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Announcing Season 3 of MasterChef Junior Tuesday 8/7c on FOX + Recipe + GIVEAWAY

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This is a sponsored post on behalf of MasterChef Junior on FOX.

Lately I have been feeling very self conscious about my cooking abilities.  I am definitely not a chef, but I feel like I do okay most of the time.  But lately, my kids have been complaining about everything I make.  I try not to take it personally, but it’s hard.  My sister in law recently suggested that if I included them in the cooking more, they would be less likely to complain.  I know she is right.  I know I should include them more.  I want them to grow up and know how to cook and enjoy cooking.  Not fear it like I do.

Recently we started watching Season 3 of MasterChef Junior on FOX.

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Each week, the eight to 13 year-old contestants will be coached and encouraged by the celebrated food experts as they compete in exciting challenges.  In the end, one talented kid will be named America’s newest MasterChef Junior, receiving a $100,00 prize and the coveted MasterChef Junior trophy.

MasterChef Junior 47We are hooked on the show.  The kids are adorable and so sweet (most of the time).  I will say it is a little heartbreaking that they have to send any of them home.  They are amazing.  They know cooking terms I have never heard of.  They are cooking foods I have never heard of.  They speak multiple languages and exude a confidence I dream about.  I hope my kids can learn from it and be inspired to be confident in the kitchen.

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MasterChef Junior sent me an amazing “warm winter” viewing kit to use and enjoy with my family as we watched the season premiere of MasterChef Junior.  The kit included:

  • (2) Branded MCJ Coffee Mugs
  • (4) Branded MCJ ‘Hot Chocolates On A Stick’
    • Cinnamon and Cayenne Milk Chocolate
    • Hazelnut Milk Chocolate
    • Dark Chocolate
    • Vanilla White Chocolate
  • (3) Branded MCJ Containers with Toppings
    • Marshmallow bits
    • Caramel bits
    • Crushed peppermint
  • (5) MCJ Branded Recipe Cards
    • Snowball Cookies
    • Gingerbread Cookies
    • Carrotberry Oatmeal Cookies
    • Hot Coco Milk Crumb Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Blank recipe card

I looked over the recipe cards and the Snowball Cookie recipe looked strangely familiar.  I baked several cookies over the holiday season, but one I did not make is one of my husbands favorites which they call “Mexican Wedding Cakes”.  I had looked up recipes for it, but didn’t end up making them for Christmas because it was something new and unfamiliar for me.  Well, guess what?  The recipe for the Snowball Cookies is a recipe very similar to all of the ones I saw for Mexican Wedding Cakes when I researched them.  I decided to bite the bullet and try making them. I also decided to include my two oldest children Danica and Kurtis in the baking fun.

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5.0 from 6 reviews
Snowball Cookies
 
Print
These cookies are made all over the world and have many different names: Mexican Wedding Cake, Russian Tea Cake, Viennese Pecan Ball, and Italian Wedding Cookie.
Author:
Recipe Type: Cookie
Serves: 4 dozen
Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter at room temperature
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp good quality vanilla extract
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup pecans, coarsely ground
  • ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon, optional
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
  2. Add ½ cup powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until well combined
  3. Add flour and pecans, and mix until dough is well blended.
  4. Divide dough in half and roll each half into a ball. Wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes until chilled.
  5. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 and stir together remaining 1½ cups sugar and cinnamon, if using.
  6. To form cookies, remove small chunks of dough, about 2 tsp each. Roll these into small balls. Bake on baking sheet about ½ inch apart until just pale and golden, about 14-18 minutes.
  7. Cook cookies until they are cool enough to handle, then gently roll them through powdered sugar and cinnamon mixture.
Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe

MasterChef Junior 44I love the simplicity of this recipe.  It only involved 6 ingredients, all of which I had in the house.  I also loved that it did not contain eggs.  My son Kurtis has an egg sensitivity which seems to be worse if he consumes raw eggs such as in cookie dough.  With this dough he could like the bowl clean.  Hooray!

