My mom used makes bourbon balls every Christmas and I always ate one at the big Christmas party they would throw and be disappointed every year. And then once I formed a happy memory with the taste and smell, I loved them! Now they are one of my very favorite parts of Christmas.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pecans or walnuts
- 1 box vanilla wafers (12 oz)
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 2 tbsp bittersweet cocoa
- 1/2 cup bourbon
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup OR 1.5 tbsp honey
TO-DO:
Eat a vanilla wafer to make sure they are good
Then pulse wafers in a food processor until they are crumbs.
Toast nuts in the oven until fragrant, about 4 minutes at 400*, or toast in skillet, being careful they don’t burn
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp really good cocoa
Pulse nuts, sugar and cocoa in with wafers to combine into a nice crumb mixture:
The Good Guy
The Bad Guy (or another good guy is honey!)
Combine bourbon with corn syrup or honey. Add to crumbs. Use hands to combine like so:
Begin to roll into balls. I find it helpful to squish a blob of dough back and forth between my hands 6-7 times to mush it all together before I begin rolling
I like to make 10 at a time and then powder them to let them dry slightly
Form pretty rows
Recipe makes about 50-60 balls, depending on how big you make them and how many you eat!
Tin ’em up for serving
Celebrate your hard work with a swig of the Good Guy
