Rum Ball Recipe Anyone?

Parent Cafe
1

I have a scheduled meeting Monday where we were told to bring cookies, and a story to go with them. ??? We are suppose to talk about why we like the cookies we bought, where the recipe came from etc. Bah humbug. This is not a social group and I hate forced socialization like this. Call me scrooge. I am actually going to skip the meeting but when telling another coworker about it, he told me he still remembers the rum balls I bought in several years ago. Problem is D made them and lost the recipe. So I would like to bring in cookies Monday but not for the swap but to share with some coworkers. Anyone have a great recipe for Rum Balls they would like to share?

2

1 box of vanilla wafers, crushed (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup chopped nuts
2 T cocoa powder
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3 ounces dark rum (I use Meyer’s)

Mix it all together, chill overnight, roll into balls and roll the balls in more powdered sugar. Keep refrigerated so they hold their shape. We find that the flavor gets better over time. So, I should be making them already!

I also use a little less corn syrup so I can use a little more rum, lol. I use pecans but I grew with my Mom making hers always with walnuts.

3

My favorite is to make these with Christmas Pudding, however, leftover chocolate cake / carrot cake / gingerbread (without frosting), is just as delicious:

1lb Christmas pudding
3 tbs seedless jam / honey / marmalade
3 tbs spiced rum
8oz milk chocolate chopped & melted
4oz flaked coconut or chocolate sprinkles

Place pudding / cake in a large mixing bowl and break it up/ crumble up until soft
Add the marmalade and rum and mix through
Roll into rounds and place a toothpick into each ball
Melt the chocolate over a water bath
Once melted dip each ball into the chocolate using a toothpick & place on waxed paper
Refrigerate for 10 minutes
Roll each rum ball into the coconut/ sprinkles and refrigerate for a further 30m before serving

4

I’ve used the same recipe as @greenwitch and they are the best - they keep forever and really do improve with time, and it’s a forgiving recipe - you can add more rum if you so desire.

5

Same recipe as @greenwitch and @Gourmetmom - though I often make them with bourbon instead of rum.

6

My friend makes these balls with the Eastern European twist:

http://www.olgasflavorfactory.com/recipes/sweets/pirozhnoe-kartoshka/

7

Mine is a bit different, and billed as brandy balls, but I use rum instead.

1 6 oz package semi sweet chocolate chips
1 (5 0z) can evaporated milk
2 1/2 cups cookie crumbs
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/3 C brandy or rum

Combine chips and milk in a 2 quart soacepan, cook stirring constantly till chocolate is melted and mixture well blended. Remove from heat. In bowl, combine cookie crumbs, powdered sugar, pecans and alcohol, add to melted chocolate mixture. Mix well and chill for 30 minutes. Then shape into 1 inch balls, rolling in sprinkles, ground nuts, or powdered sugar. Let air dry 1 to 2 hours, then store refrigerated in airtight container.

I tend to roll them in powdered sugar with a bit of added colored red or green sugar.

The rum variation is to soak 1/2 cup raisins in 1/3 cup rum, drain and mix into other ingredients, omitting the brandy. I am less fond of raisins so don’t use them.

This is obviously a recipe from another era, with small cans of milk, smaller bags of chocolate chips. How expansive we have become!

8

@“great lakes mom” - the commercial packages are shrinking, so we will get back there. :slight_smile:

Following the thread as we also have the dreaded cookie exchange. Ugh. I think I will make my friend’s “Kartoshka” and triple the amount of Bailey’s.

9

And today the NYT offered this, which I am definitely going to try out this weekend:
INGREDIENTS

• 2 ½ cups/360 grams cookie crumbs, from gingerbread or gingersnaps
• 1 ¼ cups/125 grams pecans
• ¾ cup/85 grams confectioners’ sugar, plus more for rolling if you like
• ⅓ cup/80 milliliters dark or amber rum, brandy or bourbon, more as needed
• 2 ½ tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger, more to taste
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• Pinch fine sea salt
• Granulated sugar, for rolling (optional)
PREPARATION

  1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together cookie crumbs and pecans until nuts are coarsely ground. Do not overprocess — you want the nuts to have some texture. Alternatively, finely chop the pecans and toss them in a bowl with the crumbs.
  2. In a separate large bowl, stir together confectioners’ sugar, rum, maple syrup, cocoa powder, fresh ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, ground ginger and salt. Add to food processor and pulse until just combined, or stir into bowl with the crumb mixture, squeezing everything together into a mass. Taste and add more fresh ginger if you like.
  3. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, then roll in confectioners’ sugar or granulated sugar. If the dough starts to dry out as you roll the balls, drizzle in a little more rum. Store in an airtight container at room temperature (they will keep for at least 2 weeks); roll balls in additional sugar just before serving.
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Washington Post has a “cookie generator” posted today and I found this:

(interesting that they don’t need to be refrigerated, and the sub of honey for corn syrup and the grinding of the walnuts…)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/food/holiday-cookies/?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_no-name%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans

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@mamom - I have a similar story to yours. Last week I was with my H and one of his friends and the friend said that I had made the best Irish soda bread he’d ever tasted. I did??? I barely remember making any and it must have been years ago.

He was disappointed when I told him that I used a mix from Bob’s Red Mill. I haven’t been able to find it since but I think I’m going to order some from the site. I heard once that it’s impossible to get the kind of flour they use in Ireland, because it’s milled differently. The Bob’s mix has malted barley flour, wheat germ, and other things that give it a nutty and rich flavor, much better than plain old flour. Just FYI.

12

I appreciate everyone’s input! I have spiced and non spiced rum, so I figured I will try both. Regardless these look so easy to prepare. I plan on sharing with coworkers and may drop some off at the meeting but have no intention of attending said meeting and sharing my best memory of said cookie, etc. I know end of year and managers are making sure they check the box “I interfaced with peons” but really??? My favorite cookie recipe. whatever. I am too old a jaded to deal with this stuff.