MasterChef Junior 48The cookies came out great.  My husband did warn me that he remembers they burn easily, so I did watch them extremely closely.  I can see how you would end up burning them because the tops looked very raw, but I noticed the bottoms starting to brown so I pulled them out.  They were perfect.  My kids loved helping.

MasterChef Junior 45

While we were finishing the cookies we mixed up some of the fabulous hot chocolate on a stick we received in our viewing pack.  They were fabulous.  I think my favorite by far was the   Vanilla White Chocolate.  Yum.  I will have to figure out how to make some of that on my own.   With our bellies full of cookies and hot chocolate, we sat down to watch this weeks episode of MasterChef Junior.

To learn more visit MasterChef Junior of FOX  homepage where you can watch full episodes and clips, follow them on Twitter, and like them on Facebook.  Tune in Tuesdays at 8/7 c on FOX.

WIN IT:


Win your own warm winter viewing kit from MasterChef Junior!
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Comments

  3. I want to try the Snowball Cookies Recipe. It looks just like a recipe I lost for what was called Mexican Wedding Cookies.

    Reply

  8. My favorite thing about the show is the positive attitude and motivation of the kids! Its a lot of work and they do it so well.

    Reply

  9. The show is so cute! I have been cooking since I was little and it would have been amazing to have been on a show with this opportunity. Love it!

    Reply

  11. I love watching little kids make things I’d never be able to in a million years! They’re so cute and clever 🙂

    Reply

  13. I love watching it because these young chefs amaze me!! I cannot believe how great they can cook at such a young age!

    Reply

  17. I like seeing the cooking creativity that the kids come up with. They have a passion for food and come up with some wonderful dishes. Thanks.
    partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com

    Reply

  18. I like seeing the judges actually being nice and helping the kids out. If they treated the adults the same way, they might make better food instead of being terrified LOL

    Reply

  23. we are huge fans of this show and are all amazed by how incredible these kids can cook! I love that this kit is geared towards kids!

    Reply

  25. My 7 year old loves to help me in the kitchen and comes up with his own cooking ideas. he would love to try this!

    Reply

  26. I want to try the Hot Chocolate on a stick especially the Dark Chocolate one! BTW I saw the cookies before reading the post and thought hey those look like the cookies my dad baked over Christmas! His is an old Hungarian recipe that is like the Mexican Wedding cookies too! LOL It’s funny how many variations of them there are!

    Reply

  30. I enjoying seeing young people gives things they are passionate about “a go”. This show is a lot of fun and I watch it weekly with my mom.

    Reply

  40. I just love how innovative and creative the kids on Master Chef Junior are! We love watching the show together as a family, it is really neat to see what they come up with.

    Reply

  43. I have some little ones that feel like they are tiny chefs! They love this show and would be delighted to get the package!

    Reply

  46. I love MasterChef Junior because the majority of the kids are very sweet and helpful towards each other. It is so refreshing to see a television show where the contestants aren’t always trying to undermine one another (though some of those kiddos can be pretty sly!).

    Reply

  64. I love some MCJr. Those kids are sooo good…..I would love to win this because hello hot chocolate on a spoon…..

    Reply

  68. My girls like to watch cooking shows and I think Chef Ramsey is entertaining so we will be watching this show.

    Reply

  69. My daughter and I love watching this show together. It positively enforces the children’s work. They have so much passion for cooking. I like that the judges are friendlier with the kiddos than on the adult version.

    Reply

  70. So cute love the hot chocolate on a stick would love to share with my seven year old daughter she loves cooking

    Reply

  71. I would love to try the Hot Chocolates on a Stick. I know my kids would love these.

    jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com

    Reply

  83. I just heard about the show over Christmas from a little girl who is learning to cook. I think it is a fabulous idea to inspire kids to learn and cook. I would love to try, Marshmallow bits.

    Reply

  86. I like how the show encourages children to cook and be creative. I watch it with my daughter who loves it as much as I do.

    Reply

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