um
balls are the perfect adult indulgence. As their name implies, these
cookies contain rum and because they are not baked the alcohol flavor and
kick are not lost during baking. Sylvia Lovegren tells us in her book
'Fashionable Food' that baked goods laced with alcohol were all the rage
in the 1960s, especially Rum and Bourbon Balls. Essentially these two
recipes are the same; the only difference being the alcohol. This cookie
is especially popular during the holiday season.
There are a few
ways to maximize the flavor of these little gems. First, I recommend
toasting the pecans to bring out their wonderful flavor. Then you can
either chop them up finely with a knife or you can process them in your
food processor. Just make sure you do not process the nuts to a paste. Don't feel you have to use pecans, for walnuts, hazelnuts, or almonds also
make excellent rum balls. While many recipes call for finely crushed
vanilla wafers, I have recently taken to using crushed shortbread cookies.
Other ideas are to use graham cracker crumbs, crushed meringues, ginger cookies, chocolate
wafers, or even leftover cake can be substituted for the vanilla wafers.
When it comes to the other ingredients in this recipe, cocoa powder means
either natural or Dutch-processed. Rum means dark, white, or
light. In fact, although these are called rum balls you could make bourbon
balls simply by replacing the rum with bourbon. You will probably notice
that after mixing the ingredients the batter can be quite sticky. To
prevent your hands from becoming a mess, chill the batter for about 30
minutes and lightly butter the palms of my
hands before forming into balls. While I like to
roll the cookies in powdered sugar, you could also roll them in granulated
white sugar, cocoa powder or even chopped nuts. These really taste better
if left for at least a few days so the flavors have time to mingle and
soften. Make sure to store the rum balls in a covered container in the
refrigerator but bring them to room temperature before serving.
Note: Corn Syrup is a thick, sweet syrup made from
cornstarch that is available both clear (light) and brown (dark). It is
ideal in candy making as it does not crystallize when heated. It is sold
in glass or plastic bottles.
To toast
nuts: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and have rack in
center of oven. Place the pecans on a baking sheet and toast
for about 8 minutes, or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool
completely and then either chop up finely with a knife or place in your food
processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl.
Process the vanilla wafer cookies
or shortbread cookies in the food
processor until finely ground. Add the crumbs to the finely chopped
pecans. To this mixture add the confectioners sugar and cocoa powder and
stir until combined. Add the corn syrup and rum and mix well. Chill
if necessary and then shape
into 1 inch (2.54 cm) balls. Place the sifted confectioners sugar into a small
bowl and roll the rum balls in the sugar.
Store in an airtight container in the
refrigerator. These are best if made several days in advance of serving to
allow the flavors to mingle.
Serve at room temperature.
Makes about 4 dozen (48 rum balls).
Source:
Lovegren, Sylvia.
Fashionable Food. MacMillan. New York: 1995.
Rum Balls:
1 1/2 cups (140 grams) toasted
pecans,
finely chopped (hazelnuts, walnuts, or almonds can be used)
1 1/4 cups (120 grams) finely crushed
shortbread or vanilla wafer cookies
1/2 cup (55 grams) confectioners
sugar
(powdered or icing)
2 tablespoons (12 grams)
cocoa powder
(can used Dutch processed or regular unsweetened cocoa powder)
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup (60 ml) rum
Garnish:
1/2 cup (55 grams) confectioners
sugar
(powdered or icing), sifted
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