Rum balls are one of the easiest and most festive cookies to make and gift during the holiday season — they take no time to whip together, require no baking, and are incredibly delicious. Everyone loves them. What’s more? They can be made ahead and frozen, too.
Easy, festive, boozy rum balls — what’s not to love?
The virtues of rum balls include:
short prep time: the batter takes all of about 5 minutes to whip up
no-bake, which means short total time: start to finish these will take about 30 minutes to complete
high-yield: this recipe will make at least 40
taste: they are delicious, boozy bites of goodness
easy: can’t have too many easy recipes around the holidays
festive: perfect for holiday entertaining
pretty: a perfect gift
they can be made ahead of time (and even frozen!) — score!
I can’t think of a more perfect treat to have on hand for the holiday season. And if you’re looking for another low-effort, high-yield cookie recipe to gift all season long, try these melt-in-your-mouth Lemon-Almond Snowball Cookies.
PS: Soft and Chewy Molasses Crinkles
PPS: Simple Classic Shortbread
How to Make Rum Balls, Step by Step
Gather your ingredients: Vanilla wafers, rum, cocoa powder, corn syrup, and confectioners’ sugar.
First: pulse the vanilla wafers in a food processor until they are finely ground:
Next: add the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, and corn syrup:
Finely: Add the rum, and pulse until the ingredients form a cohesive mass:
Transfer the “dough” to a separate vessel. Pour some confectioners sugar into a small, rimmed sheet pan:
Portion the dough into balls using a #100 scoopor a teaspoon or by simply pinching off small pieces and rolling them in your hands. Roll the balls in confectioners’ sugar.
Transfer the confectioners’ sugar-coated balls to a clean tray or storage vessel:
Can You Freeze Rum Balls?
Yes! Simply transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. I find these delicious straight from the freezer in fact, but if I am going to serve them, I let them thaw at room temperature overnight. Before serving, re-roll them in powdered sugar to freshen them up 🙂
How to Gift Rum Balls
To gift rum balls, simply find a festive gift box, load with small, paper liners, and load with your delicious, boozy, rum balls. I like these:
Mini Foil Wrappers — perfect rum balls or truffles or anything similarly sized.
Punch Studio book boxes — I can’t find a source for these. My mother found them at Marshall’s a million years ago and passed them along to me. Marshall’s or craft stores such as Michael’s and Hobby Lobby and JoAnn Fabrics are all good spots to find decorative gift boxes.
Stationery boxes work well, too. I ordered a set of 50 many years ago, and I’m still using them around the holidays to gift rum balls, truffles, and chocolate-dipped peanut butter balls.
These rum balls are the easiest, best, and most festive cookie to make and gift during the holiday season — they take no time to whip together, require no baking, and are incredibly delicious. What’s more? They can be made ahead and frozen, too.
If you’d like to gift rum balls, you may want to pick up a set of Mini Foil Wrappers, which are perfect for rum balls or truffles or chocolate-dipped peanut butter balls or anything else similarly sized.
A #100 scoopis also particularly helpful for shaping, though you absolutely can use a teaspoon or simply your hands to pinch of portions of the dough and roll into balls.
Ingredients
3+ cups (311 g) vanilla wafers (a whole box of Nilla wafers)
1 cup (120 g) confectioners’ sugar (plus more for rolling)
2 tablespoons (10 g) cocoa powder
2 tablespoons (44 g) white corn syrup
1/3 cup (74 g) rum, plus more as needed
Instructions
Place vanilla wafers in a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs. There might be a few large pieces that don’t catch the blade at this step, but they’ll eventually end up getting pulverized, so don’t worry. (Alternatively, place vanilla wafers into a Ziploc bag and bash them with a rolling pin until they are fine pieces).
Add confectioners’ sugar, cocoa and corn syrup and pulse till combined. Add the 1/3 cup rum and pulse to combine. If necessary, slowly add more rum to the food processor until the mixture comes together and forms a mass around the blade or holds together when you pinch it.
