With delicious cookies, nuts and alcohol and more, these Rum Balls are the perfect holiday treat! Easy to whip up, great for a crowd, and always a hit!
These Rum Balls have been a favorite of mine for many many years. My mother used to make them every Christmas, of course since they contained alcohol I couldn’t have any.
But that all changed once I got older and they have been on our holiday candy/dessert spread for the length of my adulthood, and they will continue to be on there probably forever.
Everyone loves these Rum Balls, not only because they are super tasty but they are one of the easiest recipes to throw together! There is no chilling or anything for these bad boys.
Blend, mix, roll and eat. How simple is that? These are perfect to bring to a party, gathering or just at your own family holiday get together.
The beauty about easy minimal ingredient recipes is sometimes they are the most tasty recipes around, these Rum Balls are exactly one of those recipes.
We also like a variety so we like to roll our balls in powdered sugar, cocoa powder and sprinkles just to have options.
If you are looking for a delish dessert to add to your holiday spread this you, I highly suggest making this Rum Ball Recipe!
Some other favorite holiday treats that we have on our site include Peanut Clusters, Pecan Pralines and Oreo Truffles.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Easy pantry ingredients help this recipe whip up quickly.
- You can use any kind of rum that you like, we use Capitan Morgan.
- You can easily double or triple this batch to serve more people.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST):
Vanilla wafers
Pecans
Powdered sugar
Cocoa powder
Spiced rum (we use Captain Morgan)
Light corn syrup
Water
Vanilla extract
Sprinkles, cocoa powder and powdered sugar for rolling
HOW TO MAKE RUM BALLS, STEP BY STEP:
- Place the vanilla wafers, pecans, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder in a large bowl.
- Whisk to combine and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the rum, corn syrup, water, and vanilla. Pour the liquid into the bowl with the dry ingredients.
- Stir together until combined.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll 1 Tablespoon-sized portions of the mixture between your hands to form a ball, place on the baking sheet, not touching. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
- Roll the rum balls in your choice of powdered sugar, cocoa powder, or sprinkles or all three.
- Serve and enjoy!
CAN I USE ANOTHER COOKIE IN THESE RUM BALLS?
Yes, if you do not like Vanilla Wafers you can use other cookies such as graham crackers, shortbread cookies, butter cookies, or any other vanilla cookie that you like.
You can also switch this up and make them into a chocolate version as well if you like that better.
WHAT ELSE CAN I ROLL THESE INTO?
Other things that you can roll these in include coconut, nuts, cookie crumbs, etc. They really taste good with anything, but my personal fave is the powdered sugar.
WHAT TYPE OF RUM SHOULD I USE?
We use spiced rum in our Rum Balls our favorite being Captain Morgan, some other rums that you can use include:
- Ron Diaz
- Largo Bay
- Bacardi Spiced Rum
- Sailor Jerry
- The Kraken
- Calypso
These are just some that we have seen and used in the past, but any spiced rum will work for these.
DO I HAVE TO USE RUM?
Technically no, you do not have to use rum in these. You can use other liquors like whiskey, bourbon and I’ve even seen some people use brandy.
If you want to go completely non-alcoholic you can use apple or orange juice as well. You will want something that is a flavorful liquid that will be able to give that component to the recipe.
HOW TO STORE:
You can place these in an airtight container and separate with parchment paper or put in individual small liners and place in the refrigerator where they will keep for up to 2 weeks.
They can be stored either rolled in the toppings or rolled into balls but not in toppings, depends on when you are serving.
These can also be frozen, again you can roll or keep unrolled and place in airtight container and separate with parchment paper or again in individual small liners and they will freeze for up to 2-3 months.
To defrost place them on the countertop or in the refrigerator until they are fully defrosted or come to room temperature.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- These do not require refrigeration before rolling or consuming, but if you want a stiffer ball, you can refrigerate.
- These can be frozen, see my tips above on how to do that.
- You can substitute rum for other liquors or liquids, see my tips above.
- You can roll in many things such as coconut, powdered sugar, sprinkles, cocoa powder, nuts, etc.
- These make a batch of 32, you can easily halve or double this recipe depending on how many you are serving.
- Using a food processor is the best way to crush up your cookies and pecans.
- Other cookies can be used, see above on ideas.
Want the easiest and tastiest Christmas treat around? Then you need to whip up these Rum Balls, you will be so happy you did!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried these RUM BALLS or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Rum Balls
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups ground vanilla wafers 75 cookies
- 1 cup ground pecans
- 1 cup powdered sugar plus more for rolling
- 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder plus more for rolling
- ¼ cup spiced rum we use Captain Morgan
- 3 Tablespoons light corn syrup
- 2 Tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Sprinkles cocoa powder and powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Place the vanilla wafers, pecans, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder in a large bowl.
- Whisk to combine and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the rum, corn syrup, water, and vanilla. Pour the liquid into the bowl with the dry ingredients.
- Stir together until combined.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll 1 Tablespoon-sized portions of the mixture between your hands to form a ball, place on the baking sheet, not touching. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
- Roll the rum balls in your choice of powdered sugar, cocoa powder, or sprinkles or all three.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Nutritional value is calculated before rolling in coatings.
- These do not require refrigeration before rolling or consuming, but if you want a stiffer ball, you can refrigerate.
- These can be frozen, see my tips above on how to do that.
- You can substitute rum for other liquors or liquids, see my tips above.
- You can roll in many things such as coconut, powdered sugar, sprinkles, cocoa powder, nuts, etc.
- These make a batch of 32, you can easily halve or double this recipe depending on how many you are serving.
- Using a food processor is the best way to crush up your cookies and pecans.
- Other cookies can be used, see above on ideas.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED NOVEMBER, 2020
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