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How To Make Rum Balls

Make sure you have tasty Rum Balls ready to serve during your next holiday gathering. These balls have that perfect spiced rum flavor, making them perfect for enjoying each year for the holidays!

Make sure you have tasty Rum Balls ready to serve during your next holiday gathering. These balls have that perfect spiced rum flavor, making them perfect for enjoying each year for the holidays!

If you’re looking forward to seeing family and friends this holiday season, be sure to have something special prepared for them to enjoy. Not sure what to serve? Rum Balls are an excellent choice. Switch it up this year and give something new a try. Once you’ve had the opportunity to bite into these easy-to-prepare treat balls, you may consider making them all the time!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • It’s Incredibly Tasty – As long as you enjoy the taste of spiced rum, you can expect to love the taste of these rum balls.
  • Easy to Make – Who says preparing homemade treats for the holiday season has to be hard? This recipe proves that you can make something delicious with minimal ingredients in no time.
  • Perfect for the Holidays – The spiced flavor of these Rum Balls will remind you of holidays spent with loved ones, making them the perfect treat to prepare when you’re having friends and family over for dinner and dessert.

Ingredients Needed for the Easy Rum Balls Recipe

Ingredients needed to make your Rum Balls: Rum, vanilla, water, honey, pecans, powdered sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla waffers.
  • Vanilla Wafers – Crush these wafers to create your balls.
  • Pecans – Finely chop the pecans. They add the perfect crunch to these balls and contribute to their incredible taste.
  • Dark Spiced Rum – Use any brand of spiced rum you personally prefer.
  • Honey – The honey adds a natural sweetness and makes all your ingredients stick perfectly together.
  • Vanilla Extract – Enhance the natural taste of these treats with a bit of vanilla extract.
  • Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – Give your rum balls that perfect chocolate touch with a bit of unsweetened cocoa powder.

Although optional, you can use powdered sugar, sprinkles, coconut, cocoa powder, and chopped pecans when rolling the balls.

How to Make Rum Balls

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. In a large bowl, combine wafer crumbs, 1 cup powdered sugar, pecans, and cocoa powder until well combined.

Combine rum, honey, water, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Stir the honey mixture into the dry ingredients until well combined.

Divide the dough equally using a cookie dough scoop. Form into a ball and roll in powdered sugar, sprinkles, or chopped pecans. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days 

Rolled confections in powdered sugar, chocolate jimmies, and chopped nuts.

What are Rum Balls?

Rum Balls are a sweet and tasty treat, much like a truffle, consisting of a few special ingredients, including unsweetened cocoa powder, chopped pecans, and rum. The rum is a special touch to these mini desserts, enhancing their flavor and giving them that unique flavor. Rum Balls have the perfect texture. They’re slightly soft and slightly crunchy from the nuts and cookie pieces, providing the best of both worlds.

What do they taste like?

Rum Balls have a rich chocolate taste with a hint of spiced rum added to it. You may also notice hints of vanilla from the vanilla extract included in the recipe. They’re sweet and super flavorful, perfect for anyone who likes chocolate, pecans, and of course, rum!

Can you get drunk from eating Rum Balls?

There is a common misconception that these boozy treats will get you drunk. However, it’s highly unlikely. Because you’re only using a small amount of rum in this recipe, it’s typically not enough to get anyone drunk. It simply adds more flavor to these easy treats. Of course, if you overdo it and eat too many in one sitting, that may be another story!

Inside view of the dense and flavorful Rum Balls.

Recipe Tips for making that at home

  1. If you can’t find chopped pecans and are having trouble chopping them yourself, I recommend putting them in a food processor. It will make the task of chopping the pecans into pieces that much easier for you and save you so much time in the process.
  2. When you want to add a special sweet touch to your confections, feel free to use glazed pecans instead of traditional pecans. Because they have that glaze on them, they’re even sweeter, and that taste will go great with the other ingredients used to prepare these homemade Rum Balls.
  3. You can make these in advance. If you’re planning to prepare the Rum Balls for a party and want to get making these out of the way so that you can focus on other things, simply store these balls in an airtight container. Once you’ve stored them properly, they can stay fresh in the container for up to three days.

With the right ingredients and these simple tips, you’ll be able to complete this recipe for Rum Balls in no time. These Rum Balls will quickly become a family favorite!

Make sure you have tasty Rum Balls ready to serve during your next holiday gathering. These balls have that perfect spiced rum flavor, making them perfect for enjoying each year for the holidays!
Yield: 20

Rum Balls Recipe

Rum Balls Recipe

Make sure you have tasty Rum Balls ready to serve during your next holiday gathering. These balls have that perfect spiced rum flavor, making them perfect for enjoying each year for the holidays!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups crushed vanilla wafers
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 cup pecans, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup dark spiced rum
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For Rolling, optional

  • Powdered Sugar
  • Sprinkles
  • Chopped Pecans
  • Coconut
  • Cocoa Powder

Instructions

    1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
    2. In a large bowl combine wafer crumbs, 1 cup powdered sugar, pecans, and cocoa powder until well combined.
    3. In a small bowl combine rum, honey, water, and vanilla extract.
    4. Stir in the honey mixture into dry ingredients until well combined.
    5. Divide the dough equally using a cookie dough scoop.
    6. Form into a ball and roll in powdered sugar, sprinkles, or chopped pecans.
    7. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

    Did you make this recipe?

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    Images, text and all other content Copyrighted©Karyn Granrud, Susanne Queck and Wunderlander Verlag LLC, or ©Pro Stock Media via Canva.com. Unlicensed republishing permitted. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn on qualified purchases.

    Karyn Granrud

    Karyn Granrud

    I'm Karyn, a mom and wife, and I founded this little baking blog. Baking and making desserts have been my passion since I was a kid. I love experimenting with different flavors and sharing delicious recipes with all of you. Read more.

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