A classic snowball cookie coated with roasted soybean powder à la injeolmi, 인절미, rice cakes instead of powdered sugar. A new spin on a traditional holiday cookie!
For my second and final holiday bake for this year, I again took a classic cookie and put an unconventional spin to it. These snowballs (aka Mexican wedding cookies or Russian tea cakes) are made with pecans and covered with roasted soybean powder like injeolmi, 인절미, rice cakes.
What is injeolmi, 인절미?
Injeolmi is a popular rice cake in Korea. It’s made with steamed and pounded sweet rice flour and most commonly coated with roasted soybean powder. It also happens to be one of my favorite rice cakes! (FYI I made a cheater’s version back in September.)
The nuttiness of the cookie pairs so well with the warm notes in the roasted soybean powder. I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to the original powdered sugar version!
Now back to newborn delirium for me and happy holiday baking to everyone else!
More holiday baking recipes:
Mugwort, Ssuk, 쑥, Butter Cookies
Matcha Shortbread Trees
Chocolate Biscotti with Almonds
Rosemary Shortbread
Matcha Shortbread with Pistachios and Cranberries
Injeolmi, Roasted Bean Powder, Snowballs
- Prep Time: 2 hr 15 min
- Cook Time: 14 min
- Total Time: 2 hr 30 min
- Yield: 48 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
A classic snowball cookie coated with roasted soybean powder à la injeolmi, 인절미, rice cakes instead of powdered sugar. A new spin on a traditional holiday cookie!
Ingredients
Injeolmi, Roasted Bean Powder*
1 cup (170 g) whole soybeans
1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
Snowballs
1 1/2 cup (150 g) whole pecans, toasted
1 cup (227 g) butter, room temperature
1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon (4 g) vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon (4.5 g) salt
2 cups (250 g) flour
Instructions
Injeolmi, Roasted Bean Powder
1. Wash and dry the soybeans.
2. Place the soybeans into a cool and dry skillet. Turn the heat on medium. Toast until the skin starts to split, about 10 minutes. Make sure to stir the beans to prevent burning. Remove the beans from the skillet and cool.
3. Once cool, pick out any beans that have darkened too much. Blend in a spice grinder or high powdered blender with the salt until pulverized. Pass through a sieve. Set aside until needed. The roasted soybean powder can be made a few days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
Snowballs
1. Place the toasted pecans in a food processor and process until finely ground. Set aside until needed.
2. In a medium bowl, cream the butter using a whisk until smooth and creamy. Sift in the powdered sugar and mix until combined. Add the vanilla and salt and incorporate.
3. Sift in half of the flour. Mix using a rubber spatula. When almost all of the flour has been incorporated, sift in the rest of the flour. Mix until combined. Add the ground pecans and mix until the dough comes together. Cover the bowl with beeswax, a silicone lid, or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F or 175 degrees C and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Get the chilled dough and use a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon or cookie scoop to portion out cookies. Roll each ball between your hands and place dough at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Place the balls back in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, get the prepared injeolmi/roasted bean powder. Place in a large bowl.
7. Bake the chilled dough balls for about 14 minutes or until the bottoms are slightly golden but the tops are still light. Remember to rotate the baking sheets in the middle of baking. Immediately transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and let sit for 2 minutes.
8. After two minutes of cooling, gently roll the cookies in the injeolmi/roasted bean powder. Transfer the cookies to a rack and let cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container for 3 days at room temperature.
Notes
If you don’t want to make your own roasted soybean powder, you can buy it premade, like this one.
Keywords: injeolmi, roasted bean powder, snowballs, mexican wedding cookies, russian tea cakes, 인절미 쿠키
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