How to make Coconut Ice and Snowballs

No Cook Coconut Ice and Snowballs

Do make these cute little Christmas treats – coconut ice squares and quick coconut snowballs – with no cooking and no baking involved, but with a secret ingredient. Coconut ice is a classic British confectionary that comes together in no time. Slightly crusty outside, it’s nice and moist inside. And very flavourful.

My recipe for this tasty 4-ingredient Christmas sweet includes a special ingredient – milk powder. You could use dairy whitener instead.

Another tasty cute little Christmas treat you could try is my recipe for Goan Milk Toffee. It’s a favourite with kids and grown-ups as well.

Ingredients

Coconut ice and snowballs

3 ¼ cups (325g) desiccated coconut

1 ½ cups (160g) powdered sugar

½ cup milk powder / Dairy whitener

1 tin condensed milk (300 ml)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 pinches of salt

Some desiccated coconut for the topping

Coconut Ice – Green colour

Snowballs – Green colour, pink colour

Procedure

1. Prepare the pan or container (5″ x 5″) for setting the coconut ice by greasing it with oil and lining it with parchment paper with an overhang on two sides. You could also use a larger pan or loaf pan but actually spread the coconut ice mixture on just part of it.
2. Add the desiccated coconut, powdered sugar, milk powder, and salt and vanilla to a bowl. Mix these well. Then pour in the condensed milk and mix everything till the mixture forms a smooth soft lump.
3. Divide the mixture into two parts. Cover one of these and set it aside.

Coconut Ice

1. Divide the other part into 2 sections. Add the green colour to one of these and mix the colour in well. The other section will remain uncoloured.
2. Transfer the uncoloured part to the pan and flatten it to form an even layer. Use the back of a spoon or the bottom of a measuring cup or vati to level the top of this slab.
3. Break up the green-coloured section into pieces and spread these over the uncoloured slab of coconut ice. Press these down and level them to form a uniform top layer.
4. Sprinkle a little desiccated coconut over the top layer like a dusting of snow. Cover the pan or container and chill the coconut ice in the fridge for 2 hours.
5. Then take the slab out of the container and cut it into squares with a sharp knife. At this stage, you’ll have a softer version of coconut ice. For the firmer, more traditional version, let the coconut ice air dry uncovered for around 8 hours so that the outer surface becomes a little crusty. The inside will still be nice and soft.
6. After they come to room temperature, store the coconut ice squares in an airtight container. After a week to 10 days, move them to the fridge, especially if it’s warm where you live.

Coconut Snowballs

1. Divide the second part into 3 portions, such that the third portion is smaller than the other two. Leave this smallest portion uncoloured.
2. Of the other two portions, mix green colour into one and pink into the other. And then divide them into smaller portions to make snowballs. I was able to make 8 roughly moulded snowballs of each colour.
3. You could mix a few tablespoons of finely chopped cashew nuts into the third uncoloured section. But this is optional. Make tiny balls out of the uncoloured portion. These will form the centres of the snowballs.
4. Next, make snowballs from the green portion. Create a hollow in the centre of one roughly moulded snowball and place an uncoloured ball inside. Then cover this small ball entirely with the green portion. Shape the snowball by rolling it lightly between your palms. Then coat this with desiccated coconut. Similarly, make coconut ice snowballs from the rest of the green portion.
5. In the same way, make pink coloured coconut ice snowballs with white coloured centres, and roll them too in desiccated coconut.
6. Chill the coconut ice snowballs in the fridge for 2 hours. But this is optional. After they come to room temperature, store them in an airtight container. After 4 days move them to the fridge, especially if it’s warm where you live.

Enjoy!