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Homemade Bourbon Balls are a boozy treat that’s perfect for your Christmas tray! Made with ground vanilla wafers, pecans, chocolate, and a generous amount of bourbon, this classic Southern dessert is always a hit.
Booze-infused sweets always create a buzz, and my Kentucky Bourbon Balls are a perfectly delicious example. Popular at Christmas, these delightful treats are old-fashioned rum balls made with pecans, chocolate, and crushed cookies.
Why You’ll Love This Bourbon Balls Recipe
- DIY Holiday Treat. Searching for unique homemade gifts this holiday season? Look no further than bourbon balls – a hit with all who receive them.
- Quick to Prepare. Making these treats is incredibly easy. This no-bake recipe involves mixing the ingredients and shaping them into small, delectable balls. It’s a hassle-free process, perfect even in the busiest holiday times.
- Make Ahead. They can be refrigerated or frozen, making them a convenient treat to prepare in advance. This flexibility means you can enjoy them fresh or have a stash ready for unexpected guests or last-minute gatherings.
Ingredients
- Vanilla wafers: You could also use crushed chocolate wafers or crushed gingersnap cookies.
- Pecans: For added texture. Toast them for more flavor.
- Powdered sugar: This will be used twice. Once for the ball mixture, then again to coat the bourbon balls.
- Cocoa powder: Provides that rich chocolaty punch.
- Bourbon: The star of the show. You could also use whiskey or rum.
- Light corn syrup: Acts as a binder.
How to Make Bourbon Balls
Let’s make these classic Bourbon Balls with vanilla wafers, pecans, and chocolate. They are an ideal treat for holidays, gift-giving, and cocktail parties. Enjoy the simplicity of this no-bake treat!
- Prep your ingredients: Crush the vanilla wafers in a food processor and finely chop the pecans.
- Mix: In a bowl or a food processor, combine and mix the crushed cookies, pecans, powdered sugar, and cocoa.
- Combine the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk the bourbon and corn syrup.
- Mix it all together: Pour the bourbon mixture into the dry mixture and blend well.
- Chill: Cover and chill for 3 hours. This will make it easier to shape the balls.
- Shape and coat in sugar: Shape small bits of the dough into balls and roll them in the powdered sugar.
Recipe Tips And Variations
- Use a Food Processor: To make things even easier, you can use a food processor. First, combine the vanilla wafers and pecans, pulsing a few times until you have a mixture that looks like breadcrumbs. Then, add the sugar and cocoa. Pulse again. Finally, add the liquid ingredients and pulse until everything is well combined.
- Make in advance. This recipe is best made 2 to 3 days before you want to serve them. This gives all the flavors time to meld together and really makes for the best bourbon balls!
- Experiment with flavors. You can also make these with gingersnap cookies or different kinds of nuts, such as walnuts.
- Alcohol: Instead of bourbon, you could also use whiskey. You could also turn these into rum balls by substituting the bourbon with rum.
- No-Alcohol: Instead of alcohol, you can make these with orange juice, apple juice, or apple cider.
How To Serve Bourbon Balls
Pair these classic bourbon balls with treats like Peppermint Mocha Fudge and Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies. Complement them with salty-sweet delights like Cranberry Brie Puff Pastry Pinwheels and Bacon and Chives Cheese Balls. They also make a great addition to a cookie assortment featuring Strawberry Cream Cheese Kolacky, Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Macadamia Nut Cookies.
How to Store
- Bourbon balls are best stored in the fridge. Place them in an airtight container after you have added the powdered sugar coating. They will keep for up to 2 weeks.
- You can also freeze these in a freezer-safe airtight container for up to 3 months. When ready to eat one simple defrost in the fridge overnight, or go the single-serving route and just take one out! Frozen bourbon balls are pretty satisfying, just give them a bit to thaw so they are easier to bite into. I may or may not keep some bourbon balls in the freezer for “emergencies.”
More Christmas Dessert Ideas
- Spiked Crockpot Hot Chocolate
- Cheesecake Bark with Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl
- Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies
- Chai Spiced Snowdrop Cookies Recipe
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Bourbon Balls
These traditional Bourbon Balls are a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, made with vanilla wafers, pecans, chocolate, and a hearty splash of bourbon.
Ingredients
- 1 package (11 ounces) vanilla wafers,, finely crushed
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
- ¾ cup powdered sugar, , plus more for rolling
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup bourbon
- 2½ tablespoons light corn syrup
Instructions
- Place cookies in the food processor bowl equipped with a steel blade and pulse the cookies until finely crushed. Be sure to use the pulse function, as continuously running the food processor can turn the mixture into a butter-like consistency.
- In a deep bowl, combine the crushed vanilla wafer crumbs, chopped pecans, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, and cocoa.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the bourbon and corn syrup.
- Pour the bourbon mixture into the dry mixture; mix and blend well until a soft dough forms.
- Cover and chill for 20 minutes.
- Remove it from the fridge, scoop small sections of dough, and form them into 1-inch balls. Then, roll them in powdered sugar. Store in refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.
- For a more intense flavor, make the bourbon balls 3 days in advance.
Notes
- Use a Food Processor: To make things easier, you can use a food processor for the entire recipe. First, combine the vanilla wafers and pecans, pulsing a few times until you have a mixture that looks like breadcrumbs. Then, add the sugar and cocoa. Pulse again. Finally, add the liquid ingredients and pulse until everything is well combined.
- Bourbon balls are best stored in the fridge. Place them in an airtight container after you have added the powdered sugar coating. They will keep for up to 2 weeks.
- You can also freeze these in a freezer-safe airtight container for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, defrost them in the fridge overnight.
Nutrition
Calories: 65kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 0g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 12mg | Potassium: 18mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 0IU | Vitamin C: 0mg | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.1mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
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Love this recipe
Thank YOU! I am very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Is there any way to make these without the cocoa? I can’t eat chocolate. Thanks
Yes, definitely. Just leave out the cocoa powder.
So, my question is, how many did you eat before you decided that they tasted more like booze than cookie? Next time you need to invite me over so we can sample them together. They look fantastic and I bet are excellent with coffee.
These look amazing! Is it too late to make bourbon balls post Kentucky derby? I was in London over the weekend and totally missed out on it this year!