Chocolate Snowball Cookies (Easy)

Grab a glass of milk or water!  You are going to need it after just one bite from this cookie!  So good!  So good!  Thank you gmail ads for taking notice and reading my email evite that I had a cookie exchange to go to and that you had suggestions for cookie recipes for me, otherwise I would not have found these yummy cookies to make!  LOL!  This is my first time making these cookies and this will certainly not be my last!  No way!  Love em!  I must say though, this recipe says they make 60 cookies; there is no way that is possible, maybe if you double the recipe but not as posted on Hershey's website.  My recipe only made 34 cookies.  I did not use just plain milk chocolate Hershey kisses either, I used 3 different kinds and for another suggestion, use Rolo's or mini Reese's peanut butter cups, sliced in half instead because a whole one would be too large.

http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/cookies/featured-recipes/chocolate-snowball.aspx

Ingredients:

• 1 pouch Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix: 17.5 oz bag
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds (I had sliced almonds and I pulverized them in my food processor, if you don't have one, use your blender, works just as well and that is 1/2 of a cup after you pulverize them, not before)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cocoa powder
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 30-40 unwrapped Hershey Kisses, or Rolo's, or 15-20 mini Reese's cups, sliced in half, and extra if you want to snack :)
• 2 cups powdered sugar, for rolling the cookies in once baked

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  In a large bowl, stir the sugar cookie mix, flour, cocoa, pulverized almonds, melted butter, egg, and almond extract until soft dough forms. 
2. Shape dough into  3/4-inch balls; wrap each around a milk chocolate candy.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 10 minutes or until set.  Immediately remove from cookie sheet.  Cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
4. Roll cookies in powdered sugar.  Cool completely, about 15 minutes.   Re-roll cookies in powdered sugar.  Store tightly covered. About 2.5 dozen cookies.

The sugar cookie mix I used.

The 1/2 cup of pulverized almonds, you really need them finely chopped because they have to mix into the dough and be able to be formed around a Hershey Kiss and if they are large they will stick out like a splinter.

The dough waiting to be wrapped around Kisses.

The variety of Kisses I used.

Hershey Kisses.......

Before baking and the dough really is so easy to wrap around a Kiss.

10 minutes of baking and they really don't flatten out too much.

Cooling on the wire rack.

The first coating of powdered sugar.

All have been coated once with powdered sugar, you can see why they need to be re-rolled. When they have completely cooled is when you roll them in the powdered sugar the second time.

Ready to go for the cookie exchange!