees F on a candy thermometer. (The 5 to 6 minutes cooking time is usually quite accurate for me but don't start timing it until the mixture is fully at a rolling boil and don't stir the mixture while it boils.) For the record, my latest batch took exactly 6 minutes at a rolling boil and it was perfect.
- Mix together the oats, 1 cup coconut and cocoa.
- 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 ½ 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.
- In updating this recipe I prepared a batch and let it cool down to almost room temperature before covering the bowl and refrigerating overnight. The next day, as can be seen in one of the photos above, the mixture was very easy to scoop and roll into balls.
- Roll the balls in additional coconut.
- Makes about 4 dozen. These should ALWAYS be stored in the fridge to maintain the soft yet slightly chewy texture. They tend to be too soft at room temperature.
- These freeze very well (my kids eat them frozen all the time, just like my siblings and I did as kids)
Notes
- To prevent your snowballs from hardening, (the sugar crystallizing) it is important not to take the mixture over the desired temperature. A heavy bottom pot is best, so as not to conduct the heat too quickly.
- Also, some people ask about a rolling boil. To me, that is a gentle boil, using only just enough heat to make the mixture slowly and constantly bubble and be foamy.
- Of course both your pot and your own stove have to be taken into consideration. While the recipe says medium heat, your stove/pot combination might need medium low for example to maintain a gentle boil.
- The most important thing is not to have the heat too high for YOUR specific equipment.
- The 2 hour total time for preparation is an estimate and includes chilling time before the snowballs are rolled in the coconut.
- It is not recommended to double this recipe, as the boiling time will not be long enough. You can use a candy thermometer though when doubling the recipe. Hope this was helpful, B.
Nutrition Information
Yield
48Serving Size
gAmount Per Serving Calories 129Saturated Fat 4gCholesterol 8mgSodium 30mgCarbohydrates 18gFiber 1gSugar 13gProtein 1g
BARRY do you add milk,butter and sugar first and not stir at all to blend them together and just boil for 5min. Can i test the mixture in a glass of water the way you test toffee.Please let me know as this is my first time making these snowballs that are all the rage.I don't think many people in ontario know of this recipe and i would love to share it with some friends.Thank You.
You can test for soft ball stage with a glass of cold water. I stir it until the butter melts then not at all afterward.
Barry, apologies if someone already asked but I didn't see it in the convo above as I read through. Is the 'milk' carnation? or is it 2%...?
Thanks 🙂
Any milk will work.
These look so good and I wanted them to be a part of a cookie swap; however, I read that they are to be kept in the fridge. Should I not attempt to ship them? I'm in Alabama and am shipping to California and Washington state, and will be using Priority Mail. I have to ship by July 14th, so your reply is much appreciated!
I wouldn't MarySue, especially in the summer heat. These are like a very soft fudge. I don't think they would travel well.
Hi Barry, Thanks for the great recipe!!! I'm a beginner baker and I'm trying to make frozen Christmas cookies like my nan used to, so when I found this recipe I was thrilled as my nan isn't around anymore to share her secrets with me!!
While making this I was terrified of the mixture sticking to my fancy green dutch oven, lol, but as the temp went all the way up to 8 on my electric stove and as I waited "patiently" for 20 minutes for the temperature to reach the right point on my thermometer, I was pleasantly surprised and amazed when I dumped the fudge into the bowl of oats that nothing was burned to the pot at all! Which means I didn't even burn the actual mixture!!! I'm on proud maid here today!! Thanks again. 🙂
Hope they turned out great Robin!
I've used this same recipe for 35 years. You should not need a thermomoter. If you start your timer for exactly 5 minutes immediately upon the butter, sugar and milk mixture coming to a rapid boil, you will always have perfection. If you boil the mixture longer it will become crumbly and will not hold together when rolled. If you boil less than the full 5 minutes they will be too soft.
My husband has been wanting something sweet these past few evenings, I remember his Mom making these snowballs years ago. So I googled and found your recipe. Needless to say they taste great, mixture was a little soupy, so I added a few more oats! I used the quick oats. Don't think they will last long.
Can I use quick oats? Thanks 🙂
I don't use quick oats. They absorb too much of the wet mixture and can make the sugar crystallize. I have much better success using plain large rolled oats.
Hi Barry,I attempted this recipe today,I halved all the ingredients.Even used a candy thermometer,followed recipe to the tee.But as soon as I poured the mixture into dry ingredients it absorbed it all in clumps and became dry.What could have gone wrong,can it be salvaged?
I suspect that the half recipe may be a problem, especially if you are boiling at too high a heat. A slow rolling boil is needed or else the mixture can continue to get hotter and crystallize after it comes off the heat and of course this is even easier to have happen with a smaller amount of the mixture. Make sure that you are not using quick oats too, just plain rolled oats and unsweetened coconut. Once crystallized it is not salvageable as you've probably realized by now. Better luck next time. Practice makes perfect. 😉
Merry Christmas !
Hi Barry,
My partner is from newfoundland and he loves these, I made them a couple years ago and they were gone quickly. I wanted to make a half recipe this weekend because I didn't have enough butter on hand for a whole batch so I when the running boil began I turned it down to mid high versus high heat and removed it from heat after four minutes. They turned out perfectly - just like when I followed the recipe exactly! Now I am eating them too. I also used quick oats that I use for five minute oatmeal. Thanks so much!
Awesome. So glad to hear.
Just made these for the first time tonight. Followed the recipe step by step and they are cooling in my fridge right now, so far the mixture eems to be doing great! My husband and I are living in Edmonton but both from NL. His nan used to make snowballs with cherries in the middle... I promised I would put a few cherries in this batch!.. Cross your fingers they are as good as his Nan's... 🙂