(28-32 rum balls)
Rum balls are pretty easy to make, and one of those things I associate with Christmas. I use whatever I happen to have on hand. It can be day old cake, cookies... various nuts, such as pecans, walnuts, coconut or hazelnuts.. cocoa powder or chocolate.. bourbon, if you don't care for rum. The rum and melted butter binds everything together, and those amounts can vary depending on the moisture content of the cake or cookie crumbs. I rarely add sugar because the mixture usually already seems sweet enough to me. If I were to add any, I would probably use icing sugar for these.
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup dark rum
4 tbsp butter
cocoa powder or sprinkles for rolling
Place the cookie crumbs and pecans into a microwave safe bowl.
Grind the chocolate chips in a food processor until fine and add those to the cookies and pecans. Stir until well combined.
Place the entire bowl into the microwave cook for about 15-25 seconds on high. Remove the bowl and stir well. The chocolate will have melted just enough to darken the mixture after you stir it.
Sprinkle the rum over the top and stir to distribute the rum evenly.
Melt the butter, and when it's hot, stir that into the rum ball mixture. It should begin to clump up and you should be able to form small balls.If the mixture seems too dry, add an additional small amount of melted butter or more rum.
Form small balls about the size of a walnut. Roll these in either cocoa powder or sprinkles. Store them in a tin with a tight fitting lid.
FAQs
Tips and tricks for Rum Balls
- If you're working in a warm kitchen, pop the bowl with the rum ball mix in the fridge before rolling them out. ...
- Wet your hands before handling the mix. ...
- Store your rum balls in an airtight container in the fridge to prevent the rum from evaporating and to ensure they keep their shape.
Can rum balls make you drunk? This is a no bake recipe, which means any alcohol we use in the process won't be cooked away or made less effective. However, we're not using that much of it, so getting drunk isn't something to worry about! After all, there's only ¼ cup of rum divided among 24 individual bites.
Does the alcohol evaporate from rum balls? ›
Does the alcohol evaporate in rum balls? No. They are not baked, so all the alcohol that goes into the mixture of this rum balls recipe will stay there!
What is a substitute for Nilla wafers in rum balls? ›
Animal crackers seem to be used for rum balls too. Search "rum ball animal crackers" for many recipes. This is the answer. Anecdotally, I tried Whole Food's generic animal crackers, they tasted identical to Nilla wafers.
What if my rum balls are too dry? ›
If the mixture seems too dry, add an additional small amount of melted butter or more rum. Form small balls about the size of a walnut.
How to thicken rum balls? ›
Add more cocoa powder or ground almonds if the mixture needs thickening. Roll and coat: Bakery rum balls tend to be monstrously huge; I prefer to make them bite-sized at home.
Can kids have rum balls? ›
Yes, kids can eat rum balls but the rum in them may not be suitable for kids.
How do you stop alcohol from evaporating? ›
Hands down, the best choice is a premium glass decanter with an airtight seal. That's a sure way to end that occasional deluge of "does my whiskey evaporate" line of bewilderment for good.
How long to boil alcohol out of rum? ›
Sorry to spoil the party, but here's the real deal: Simply heating alcohol, or any other cooking liquid, does not make it evaporate as quickly as a child's allowance in a candy store. The longer you cook, the more alcohol cooks out, but you have to cook food for about 3 hours to fully erase all traces of alcohol.
Why do Nilla wafers taste different now? ›
Originally a round, thin, light wafer cookie made with flour, sugar, shortening, eggs and real vanilla, Nilla wafers have been primarily flavored with synthetic vanillin since at least 1994, a change which prompted criticism.
I haven't had banana pudding in years, and as I recall, it was always with vanilla wafers. The graham crackers worked equally well as a replacement. I'd never used Dream Whip before, but it certainly thickened the pudding nicely.
Are vanilla wafers discontinued? ›
The bags on shelves right now are the last of the vanilla wafers. I spoke with a representative for Ferrero Roche, which owns Murray Foods, on Friday and another today to confirm the discontinuation.
Does rum go flat? ›
If kept out of direct sunlight and in a cool setting, unopened rum can be stored almost indefinitely. It is considered a stable liquor with a high ABV to preserve its integrity while in storage. Once opened, a bottle of rum should be used within 6 months to 2 years, depending on the additional flavors in the liquor.
Should rum have stuff floating in it? ›
Particles in the rum indicate either improperly maintained barrels, or cork dissolved by the rum due to either bad materials used to produce the cork, or bad storage (rum should never be stored on the side like wine, the distillate should not touch the cork).
How do you make rum go down easier? ›
Some people like to add a few drops of water to their rum and there is nothing wrong with that – particularly for some of the higher ABV and cask strength rums out there, which can be a little fiery (as a rule anything about 45% ABV will cope well with a little water).
Do rum balls contain rum? ›
Rum balls are a truffle-like confectionery cake of cookie butter flavoured with chocolate and rum. They are roughly the size of a golf ball and often coated in chocolate sprinkles, desiccated coconut, or cocoa. As their name implies, these treats contain rum.
