Holiday Rum Balls

It's holiday baking time, so I thought I would share some of our family's favorite holiday treats. Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting recipes that we indulge in every year at Christmas time. I hope you find some that you and your family will enjoy as well.

My husband's favorite Christmas cookie is a good, old fashioned rum ball. My mom has been making these for as long as I remember. This is her recipe. Enjoy!

Gather up:



1 box of Nilla Wafers
1 cup of pecans, chopped
1 cup powdered sugar + 1/4 cup to roll the balls in
4 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1/3 cup rum or bourbon

First, throw the Nilla wafers in your food processor and crumb 'em.


I have a small one, so I have to do several batches. If you don't have a food processor, you can put the wafers into a ziplock and smash the fire out of them with a food mallet or ice cream scoop.

It's actually kind of theraputic.

Once you have wafer dust, combine them in a bowl with your powdered sugar and nuts.



Then add the rum. It's okay to be a touch more generous. It's especially okay to pour yourself a nice cold glass of Pepsi and add a little rum. It makes the baking even more enjoyable. :)



Add your corn syrup and give it all a good mix. It might seem a bit dry, but you're going to be squeezing the mix into balls. Try a test squeeze and if doesn't hold together yet, add a bit more corn syrup.




Squeeze out 1 inchish balls. Mine always start small, but they seem to get bigger as I go along. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the Pepsi and rum.

And, speaking of all these balls...does anyone remember the Saturday Night Live skit with Alec Baldwin & his "Schweaty Balls"?

Nevermind.

Next roll your Rum balls in the extra powdered sugar.



You'll want to store these in an airtight container. Obviously you won't want to feed these to the kidlings, but definitely serve these to the adults in your life.



Aren't they pretty? They're like cute, little spiked snowballs. Enjoy with a nice hot mug of hot cocoa or coffee on a cold winter day!