Using a teaspoon or a #100 scoop, scoop out balls from the processor, roll them gently with your hands to form balls, then drop them onto a plate (or shallow tupperware) filled with a thin layer of powdered sugar. Shake the vessel to coat the balls, then transfer the balls to an airtight storage container until you are ready to serve them. Store at room temperature for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature briefly before serving.
While vanilla wafers are my favorite for their subtle sweetness and vanilla notes, graham crackers, butter cookies, digestive biscuits, or shortbread cookies are all excellent substitutes. For a gluten-free version, opt for gluten-free cookies.
Can rum balls make you drunk? This is a no bake recipe, which means any alcohol we use in the process won't be cooked away or made less effective. However, we're not using that much of it, so getting drunk isn't something to worry about! After all, there's only ¼ cup of rum divided among 24 individual bites.
Store rum balls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Alternatively, freeze them in an airtight container for up to 2 months and allow to come to room temperature before eating.
Rum balls are bite-size homemade treats made with vanilla cookie crumbs, pecans, cocoa, confectioners' sugar, and spiced rum. These do taste like spiced rum, so keep that in mind. Although if rum isn't your favorite, you could try making them with bourbon instead.
The name is a shortened version of vanilla, the flavor profile common to all Nilla-branded products. Originally marketed as Nabisco Vanilla Wafers, the product's name was changed in 1967 to the abbreviated form, Nilla Wafer.
Originally flavored with real vanilla, Nilla wafers have been primarily flavored with synthetic vanillin since at least 1994, a change which prompted some criticism. Presently, Nilla wafers are described as having "natural and artificial flavor", according to the ingredients list on the box.
If you think it's a little on the dry side, add a splash more rum and give it another good mix. I have always rolled my rum balls in chocolate sprinkles, and then in icing sugar, but you can roll them in just one or the other, or an entirely different coating of your choosing.
Rum balls are a popular Christmas treat in England, Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United States, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Greece and the Czech Republic. In Denmark they are enjoyed year round and known as either romkugle, trøffel or sputnik, depending on the specific region.
Mixture should be very thick. At this stage it may be a little too soft or sticky because of our summer heat; so just pop in the fridge for a bit to prevent totally flat bottomed balls. Then take spoonfuls of the mixture and make your balls by rolling between your palms then roll in coconut.
Will rum balls get me drunk? Because they're not baked, the alcohol does not cook off. But you'd have to eat A LOT of them to feel a strong alcohol effect, and these are a treat best enjoyed in moderation!
If kept out of direct sunlight and in a cool setting, unopened rum can be stored almost indefinitely. It is considered a stable liquor with a high ABV to preserve its integrity while in storage. Once opened, a bottle of rum should be used within 6 months to 2 years, depending on the additional flavors in the liquor.
In bowl mix together walnuts, sweet chocolate, sugar and half the egg whites. Add enough rum to moisten mixture so it holds together to form dough. Shape mixture into 1" balls. Roll balls in remaining egg white, then in chocolate sprinkles.
You will unlikely get drunk from eating rum balls because the alcohol is combined with other ingredients and made into many individual balls. However, the alcohol in the rum does not cook out in these balls because they are not baked.
I make my banana pudding the same way, but instead of vanilla wafers, I use Italian lady finger cookies. Same as you would use for tira misu. Better flavor and texture and it really dresses up the dish. Gets big wows all the time.
Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract is a type of flavoring that is made from vanilla beans. It has a sweet, fragrant flavor that is similar to rum. When using vanilla extract as a substitute for rum, you can use a little less than the recipe calls for, as vanilla extract is very strong in flavor.
Apple juice or white grape juice: Substitute an equal amount of apple juice or white grape juice for the rum. These options will add sweetness and moisture but won't have the same depth of flavor as rum. Water or milk: In a pinch, you can substitute water or milk for the rum to provide the necessary liquid in th.
Spirits such as bourbon, brandy, rum, and vanilla liqueur can mimic the rich, caramelly taste of vanilla extract. Use 2 tsp of alcohol to replace 1 tsp of vanilla extract.
Introduction: My name is Rueben Jacobs, I am a cooperative, beautiful, kind, comfortable, glamorous, open, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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