Recipes-Sweet Potato Coconut Snow Balls

Christmas was over!! Can you believe it? Too short!!! Do you feel the say way?

Holidays are always about food and families, regardless of which country you are from. Christmas is not a typical Chinese holiday but it becomes more popular in China! Who will reject a nice gift and a great meal?;)) I wont!! The more, the merrier!!!

Well I bet you have a lot of leftovers, except if your guests were hungry horses;)) Most of times, moms always prepare tons of yum yum foods for holidays. The results are they need to figure out ways to "digest" those leftovers, without wasting any!

I made a lot of sweet potatos for desserts,but did not finish all. Inspired by the Russian Tea Cake recipes, I made some Sweet Potato Coconut Snow Ball.

Here's a short history about Russian Tea Cake I found from Foodtimeline.org

Mexican wedding cakes & Russian tea cakes

According to several food history sources and cookbooks, Mexican wedding cakes and Russian tea cakes (aka Biscochitos/Mexico, Tea cakes/Sweden, Melting Moments /Australia, Mandulas kiflik/Bulgaria, Biscochos/Cuba, Kourabi俤es/Greece, Polvorones/Italy & Spain, Rohlichky/Ukraine and Sand Tarts, Sandies, Butterballs & Moldy Mice/United States) are a universal holiday cookie-type treat. This means this recipe is not necessarily connected to any one specific country. It IS connected with the tradition of saving rich and expensive food (the richest butter, finest sugar, choicest nuts) for special occasions.
Food historians trace the history of these cookies and cakes to Medieval Arab cuisine, which was rich in sugar. Small sugar cakes with nuts (most often almonds) and spices were known to these cooks and quickly adopted by the Europeans. This sweet culinary tradition was imported by the Moors to Spain, diffused and assimilated throughout Europe, then introduced to the New World by 16th century explorers. Sugar cookies, as we know them today, made their appearance in th 17th century. About sugar. Recipes called Mexican wedding cakes descend from this tradition. They first appear in American cookbooks in the 1950s.

I did make a batch of original Russian tea cakes, but there's too much butter and sugar added!!! I need to drink gallons of tea to digest them!!;))

Here's the healthy version-Sweet Potato Coconut Snow Balls

Benefits-satisfy both the mouth, nose, spirit, and stomach without compromising the health!!

• Use much less butter, 200% less!!
• Use stevia and coconut sugar instead of confection sugar or regular sugar. This helps cut calories dramatically. Coconut sugar or palm sugar, non-refined sugar, belongs to low glycemic index food. Rich in iron and Magnesium. It has a little bit molasses kind of taste and aroma.
• soft and...yum yum yum!!

Tea pairing-Green, Black, Herbal, Oolong, Pu Erh.

Ingredient A

1 cup sweet potato cooked

1 cup yogurt

1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

Ingredient B:

2 Cups whole wheat flour

4 tbsp stevia

2 tsp coconut sugar

1/2 cup roasted pecan

Ingredient C

Honey and Coconut Shreds

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat the over to 450F degree

2. In a medium bowl, mix the ingredient A Cream butter, yogurt and vanilla until smooth.

3. Mix the ingredient B, then blend in the ingredient A mixture, evenly. Make a dough.

4. Divide the dough into 20 evenly pieces and make a ball shape.

5. Bake 5 minutes under 450 F. Take it out. Brush some honey then roll the balls in the coconut shreds

6. Bake another 5 minutes under 400 F or until cooked.