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This Is the Key to Carson Daly's Mom's Buttery Snowball Christmas Cookies

The TODAY anchors had a festive cookie swap during December 18's episode.

By Chris Phelan
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For many people, Christmas means looking forward to many things, from holiday specials to timeless music to the best cookies you've ever tasted. Just ask Carson Daly, who's been holding his late mother's recipe close for years.

How to Watch

Watch TODAY weekdays at 7AM ET on NBC.

During the December 18 episode of TODAY, the cast got together for an old-fashioned cookie swap, sharing their top-secret recipes with each other. Daly sat down alongside Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Craig Melvin, and Al Roker to participate in the delightful exchange as the gang sipped on eggnog provided by the one and only Martha Stewart

Daly had viewers simultaneously salivating and tearing up thanks to his mother's family recipe he graciously shared. His late mother, Pattie, was known in the family for her delicious snowball cookies, and Daly clued viewers in to the most vital part of the recipe — and it's simpler than you would think.

"It's basically butter and flour and confectioners' sugar," he explained. "She would take a brown paper bag, put the powdered sugar in there and shake 'em up."

That's the key, people: Plenty of shaking!

"That is the sound, the smell, and the sight of Christmas to me," he confessed to his colleagues. "And every Christmas in a world that changes too darn much, the snowball has never changed. It's the only thing that can take me back five decades."

RELATED: All About Who's Replacing Hoda Kotb on TODAY (DETAILS)

Daly isn't afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve when talking about his mother. Pattie died suddenly in 2017 after experiencing a heart attack, but Daly is dedicated to keeping her memory alive, even if it means sharing her famous snowball cookie recipe on TODAY!

All of the TODAY Christmas cookie recipes are available on TODAY.com

The anchors and hosts of TODAY are sitting on a gold mine of delicious holiday cookie recipes; luckily for fans, they're making them accessible to everyone!

"You take an Oreo, mush it up with some cream cheese, make it into a ball, dunk it into some chocolate," Kotb said as she explained her delightfully simple Oreo Reindeer Truffles. However, not all of these delicious recipes are that straightforward.

Carson Daly, Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker on TODAY

Thankfully, viewers can access the official full cookie recipes — including Pattie's Snowballs — available if they sign up for a free TODAY account.

If those recipes aren't getting your mouth watering yet, don't miss Sheinelle Jones's Chewy Honey Ginger Cookies and Melvin's delectable Christmas Wreath Cookies, which he's perfected over the years alongside his wife, Lindsay!