Sweet and Nutty Christmas Balls

These bright and festive treats are prepared with ground nuts and sweetened condensed milk. Sweet and Nutty Christmas Balls are where candies and cookies meet to create the most delectable and rich holiday confection. It’s extremely hard to eat just one of these!

We’ve all heard of no-bake holiday recipes, and we’ve all heard of those recipes that require us to melt chocolate or marshmallows in the microwave or a saucepan on the stove. But, in the case of these Sweet and Nutty Christmas Balls, sweetened condensed milk and all-purpose flour are cooked on the stovetop until the two combine and thicken to a paste-like consistency. The result is a sweet, thick caramel-like center with chopped nuts dipped in a festive candy melt coating. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?

Sweet and Nutty Christmas Balls are so easy to prepare and I personally think that they will brighten up any holiday cookie try or platter. I prefer to use a variety of chopped nuts, but you can use whatever you like best. For example, if you wanted to prepare these using only salted peanuts, you could. And, if you have a peanut allergy, leave them out and use a different nut like walnuts or almonds. There are so many choices here!

I’m going to tell you all about this cookie recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the cookie recipes! Before I get into today’s recipe, let me make mention of the three previous holiday confection countdowns that I just finished up this year.

Back in October, I kicked off the holiday season with a holiday recipe series called Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Trifle Series and followed that up with a second series called Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Breads and Loaves. Next was my 12 Squares and Bars Series, which was Volume 2 of that particular series.  

And now, I’m starting on this new series, which is the seventh annual instalment! I cannot believe that this is the seventh year in a row that I’ve shared Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas! But, before we get to a list of ingredients and instructions for today’s recipe, let me tell you about this series and more!

LORD BYRON’S 24 COOKIES OF CHRISTMAS SERIES

Another holiday series, Lord Byron? Yes – why not!? Welcome, Dear Reader, to the fourth of my annual holiday recipe series for this season! This one is called Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas – Volume 7! I will try to keep the recipes in this series quick and easy, just like in previous years. Even if a recipe looks complex, I promise you that it is not! My goal, as always, is to share recipes with you that are not too complex to whip up as a holiday treat for your family. 

Like every other holiday series I’ve shared over the years, this series will share a new recipe every day for the next 24 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW SO THAT YOU NEVER MISS OUT ON NEW RECIPES!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series! Even though this is the fourth series for this holiday season, you can always look back at previous years if you just cannot wait until the next recipe is published. Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! Like in previous holiday recipe countdowns, I like to mix up the recipes in the series so that there is something for everyone. Are you ready!!??

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Canned Sweetened Condensed Milk – This recipe has not been tested with low-fat condensed milk.  Depending on where you live, the size of the can may differ.  Be sure to have the full 14 ounces!
• All-Purpose Flour
• Nuts – Use a combination of walnuts, pecans, peanuts, almonds, etc., be sure to measure after the nuts are finely chopped up not before!
• Green Candy Melts – When it comes to candy melts there are different shades of green. My choices were limited this year so it was this dark green one or a very light, lime-coloured candy melt. I chose the darker green colour.
• Vegetable Shortening – This will thin the candy melts so that the coating is lighter and not so dense.
• Sprinkles – Optional.

HOW TO MAKE SWEET AND NUTTY CHRISTMAS BALLS

Transfer the sweetened condensed milk and flour to a saucepan and stir well until the flour is completely dissolved and absorbed into the condensed milk. Add in the nuts and turn the heat to medium. Continuously stirring slowly, cook the mixture for 10 minutes. The mixture will thicken and gradually become increasingly difficult to stir, but continue to cook and stir for the entire time. Do not leave it unattended. The mixture can burn quickly.

Transfer the mixture to a dinner plate and allow it to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Transfer it to the fridge for 20 additional minutes. Once chilled, remove the mixture from your fridge and roll it into one-inch balls. Place the balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and pop them back into the refrigerator for another 20 minutes.
In the meantime, add the candy melts to a microwave-safe bowl. Add the vegetable shortening and microwave on medium speed for 30 seconds. Remove the candy melts from the microwave and stir well with a rubber spatula. Microwave again for 30 seconds at half speed and stir well. Repeat this until the candy melts are melted and smooth.

Working with one ball at a time, dunk them into the bowl of melted candy melts and use a fork to carefully lift the ball out of the bowl. Lightly tap the handle of the fork onto the rim of the bowl to remove the excess candy melts, allowing it to fall back into the bowl. Next, transfer the ball back to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Transfer the remaining melted candy melts to separate resealable sandwich bags. Cut a small tip from one lower corner. Hover the bag over the balls and drizzle the melted melts in a zig-zag pattern. Immediately top with sprinkles, if using. Place the entire sheet pan in your fridge to firm up. Leave them for at least 1 hour. Once firm, the balls can be transferred to a food-safe container or packaged. Keep the balls refrigerated.

WHAT ARE CANDY MELTS?

Candy melts are small, round discs that are made to emulate white chocolate. They come in a wide range of colours and are usually melted down and used in confections such as the coating on cake pops. I think the term candy melts is owned by Wilton, which is the only type I’ll use.

I use Wilton’s because I have used the brand many times before and have never been disappointed, but also because they have a lot of different colours to choose from. Oh, and the price is always good too!

If you cannot find candy melts, you can either order them online here, or you can use generic brands that can be found at your local baking supply store. The generic brands are sometimes called melting wafers. Additionally, if you cannot find them or do not want to use them, you can dip your Sweet and Nutty Christmas Balls into melted white, milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate.

SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK

I have a lot of recipes here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen with sweetened condensed milk as one of the ingredients. (Click here to see them!) Growing up in Newfoundland, it was always something I’ve been aware of. But, that’s not the case for everyone. I get many questions from readers about it. For someone not familiar with the gooey, sticky canned milk, it might be easily confused with canned Carnation condensed milk, for instance. Let me explain what it is here.

So, first of all, it’s condensed. The milk is condensed by removing water. This can be accomplished by applying heat. The water will evaporate causing the milk to condense, which thickens the milk. Sugar is added to sweeten the condensed milk. The main purpose of adding sugar is to prolong the shelf life of condensed milk, which can sit on room-temperature shelves for years. Sugar prevents microorganisms from growing in the milk and helps to thicken it even further—it’s added after the milk has been boiled, reduced, and pasteurized.

If you find unsweetened condensed milk, it’s most likely that it’s simply evaporated milk or condensed milk, which is thick, but not gooey and sticky. Evaporated milk is often used as a cream added to tea or coffee. If you are unfamiliar with it, please read the can carefully. Also, shake it – can you feel the liquid splashing about inside the can? If so, it’s not sweetened condensed milk; it’s evaporated or condensed milk only!

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for a long time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze your Sweet and Nutty Christmas Balls, you certainly can! Pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer-friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight-fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!  

You can freeze these cookies for up to three months. If you plan to give previously frozen cookies as a gift, I would lay them out on a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. Once thawed, pile into cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon, or stack in a cookie tin/box.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!