No Bake Rum Balls
Rum Balls are incredibly delicious and oh, so easy to make! You’re going to wonder why you didn’t make these sooner! I really like the touch of dark rum, but it’s definitely not too overpowering. These rum balls are easy to decorate and make a beautiful presentation, even if you keep it simple and roll them in nothing more than plain confectioners’ sugar.
What You’ll Need to Make No-Bake Rum Balls:
- vanilla wafers
- confectioners’ sugar
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- mini dark chocolate morsels
- pure maple syrup
- dark rum
Toppings:
- sweetened shredded coconut
- confectioners’ sugar
- white chocolate morsels
- sprinkles, optional
Other Options to Try:
There are all kinds of options you can pick from if you want to make your own unique rum balls. Of course, you could always start by adding more or less rum to suit your taste. But there are also a variety of liquors that would make a delicious substitution for the rum. Obviously, they wouldn’t be Rum Balls then, would they? But hey! I’m betting they’d still be wonderful.
Substitute chocolate wafer cookies (no icing) for the vanilla wafers.
Sometimes I add walnuts, 2 or 3 handfuls, to the food processor when whizzing up the Nilla wafers, confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, and dark chocolate. It adds a little bit of texture to the balls, which makes them a nice contrast to the otherwise smooth chocolate balls. I have a son with a nut allergy, so I have to be careful with this.
These rum cookie/confections are not super sweet, so simply rolling them in a little confectioners’ sugar and adding some sprinkles is an option I often choose. In fact, even though I think the balls that are dipped in white chocolate look beautiful, I think my favorite are the ones with nothing more than confectioners’ sugar. But, that’s just me!
If you don’t want the strands of sweetened shredded coconut, consider rolling some of the rum balls in desiccated coconut. You’ll find desiccated coconut used in a wide range of savory dishes, as well as cakes, and candies. It’s simply coconut flesh that has been dried. It can be either sweetened or unsweetened, but each flake is much smaller than regular shredded coconut.
After dipping the rum balls in white chocolate, top them with some finely chopped nuts.
NOTES:
Rum balls are best aged for a few days before serving.
Store in an airtight container.
If you don’t have a food processor, you can make these in a blender. Just make sure that you process the dry ingredients in stages. If you dump the whole box of vanilla wafers into your blender, you’re going to have a hard time getting them all ground fine. Don’t ask how I know this!!!
Equipment
- Food Processor or Blender
Ingredients
- 1 11 oz. box vanilla wafers
- 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, + more for rolling, if desired
- 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1/4 cup mini dark chocolate chips or morsels
- 2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
- 6 Tbsp. dark rum, + more, as needed
Toppings
- 2 10 oz. bags white chocolate chips or morsels
- shredded, sweetened coconut, roughly chopped
- confectioners' sugar
- sprinkles, optional
Directions
- In a food processor, combine vanilla wafers, confectioners' sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, and dark chocolate morsels. Pulse until mixture is fine.
- Add the maple syrup and dark rum to the cookie mixture. Pulse until it comes together and forms a fairly stiff, but workable dough. Try to roll a ball and see if it stays together, if it's too dry, add a bit more rum, a little at a time, pulsing again until a firm, rollable dough is reached.
- Scoop dough and roll into smooth 1 to 1-1/2-inch balls. Place on tray; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until toppings are ready.
Toppings:
- Place white chocolate in top of a double-boiler. Heat slowly; in order to get a smooth consistency. Do NOT overheat the chocolate! Remove from heat.
- Place rum ball on a fork and carefully dip into the white chocolate; use a second fork to remove some of the chocolate from the bottom of the dipping fork. Place coated rum ball on a lined baking sheet or immediately place in shredded coconut. If using coconut, roll a bit to ensure entire ball is covered in coconut; press coconut gently to help it adhere to the ball; place on lined sheet pan.
- If you choose, you can also roll some of the rum balls in plain confectioners' sugar, or dip in white chocolate; place on sheet pan, and add a few Christmas sprinkles.
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