Rum Balls
From McGough's Recipes
| Time | Makes |
|---|---|
| 20 Min | 30 Balls |
Ingredients
For Chocolate Coconut Balls:
- 9 ounces (250 grams) vanilla wafers/cookies, or plain chocolate cookies
- 14 ounces (400 grams) sweetened condensed milk (I use Nestle)
- 3 tablespoons rum (optional)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Hershey's)
- 1/2 cup finely shredded or desiccated coconut
- pinch of salt
For Coating:
- 3/4 cup finely shredded or desiccated coconut (or more)
Instructions
- Set up a work station with a large ziplock bag and rolling pin (or a food processor); a large bowl for mixing; and a shallow bowl with 3/4 cup of coconut for rolling in.
- Place the cookies in ziplock bag, seal and crush with the rolling pin. Alternatively, crush in the food processor until fine crumbs form. It's ok if there are some slightly larger pieces.
- Add the crushed cookies, coconut, cocoa powder, condensed milk, rum and vanilla to the large bowl. Mix the ingredients well using a wooden spoon, then your hands once it gets too thick. (If mixture is too thick, mix in 1-2 tablespoons milk).
- Scoop out a tablespoonful of mixture and roll into a 1 - 1 1/2 inch ball, then roll in coconut until completely covered. Place on a baking sheet or tray and repeat until all the mixture has been rolled into balls.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Store in an airtight container layered with parchment paper or plastic wrap in the freezer for up to 4 weeks.
The rum part to be optional in this recipe, as many of our readers aren’t comfortable giving treats with alcohol to their kids. Of course, these balls are AMAZING with or without rum! Or you can make half a batch with rum (1 tablespoon is enough for a half batch), and half a batch without! I’ll leave that part totally up to you.
What You Need To Make Chocolate Coconut Rum Balls
- Condensed Milk: for the sake of saving some serious calories, I used Nestle Reduced Sugar Sweetened Condensed Milk, but you can use any type, really.
- Desiccated (or finely shredded) coconut.
- Cocoa powder.
- Plain sweet cookies: the type you dunk into your tea or coffee. Vanilla wafers, milk arrowroot, or even plain chocolate cookies.
- A couple tablespoons of rum: as I mentioned earlier, this is optional and can be added to only half of the batch instead of the entire batch if you’re hesitant to serve them to children. Having said that, most of us grew up eating Rum balls at Christmas parties and we turned out fine! You can also use whisky or bourbon.
