The winning flavors of tiramisu—espresso, chocolate, and mascarpone cream—join forces with the textures of another classic, the snowball cookie, to create a sure-to-please holiday dessert that’s both easy to make and heavy on the cocoa powder drama.
Make sure the butter and mascarpone are at room temperature (but not melted) before starting; if it seems the dough is a bit too wet or hard to handle, pop the dough in the fridge for a brief chill. The coffee liqueur is optional but strongly recommended in order to get that true tiramisu coffee punch—but if you choose not to use it, add an equal amount of water instead. Rolling the baked cookies twice in powdered sugar, once while still vaguely warm, and once right before serving, helps the sweetness penetrate while also preserving the fun snowball-ness of the cookie. Serve with a cold glass of milk or hot cup of tea or coffee to top it all off.
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What you’ll need
Scale
$27 At Amazon
Small #70 Cookie Scoop
$16 At Amazon
Rimmed Baking Sheet
$28 At Amazon
Wooden Spoon
$13 At Amazon
Fine Mesh Strainer With Arms
$17 $11 At Amazon
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes
Yield
Makes about 32
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Place ¾ cup (82.5 g) powdered sugar in a small bowl; set aside. Mix 4 oz. mascarpone, room temperature, ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, and remaining ¾ cup (82.5 g) powdered sugar in a large bowl with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until combined and a little lighter in color, about 1 minute. Mix in 2 Tbsp. Kahlúa or other coffee liqueur (if using), 1 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, and 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt. Stir 4 tsp. instant espresso powder into 2 Tbsp. water in another small bowl to dissolve (increase water to 4 Tbsp. if not using coffee liqueur). Stir into mascarpone mixture. Sift in 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, and ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon and carefully mix until no streaks remain. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator 20 minutes.
Step 2
Scoop out 1-tablespoonful portions of dough; roll into smooth balls. Divide between 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2" apart. Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until slightly puffed, golden underneath, and dry to the touch, 13–15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets 15 minutes.
Step 3
Working one at a time, roll cookies in reserved powdered sugar to coat, placing back on baking sheets as you go.
Step 4
Just before serving, roll cookies in powdered sugar again, returning to baking sheets. Place ¼ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder in a small fine-mesh sieve and dust cookies.
Recipe notes
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