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!
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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
I just made these today..they are so delicious, soft, chewy, not dry sugary. Followed your recipe and instructions exactly and they are perfect! Sorry Nan, I have a new favourite Snowball recipe!
Hi Barry, I asked you about trying to save my overcooked batch of snowballs that ended up being too dry and crumbly to form into balls. I decided to try to save the batch by adding about 1/4 cup milk and reheating in the microwave for 3-5 min. It took about 10 min of mixing to get all of the milk incorporated but it worked and I ended up with delicious fudgy snowballs! Just thought I'd pass this along as I thought it might be helpful to anyone who ended up over cooking the mixture. Thanks for the great recipe!
Is that supposed to read 1-2 TBSP cocoa? 12 TBSP seems like an awful lot haha...I usually only use 2 and its plenty chocolate for me!
12 is correct. 1 or 2 would ruin them for me. Not nearly chocolatety enough.
I'm a Newfoundlander and couldn't find a good recipe....this one is good!!!! thank you Barry---I use carnation milk and it does make a difference to the creaminess of the snowball....I love this website
just found your recipe. Used whole milk, very good cocoa powder, big oat flakes, was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! They sits as little freezer gems for after dinner every night.😋
Took the sting out of a lousy fall
So glad you liked them!
I made these last night and they are delicious! I ended up adding close to another 2 cups of coconut (I had doubled the recipe) to make them a bit thicker to stick together. Would this be fixed by boiling a little longer? I boiled over at 4 minutes so stopped there. Next time a bigger pot! Also, could I use large flake oats instead of quick oats?
Thanks for the great recipe!
You likely just needed to let them cool down more before rolling. The mixture can be very loose at first. I use large flake oats all the time too.
I've made these every year at Christmas since stumbling across your recipe-absolutely love, love, love them!! They take me back to when I was a kid growing up in Fortune on the Burin Peninsula. I them again today but had to time the boiling because I broke my candy thermometer; it worked like a charm!
Well my hubby is from nfld and this is all he requested when I asked what treat from his childhood would he like for Christmas. Found your recipe and I'm quite excited to try it! Wish me luck, lets see what a born and raised Alberta girl can do with this recipe lol
Hope he enjoys them ! Merry Christmas.
Absolutely delicious. Thank you for posting
when doing the boiled mixture, do u add it to the dry right away, or let it sit for a bit? I tried adding in Rice Krispies cereal into it with the oats but it's like I've never added them in there when the mixture is added into the bowl. Is there a step where I can add in the krispies so they can be tasted? Thanks
Add the dry right away. I've never tried adding rice krispies but I think I would wait until the mixture had cooled if I was going to attempt it.
Two or three things I do differently here (only because of how my grandma made them) 1. I add more oats and coconut I find it a bit too wet from just these ingredients. 2. When rolling them, they tend to stick to your hands a bit so before rolling, rub a little butter on your hands first and they will roll much better!
I also add the coco to the wet mixture when cooking - it won't make a difference - again only cuz thats how my grandma did it
I think I overboiled the milk mixture and now I have a dry mixture of chocolate and oats. Is there any way to fix this and if not do you of a recipe I can use this dry mixture in. It tastes good but very dry
Definitely overbuild. Sorry, no fix for that.
Could you use a meat thermometer if you don't have a candy one? I've made some hard crumbly snowballs in my time.
I guess so, the temperature is still the same!
I made these once before and they turned out to be amazing... made them tonight and they turned out rock hard. Funny thing is, i used a candy thermometre both times.... dunno what happened... any ideas as to what i can do with all botched goods? So disappointed that so much sugar and oats have to go to waste. Also, in case i do try to make these again, would i be able to use evaporated milk? K, thanks.
A slow boil is just as important. Your temp probably was climbing too quickly. Yes to the evaporated milk, I've used it many times.