A Christmas rum balls recipe made with crushed ginger snaps cookies, toasted pecans, melted butter, and spiced rum! Roll these FAST and EASY NO-BAKE treats in confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, coconut, or dip them in melted chocolate! Great for gift-giving and cookie exchanges because you can make them far in advance!
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Chill Time1 hourhr
Total Time1 hourhr20 minutesmins
Course: Christmas
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate rum balls, easy rum ball recipe, no bake rum balls, recipe for rum balls, rum balls, rum balls recipe, traditional rum balls
Servings: 24
Calories: 189kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
1cuppecanstoasted and blended into fine crumbs (walnuts may be substituted)
3cupsginger snaps cookiesblended into fine crumbs (graham cracker crumbs or Nilla Wafers may be substituted)
1 ½cupsconfectioners' sugar; divided
½cup+ 1 tablespoon spiced rumsuch as Captain Morgan or your favorite, divided
¼cuplight or dark colored corn syrup
2tablespoonsunsalted buttermelted
¼cupunsweetened natural cocoa powder
Chocolate melting wafersas desired for dipping
Instructions
To a dry skillet, add the pecans and cook over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Shake pan to flip the nuts nearly constantly.
To the canister of a high speed blender or food processor, add the toasted pecans, and blend on high speed until you have fine crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a large bowl; set aside.
Add the ginger snaps cookies to the blender (probably about 15 to 20 cookies, depending on their size), and blend on high speed until you have 3 cups of fine crumbs. Tips- You can also use graham cracker crumbs or crushed Nilla Wafers. They are not as traditional, but will work fine.
Add the cookie crumbs to the bowl with the pecans.
Add 1 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar (reserve the remaining 1/4 cup for rolling) and stir to combine.
Add 1/4 cup spiced rum, corn syrup (dark or light) melted butter, and stir to combine. Add additional rum, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a smooth and cohesive dough forms that is not too wet and not too dry. You may not use all of the rum called for in the recipe based on how your mixture looks since all dry ingredients vary a bit and this is a recipe you need to use your judgment with how much rum to add, exactly.
Using a small cookie scoop form approximately 18 equal sized balls, and roll each between your palms to smooth. You can also use an extra small cookie scoop and you will yield closer to 24 to 30 balls. Tips - When you're mixing together, the mixture it will be moist, but it shouldn't be sloppy wet. If it seems too wet, add another tablespoon of graham cracker crumbs, or whatever you need to, so that the mixture comes together nicely. Chilling also helps reduce the "tacky" or overly sticky vibe a bit. Conversely, if the mixture is too dry, add a bit more corn syrup until it's moist enough to hold its shape.
Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or wax paper and at this point, I like to pop it in the refrigerator for 1 hour to help chill the balls before rolling them, although chilling is optional.
Roll the balls through the reserved 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, and/or dip them in melted chocolate*, as desired. Allow any that were dipped in melted chocolate to set up fully before storing. If desired, you can also chill them before serving, but it's not absolutely necessary.
Rum balls will keep airtight in the refrigerator for at least two weeks or in the freezer for up to four months. Tips - Because of this, there are a great make a head treat for gift giving and cookie exchanges.
Notes
*I highly recommend using melting wafers specifically designed for melting and dipping because they melt smoother and stay smooth or longer so that you have time to work with the chocolate before it sets up. Ghirardelli is my go-to brand for this purpose. I like this trio in Dark, Milk, and White Chocolate.