Orange Balls

One of my favorite gifts - giving or receiving - is a little something homemade.  During the Christmas season I like to make several different types of cookies and put them on a beautiful, paper plate - it's a great gift.  Thanks are said, cookies are eaten, crumbs swept away and - TA DA - nothing to store or dust or figure out how to re-gift.

Every cookie I make has a simple or cute name and life is easy... except for ORANGE BALLS.  Christmas 1985 these were given to me by my friend, Marsha.  I got the recipe and Christmas 1986 I added them to my cookie gifts - I should have come up with a different name for them.   When asked by lucky recipients what they've got in their mouths - I've seen grown men almost choke - either to keep from laughing or because the name worries them a bit.  If you've ever seen the "Saturday Night Live" Christmas time skit with Alex Baldwin as Pete Schweddy you can imagine that this simple, no bake cookie can be complicated. 

Here, in all their glory, are my Orange Balls.

Here's the recipe I used for years.

Simple ingredients, simple recipe, unfortunately over the years companies have changed the amounts in the boxes, but I've adapted.  Here's my recipe for the last few years:

11 oz. of Vanilla Wafers - crushed
11 oz. of Powdered Sugar
5 oz. of orange juice concentrate (frozen - just let it sit on the counter a few minutes and get soft)
14 oz. shredded, sweeten coconut

Mix crushed vanilla wafers and powdered sugar, add orange juice - mix together until the mixture looks sort of like cookie dough.  You can mix with your hands, this is messy, but it can be fun.  Or you can use a spoon.

 Shape into one inch balls and roll in shredded coconut.

Place on cookie sheet covered with wax (or freezer) paper and refrigerate. Makes approximately 4 dozen.

I store these in the fridge and drop a few on my cookie plates - usually they are eaten before I have a chance to tell friends to keep them refrigerated until they are ready to eat them.  They've got orange juice in them, call me crazy but I just think orange juice should be cold.  Besides, the coconut makes me think of snow and snow should be cold.

The days are speeding by, help slow them down.  Stop for a minute think about something that made you happy and just let yourself smile.  No one will see - it's only for a minute.



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