Fudgy Bourbon Balls

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Fudgy Bourbon Balls — These bourbon balls only take 15 minutes of prep and you can make them days (or weeks) in advance, and just one appliance is dirtied! 

Fudgy Bourbon Balls - Easy, no-bake, ready in 15 minutes, soft, chewy, and fudgy!! SUGAR and BOOZE all in one bite-sized treat! Great for hostess gifts, holiday parties, and cookie exchanges!!

No-Bake Bourbon Balls Recipe

These little nuggets are a perfect holiday treat. They’re easy, no-bake, only take 15 minutes of prep, they’re portable, you can make them days (or weeks) in advance, and just one appliance is dirtied. Love treats like this during this busy time of year! 

And let’s not forget they’re chewy, fudgy, and have bourbon in them. Candy and booze all in one bite, my kind of holiday cheer.

There’s only 1/4 cup bourbon in the entire batch so you’re not going to get tipsy unless you get carried away and eat a few dozen in one siting. 

These bourbon balls are great for holiday cookie exchanges and perfect to set out at a Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve party.

Fudgy Bourbon Balls - Easy, no-bake, ready in 15 minutes, soft, chewy, and fudgy!! SUGAR and BOOZE all in one bite-sized treat! Great for hostess gifts, holiday parties, and cookie exchanges!!

What’s in These Bourbon Balls? 

To make this easy no-bake dessert, you’ll need: 

  • Nilla Wafers
  • Confectioners’ sugar
  • Unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Bourbon
  • Cinnamon
  • Ground ginger
  • Light corn syrup
  • Salt

How to Make Bourbon Balls

Blend the Nilla Wafers in a food processor until they’re finely ground. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until combined. The proper consistency for the mixture is like wet sand; when squeezed it should hold together.

Scoop the mixture into small balls, then immediately dredge in confectioners’ sugar. Place the bourbon balls into a container and refrigerate until chilled. 

Can I Add Nuts to These Bourbon Balls? 

I’ve tried these with nuts in addition to the Nilla wafers, but for this recipe I omitted the nuts. You can substitute up to 1 cup ground pecans or walnuts for 1 cup of the Nilla Wafers if you’re feeling like getting nutty.

Can I Omit the Bourbon? 

The bourbon provides a depth of flavor you can’t achieve without it. You can substitute with rum or whiskey if you’re so inclined. Since someone will ask, I don’t think there’s a way to make them non-alcoholic. I recommend these or these instead.

Fudgy Bourbon Balls - Easy, no-bake, ready in 15 minutes, soft, chewy, and fudgy!! SUGAR and BOOZE all in one bite-sized treat! Great for hostess gifts, holiday parties, and cookie exchanges!!

Tips for Making Bourbon Balls

If desired, you can use honey, agave, or molasses instead of the corn syrup. Just use whichever you have on hand! 

When rolling the bourbon balls in confectioners’ sugar, I always make it a thick coating since it tends to ‘disappear’ a bit over time and become absorbed into the ball.

I prefer to store and serve these bourbon balls chilled, although they can be stored and served at room temp. 

Fudgy Bourbon Balls — These bourbon balls only take 15 minutes of prep and you can make them days (or weeks) in advance, and just one appliance is dirtied! 

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4.48 from 17 votes

Fudgy Bourbon Balls

By Averie Sunshine
These bourbon balls only take 15 minutes of prep and you can make them days (or weeks) in advance, and just one appliance is dirtied!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Chill Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 24 servings
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Ingredients  

  • one 11-ounce box Nilla Wafers, finely ground (reserve about 8 wafers that you don’t grind)
  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dredging
  • cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup bourbon, or as necessary (rum may be substituted)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon ground ginger, or to taste
  • pinch salt, optional and to taste
  • about 1/4 cup light corn syrup, honey, agave, or molasses may be substituted

Instructions 

  • To a food processor fitted with the S-blade, add the Nilla wafers (reserve 8 in case you need ‘firm up’ the mixture later) and blend on high speed until they’re finely ground.
  • Add 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, bourbon, cinnamon, ginger, optional salt, and pulse to combine.
  • Add the corn syrup and pulse to combine. The proper consistency for the mixture is like wet sand; when squeezed it should hold together. Add a splash more corn syrup or bourbon if mixture seems too dry; if it’s too wet add some of the reserved wafers.
  • Using a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop or spoon, form balls that are about 3/4-inch in diameter. Roll each ball between your hands to smooth them out.
  • Dredge each ball through confectioners’ sugar. I use a heavy coating because it tends to ‘disappear’ a bit over time and become absorbed into the ball.
  • Place balls in an airtight container or ziptop bag and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, or until chilled. I prefer to store and serve these chilled although they can be stored and served at room temp. Will keep airtight for many weeks in the fridge.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 97kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 60mg, Sugar: 11g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

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Comments

    1. I have not personally although with some trial and error you could probably find something that would work just fine. There are soooo many GF cookies/crackers on the market that I bet you’ll have luck.

  1. 4 stars
    OMG! Averie, you had me at “bourbon” and Wow! these are little chocolate nuggets of goodness! I made them for the first time last weekend to take to a holiday cookie exchange and they were a hit! So I am preparing to send your link out to the hostess now and share your recipe with all the guests!
    As far as preparation goes; I don’t have a food processor, but the blender worked fine for the vanilla wafers. It just took more time b/c I would sift the wafer dust and crush up the big crumbs. (And could only blend a handful of wafers at a time.) When it got time to add the Karo and bourbon, I just used my hands to knead the batter til it wasn’t sticky any more. Worked perfectly! I am going to grab another box of nilla wafers this weekend and make some more in time for C’mas day! The family will love them! Thanks!
    PS I also added extra bourbon…and drank some too! Lol

    1. I’m glad that you love these and also good to hear that you were able to get by using your blender and some mixing creativity!

  2. I make these every year but my recipe includes 1 C finely chopped pecans and I use rum as a twist. Tastes like Christmas to me!

  3. I’ve never come across a cookie ball recipe quite like this but they look easy, delicious and make good use of nilla wafers. Jon loves bourbon so these would be right up his dessert alley!

    1. Everyone I gave these to loved them, even those who were just ‘indifferent’ towards bourbon. I bet Jon would love them!

  4. Ohhhh my, your video (autoplay) startled me! I was like, where’s that song coming from?! Haha, but putting that aside: love the way these look! You had me at fudgy ;)