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Perfect for freezing and taking to holiday cookie exchanges, these Orange Juice Balls are a simple (and delicious) no bake cookie recipe!
I have a small recipe book that’s filled hand-written recipes from the Dark Ages. You know, before the internet. And WAY before Pinterest. 🙂 It’s filled with recipes like my mother-in-law’s banana pudding, our family favorite Earthquake Cake, and these Orange Juice Balls from my Grandma Rench.
I consider this recipe “vintage.” These no bake cookies have been seen at church picnics, cookie exchanges and potlucks for years. I plan on making several more of these vintage recipes to share on the blog. I love the memories that they bring!
When I was little, we would travel to Tucson every year for Thanksgiving. My Grandma Rench lived there, along with all of my dad’s brothers and sisters. With all the cousins, it made Thanksgiving a BIG family affair. We would stay at my Grandma’s house, and she would make these cookies.
I have vivid memories of helping her fill the bowl and rolling them into little balls. It fascinated me that you could make cookies without ever turning on the oven. 🙂 When I was older, I made sure to get the recipe from my mom, who got it from her. I only ever make them for the holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Every time I do, I remember my sweet Grandma Rench. <3
Orange Juice Balls
Ingredients
- 1 12 oz box vanilla wafer cookies, crushed
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup walnut pieces or any other chopped nut
- 3/4 cup shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup orange juice concentrate
Instructions
- Combine ingredients, mixing well until evenly coated.
- Roll into 1" balls with your hands and place on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated
- Freezes well!
Video
The “batter” will seem very dry and crumbly, but just keep working it back and forth in your hands, pressing them together while rolling the balls. It only takes a minute to get perfect little cookie balls!
If you like these Orange Juice Balls, check out some other cookie recipes perfect for the holidays! (also, I clearly have a cookie problem, because I could have easily put twenty different cookie recipes here.) 🙂
- Chocolate Orange Cookies - November 2, 2024
- Nutella Banana Bread - October 14, 2024
- Bacon Onion Dip - September 13, 2024
Dana says
Haven’t tried your recipe yet but I had one given to me that says 1 box of 12 Nilla Wafers and those come in 11 oz now. It says one box of powdered sugar and that’s 4 cups! So I’m looking at others. She only used coconut on the outside which is what I plan to do and pecans instead of walnuts but either is a great choice. She also said one box of coconut. I remember it coming in a can in the 70s/80s but doesn’t seem like it was a 14 oz can. She stores hers in the freezer in a ziplock.
Nicole Burkholder says
Yes, the older recipes are often written with just “box of this, can of that” and it’s so frustrating as brands shrink all their sizes! Recipes suddenly aren’t turning out the same and that’s often why. I try to include package sizes/weights in all of my recipes now to keep that from happening in the future. For this recipe, I don’t think the box size will matter too much. As long as you have enough “wet” ingredients to pull the dry ones together in a ball, it should be OK. This recipe especially can be changed up a lot of different ways and still works. And yes, they are great for freezing!