Swedish Chocolate Balls: Chokladbollar

Here's a post and super easy chocolate holiday recipe from my friend Sue Trowbridge. Sue was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and grew up in the U.S., but she has maintained her interest in Swedish culture, food and traditions. She now does web and ebook design in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sue Trowbridge: Chokladbollar

This is a no-bake recipe, and it’s super easy and fun for kids. I used to make these when I was a youngster. Oh, and before you ask, no, these are not related to another Christmas treat, Schweddy Balls.

You’ll need 7 tablespoons of softened butter and 2/3 cup of sugar. Stir them together well — this step requires strong arms!

The recipe calls for a tablespoon of strong coffee (liquid). I rarely make coffee at home — I’m mainly a tea gal — but luckily, my parents had left some in the freezer so I had some on hand.

Add the coffee, a teaspoon of vanilla and two tablespoons of cocoa to the butter/sugar mixture.

Add 1 1/3 cup of quick oats. Stir, stir, stir!

The result looks a little bit like my mom’s Swedish meatball mixture.

Using 1 teaspoon of mixture at a time, roll into small balls. Roll these in coconut, coating well. It will make your hands extremely greasy and messy, which meant I had to stop in the middle and wash my hands so I could take this picture. It can be difficult to serve as both chef and photographer!

The result. You will want to eat them immediately, but don’t — stick ‘em in the fridge for an hour or two, or, in a pinch, the freezer for about half an hour.

I made these to bring to a holiday party, and they disappeared quickly, but then again, so did pretty much everything. Still, I like to imagine that the people who managed to get one enjoyed it. I’m still annoyed that I missed out on my friend Trish’s chocolate bark with Australian sea salt because I didn’t get to the dessert table quickly enough…

Here is the recipe in full:

Chokladbollar

7 Tbsp butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp strong coffee (liquid)
2 Tbsp cocoa
1 1/3 cups quick oats
1/2 cup coconut for coating

Cream butter and sugar. Stir in vanilla, coffee, cocoa and oats. Mix well. Using 1 teaspoon of mixture at a time, roll into small balls. Roll these in coconut, coating well. Refrigerate. Makes about 30.