Nutty Orange Snowballs

Election week. I am not going to write about the election because this is not a political blog and because I am thirty-one years old and I have voted and I have opinions and my opinions are my own and the kitchen does not care about elections. The kitchen cares about doenjang jjigae and whether the fermentation is proceeding on schedule and whether Hana ate her sweet potato today. The kitchen is the apolitical center of my life. I am grateful for the kitchen.

I will write about this: Hana is eleven months old in two weeks. She is almost one. She is almost a person who has been alive for a full year. I am almost a person who has been a mother for a full year. Both of these milestones feel impossible and inevitable — impossible because time does not move this fast, inevitable because time does move this fast and babies do grow and mothers do age and the clock does not pause for wonder. I am wonderstruck. I am also exhausted. These are the same thing.

I have been planning Hana's doljanchi — her first birthday celebration, the traditional Korean first birthday party. It is the most important milestone in Korean baby culture: the one-year survival celebration, dating from a time when infant mortality made reaching age one a genuine triumph. The doljanchi includes the doljabi — the fortune-telling grab, where the baby is presented with objects (money, a pencil, thread, food, a stethoscope, etc.) and whichever object the baby grabs is supposed to predict their future. I am setting up the doljabi with great seriousness. The objects will include: money (wealth), a pencil (scholarship), thread (long life), a microphone (performance), a book (wisdom), rice (abundance), and — my addition — a spatula (cooking). If Hana grabs the spatula, I will cry. If Hana grabs anything, I will cry. I cry at everything now. This has not changed in eleven months.

The recipe this week is songpyeon — the half-moon rice cakes — which I am practicing for the doljanchi. The dough is rice flour and water. The filling is sesame and honey. The shape is half-moon. The steaming is on pine needles. Grace has been coaching me on the shaping — my half-moons are improving but not yet at Grace's level. Grace's songpyeon are symmetrical and smooth and look like they were made by a machine. Mine look like they were made by a human with a baby on her hip. Grace says, "The shape will come. The taste is already correct." Taste before shape. Substance before form. This is Grace's philosophy of food and of life and I am learning it, one half-moon at a time.

Grace keeps reminding me that the taste matters more than the shape, and I am holding onto that mantra as I practice my half-moons. Between batches of songpyeon, I have been making these Nutty Orange Snowballs as a kind of palate-cleanser — they are small and formed by hand and they reward patience, which feels exactly right for this season of my life. There is something deeply satisfying about rolling a little ball between your palms while Hana naps, knowing that the shape will come, that the milestone will come, that the doljanchi is two weeks away and the kitchen is already celebrating.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 20 min (plus 30 min chilling) | Servings: 24 balls

Ingredients

1 cup finely ground almonds or almond flour
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus extra for rolling
2 tablespoons fresh orange zest (from about 2 oranges)
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted (optional, for rolling)

Instructions

Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, stir together the ground almonds, chopped walnuts, powdered sugar, orange zest, and salt until evenly mixed.
Add the wet ingredients. Drizzle in the orange juice, honey, and vanilla extract. Stir with a fork, then use your hands to bring the mixture together into a cohesive, slightly tacky dough. If the dough feels too dry to hold its shape, add orange juice one teaspoon at a time.
Shape into balls. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll it firmly between your palms until smooth and round. Repeat with the remaining dough — you should have about 24 balls.
Roll to coat. Roll each ball in powdered sugar for a classic snowball finish, or in toasted sesame seeds for a nuttier, earthier coating. Both options are beautiful; you may do half and half.
Chill before serving. Arrange the finished balls on a parchment-lined plate or tray and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Chilling firms them up and allows the orange flavor to deepen.
Store and serve. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week. Bring to room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving for the best texture and flavor.

Nutrition (per serving)

Nutty Orange Snowballs — Practice Rounds for the Doljanchi