Death by Cinnamon-Chocolate Chip Butterballs

This year certainly isn't like the days of yore when my sisters and nieces and mother and I all got together, cranked up the stove early in the morning, and baked cookies until the sun set. Eight hours and literally hundreds of cookies later, we'd still be thinking about making one more batch. I have no idea how we ever did that. I just finished two batches of cookies and I'm wiped out.First, the cookie I'm sort of known for: iced sugar cookies. For some reason, people seem to really dig these. I don't know-- to me they're no big whoop, but I've gotten enough requests that I guess they really are tasty. (Check out the rogue gingerbread man in the corner; he was a test cookie.)
And this year's new recipe from the Betty Crocker Christmas Cookies publication. I bought it at the checkout counter as a gift for the Ice Cube Queen, but the Sugar Baby got a hold of it and you can guess the rest. So I decided to make these, because they sounded so good. Here's the deal: the recipe says "the mixture will be crumbly." Well that's an understatement.You're supposed to essentially take this dry sugar sand and some way, some how transform it into petite little snowballs of deliciousness. This, my friends, was not an easy task. I managed to form them into lumps and somehow got them to hold together-- barely. These little morsels are incredibly rich. So rich, they'll no doubt make their presence known on the scale the next day. But people have been asking me for the recipe, so here it is. Bake at your own risk.

Cinnamon-Chocolate Chip Butterballs

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In large bowl, mix flour, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and salt. Cut in butter, using pastry blender or fork, until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chips and vanilla (mixture will be crumbly).

Using hands, shape dough into 1-inch balls. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls 1 inch apart.

Bake 6-8 minutes or until set but not brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool slightly, about 20 minutes.

In small bowl, combine powdered sugar and cinnamon. Roll cookies in sugar mixture, shaking off excess.