Impress guests this holiday season with flavorful, easy-to-make Bourbon Balls. These sweet and chewy, no-bake confection will have dessert lovers (and especially bourbon fans) swooning. Get creative with tasty toppings—colored sprinkles, granulated sugar, chopped nuts, melting chocolate—for a box of bourbon-flavored beauties that’s perfect for gift giving. Now, grab a bottle of your favorite Kentucky whiskey and get rollin’!
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Holiday Bourbon Balls (makes about 4 dozen bourbon balls)
Recipe adapted from the Los Angeles Times Holiday Cookies E-Book
- 10 ounces Nilla wafers or graham crackers, crushed into crumbs (about 2½ cups crumbs)
- 1 cup finely ground pecans (I toasted the pecans for 8 mins at 350 degrees prior)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 7 ounces chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup bourbon (1/3 cup if you prefer a less prominent bourbon flavor)
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- Granulated sugar, sprinkles or finely ground nuts, for dusting
In a large bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs, ground pecans and powdered sugar.
In a microwaveable bowl, microwave the chocolate until it’s melted (I usually do it for 30 seconds, then in 10-second intervals, stirring between each interval, and stop before they’re totally melted because they’ll melt as you stir).
Stir in bourbon and corn syrup to combine (the chocolate will seize a bit and the bourbon won’t incorporate well. Just do the best you can). Add the chocolate mixture to the crumbs mixture, and stir until thoroughly combined. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes.
Pour your toppings of choice into a dish. Form the chocolate mixture into small balls the size of grapes, and roll each ball in the sugar, nuts or sprinkles. (Optional: To coat in chocolate, chill balls in the fridge for 20 minutes before dipping into melting chocolate. Refrigerate until hardened.) Enjoy!
