Traditional Rum Balls - A Beautiful Mess

If you’ve never made traditional rum balls, you’re going to love this recipe! This tasty recipe is made with dark rum, pecans, Nilla wafer cookies, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, salt and honey. They are a delicious texture with just a hint of rum flavor.

More Dessert Ideas: Red Velvet Cake, Cinnamon Rolls, Cream Pie

Ingredients

Pecans – You will use a food processor to pulse them into fine crumbs.
Nilla Wafer Cookies – Or any type of crispy cookie you prefer.
Powdered Sugar – For the cookie recipe (you can also use this to roll the cookies in as a substitute for cocoa powder).
Cocoa Powder – For the recipe as well as rolling the completed balls in.
Kosher Salt – This ingredient brings out the other flavors.
Spiced Dark Rum – Or any type of rum you have on hand.
Honey – Choose local honey or agave if you prefer a vegan option.

How to Make

Begin by placing the vanilla wafers in a food processor and pulsing until they are crumbs. Set aside and do the same thing with the pecans.

Add all the dry ingredients (vanilla wafer crumbs, pecan crumbs, powdered sugar, cocoa, a pinch of salt) to a bowl and mix until well combined.

Next, add honey and rum. Combine with a spoon until well mixed. If you need to, use your clean hands to mix the ingredients evenly. Do this until all your mixture is slightly moist.

Next, press the mixture into balls. I rolled mine by hand and ended up with 28 balls from these ingredients.

Last, roll your finished balls in cocoa powder (you may also use powdered sugar) as a garnish.

Store at room temperature until ready to serve.

Tips for Making

You can store these balls in a container at room temperature for up to one week. If you prefer to make them ahead (or save some of your batch), you can also freeze them for up to three months.
Some people like to keep their balls in individual mini cupcake liners (so they look like a box of chocolates) for serving. This a a great option if making them for a party.
What is a substitute for Nilla wafers? If you don’t have Nilla wafer cookies on hand, you can use a similar crispy store-bought cookie. You may also try it with a soft cookie, but the closest substitution would be another crispy cookie.

More Rum Recipes

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the alcohol cook out of rum balls?

No, it does not. There is no cooking in this recipe, so these dessert balls do contain rum.

Can rum balls get you drunk?

No. It is nearly impossible to get drunk from the ratio of rum to other ingredients. You would have to eat about 10 rum balls to ingest one ounce of liquor.

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Learn to make traditional rum balls using dark rum, pecans, Nilla wafer cookies, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, salt and honey.

Yield 28 balls

Prep 20 minutes

Instructions

Begin by placing the vanilla wafers in a food processor and pulsing until they are crumbs. Set aside and do the same thing with the pecans.
Add all the dry ingredients (vanilla wafer crumbs, pecan crumbs, powdered suagr, cocoa, a pinch of salt) to a bowl and mix until well combined.
Next, add honey and rum. Combine with a spoon until well mixed. If you need to, use your clean hands to mix the ingredients evenly. Do this until all your mixture is slightly moist.
Next, press the mixture into balls. I rolled mine by hand and ended up with 28 balls from these ingredients.
Last, roll your finished balls in cocoa powder (you may also use powdered sugar) as a garnish.
Store at room temperature until ready to serve.

Notes

You can store these balls in a container at room temperature for up to one week. If you prefer to make them ahead (or save some of your batch), you can also freeze them for up to three months.
Some people like to keep their balls in individual mini cupcake liners (so they look like a box of chocolates) for serving. This a a great option if making them for a party.
What is a substitute for Nilla wafers? If you don’t have Nilla wafer cookies on hand, you can use a similar crispy store-bought cookie. You may also try it with a soft cookie, but the closest substitution would be another crispy cookie.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Traditional Rum Balls

Amount per Serving

% Daily Value*

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.

Traditional Rum Balls – A Beautiful Mess