Christmas Rum Balls | Easy Rum Balls | Kitchenstagram
The holiday season is synonymous with joy, gatherings and delightful treats. Among the many confections that grace our tables during this festive time, rum balls stand out as an easy, no-bake and irresistibly boozy delight. These bite-sized wonders not only require minimal effort but also make for a perfect addition to your holiday cookie tray. Plus, they can be prepared ahead of time and even frozen, ensuring you have a delightful treat ready whenever the festive mood strikes.
History of Rum Balls:
Rum balls Rum Balls trace their roots back to Danish bakers who ingeniously transformed leftover cakes and pastries into a new creation. Combining cocoa, rum and a touch of creativity, they rolled the mixture into balls, coating them with coconut or chocolate sprinkles. These treats were then sold at an affordable price the next day. Today, this tradition has evolved into a global sensation, especially cherished during the holiday season.
What are Rum Balls?
Rum balls, a thrifty delight, emerge from scraps, a zero waste marvel, blending remnants into a flavourful, ingenious creation. They are truffle like confectionery, blending dry cake or cookie scrape or biscuit crumb, enhanced with a mixture of rum and nuts. The addition of honey and chocolate acts as the binding agent, creating a delectable treat. They are often coated in cocoa powder, powdered sugar, chocolate sprinkles, desiccated coconut, crushed nuts or dipped in tempered chocolate. These boozy Rum Balls retain the full punch of the added rum since they are not baked, making them a spirited holiday favorite.
While rum balls are global Christmas treats, the diversity in recipes reflects regional and familial preferences. But, the common thread is inclusion of chocolate and rum, while other ingredients may vary. The recipe’s flexibility allows for the use of different bases, whether entirely with cookie crumbs or incorporating fruit cake or chocolate cake or any dry cake or leftover brownies or any kind of pastry scrap, put it in your rum balls. If you don’t have any pastry scrap you can just buy some ready-made dry cakes or cookies. The quantity of rum and honey needs to be adjusted because depending on the cake or cookies you are using. If its too shaggy add more cookies or cake. And if its dry then add more rum or chocolate so that a nice firm dough can be formed. In this recipe I am using dark chocolate cake scrape.
Ingredients you need for Rum balls:
Leftover Cake: For these rum balls I am using dark chocolate cake scrape I had in my fridge. You can use any dry cake you prefer and if you don’t have any at home you can also buy some.
Cookie or Wafers: I am using marie biscuits but you can also use Graham crackers, or butter cookies. Use a fresh package of biscuit for the best flavour.
Cocoa powder: The key to an indulgent chocolatey flavour lies in using unsweetened dark cocoa- make sure it’s baking cocoa, not hot cocoa mix.
Honey: Honey adds sweetness and depth of flavour. Honey also helps to bind the rum balls together.
Chocolate: Chocolate adds richness to the rum balls and also helps in binding the rum balls together and creating a cohesive texture.
Dark Rum: Let’s introduce the star of the show- dark rum. Selecting the right rum is crucial. Avoid overly sweet options like Malibu and opt for the depth of dark rum. If you like you can also use spiced rum.
Cinnamon, Star anise & Nutmeg powder : These spices brings a wonderful kick to the rum balls.
Dry fruits: I love texture in my rum balls, so I am adding some golden raisins. Soak some golden raisins in rum and leave them overnight to plump. This adds a delightful chewiness to the rum balls. However, if you don’t like raisins, use any dry fruit of your choice or you can skip too.
Nuts: Use any kind of nuts you prefer, walnut, almonds, cashews, pecans or even pistachios. I am using walnut and cashew nut in this recipe.
Why you will love these boozy Rum balls?
These rum balls are a holiday dream! With a mere 5 minute prep time, these no-bake delights are ready in just 30 minutes, making them perfect for last minute festivities.
This recipe yields at least 12 delectable treats, they are ultimate easy and high yield recipe for the season.
They are delicious bite sized boozy flavour bombs.
Packed with boozy flavour these rum balls are festive, pretty and ideal for holiday parties or thoughtful gifts.
Their make-ahead and freeze friendly quality adds convenience to the joy, makes these rum balls a time saving holiday lifesaver.
Their adaptability lets you tailor the ingredients to suit your unique taste buds.
How to store rum balls?
Rum balls, with their rich and complex flavors, continue to develop over time. Making them a few days before serving and then storing them in refrigerator allows the flavour to mature. You can store them in the refrigerator for two weeks. You can also freeze the rum balls, thaw at room temperature overnight. Flash freeze them on a baking sheet in a single layer until solid, then transfer them to an airtight freezer safe container and freeze them for 2 months.
How to make these boozy Rum Balls Kid-friendly?
While traditional boozy rum balls are for the grown-ups, a kid-friendly version can be easily crafted by swapping out the rum for orange juice or apple juice and using sweetened condensed milk.
Tips & Tricks:
Use dark rum for an enhanced flavour profile.
Make sure you crush the ingredients before measuring for accuracy.
To make this alcohol free, substitute the rum for 1-2 tsp of rum extract or use orange juice or apple juice.
Once all the ingredients are combined, ensure they form a ball that holds its shape and isn’t too soft. If you find the mixture to be very soft, crush a few more cookies or add some cake crumbs.
Its best to roll the balls in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder just after they are formed. Once the exterior dries, they will not pick up as much coating. But, powdered sugar tends to absorb while in fridge, so re-roll them in powdered sugar before serving. Also, sift some cocoa powdered before serving if needed.
Ingredients
150 gm Leftover or fresh Chocolate cake or chocolate muffin (crushed)
70 gm Marie Biscuits or plain wafers
1 tbsp Cocoa powder
2 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Rum soaked Raisins
1 tbsp Cashew nuts (chopped)
1 tbsp Walnut (chopped)
2 tbsp Dark chocolate (melted)
1 tsp Cinnamon, Star anise & Nutmeg powder
40 ml Dark Rum
Garnish:
Cocoa powder
Confectioner’s sugar
100 gm Melted chocolate
Sugar pearls (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1: Grind the marie biscuits in a grinder until no large chunk remains.
- Step 2: In a mixing bowl mix crushed cake crumbs and marie biscuit.
- Step 3: Then add cocoa powder, Cinnamon, Star anise & Nutmeg powder, honey, raisins, chopped cashews & walnuts and dark rum and melted chocolate.
- Step 4: Mix everything properly until the mixture is moistened evenly and holds together when squeezed.
- Step 5: Divide the mixture into 35 g portions and roll into smooth balls.
- Step 6: Roll them into Confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder. Keep aside
- Step 7: For chocolate covered Rum balls, melt chocolate in microwave at 30 second intervals for 1 minute, stir the chocolate in between so all of the chocolate are evenly melted.
- Step 8: Dip each rum ball in the melted chocolate and allow it to set.
- Step 9: Pour the remaining chocolate in a piping bag and form a in zigzag pattern on the rum balls. Then sprinkle with sugar pearls.
- Step 10: Let the rum balls set for a few hours at room temperature before serving them. Rum balls can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks in refrigerator or frozen for up to 3 months. They taste better after ageing for a few days.
About Me
DEBJANI MONDAL
Welcome to Kitchenstagram, the home of delicious recipes, culinary inspiration and cooking adventures. I’m Debjani and I’m thrilled to be your guide through the wonderful world of food. I’m a self-taught professional baker, home chef, recipe developer, author of Kitchenstagram and an aspiring YouTuber.
My passion for food and cooking began at a very young age, when I would watch my mom and dad cook for me and my brother. My dad, in particular is a great cook whose culinary skills made a lasting impression on me. My dad would cook up a storm on special occasions by cooking variety of dishes, from delicious biriyani to samosa, fish fry, rasgullas and kachoris (sweet & spicy deep fried pastry with filling of lentils, meat or fish…>>>>>
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