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Hi Bold Bakers!
My homemade Boozy Holiday Rum Balls have everything you could want in a holiday dessert! First, they’re super delicious. Second, they are so easy to make (you can even make them ahead and freeze them to avoid spreading yourself too thin around the holidays when it comes to cooking and baking!), and third? The third is my favorite part — they’re so warming because they’re a little bit boozy!
[ Try my other 3 No-Bake Christmas Cookie Balls! ]
Definitely not one for the kids! (Although you can make these non-alcoholic — check out my tips down below!)
My simple rum balls are so soft when you bite into them, and the flavor is just packed with chocolate, walnuts, and dark rum!
This is a no-bake recipe with just a few steps, so you have no excuse not to give them a go!
What Are Rum Balls?
Rum balls are a pretty popular holiday treat because they’re a crowd-pleaser, so easy to make, and have a pretty great shelf-life for something homemade (up to 2 weeks!).
They’re made using vanilla cookie crumbs, toasted chopped walnuts, cocoa, and spiced rum. All you have to do is throw everything into a bowl, mix it up, and roll it into balls!
They are boozy, though, so if spiced rum isn’t your thing, you might want to skip it. (Or try bourbon!)
What You Need To Make Holiday Rum Balls
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Mixing bowl
How To Make Holiday Rum Balls
Ready for one of the easiest holiday recipes you could ever ask for (with amazing results!)? Try these rum balls! (and don’t forget to get the full recipe with measurements, on the page down below):
- Combine vanilla wafers, walnuts, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- Stir in the rum and honey until it is all combined.
- Scoop out about 25 heaping tablespoons of dough and roll them into balls. Then, roll the balls in either powdered sugar or more cocoa powder!
- That’s it. Can you believe it?
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips For Making Holiday Rum Balls
- No vanilla wafers? Use graham crackers, digestive biscuits, or even crushed Parle-G biscuits!
- Or, make them extra special by making them with homemade vanilla wafers, homemade graham crackers, or homemade digestive biscuits!
- Walnuts not your thing? Replace them with pecans or hazelnuts.
- If you prefer bourbon or whiskey, you can use either one in place of the spiced rum.
- You can make these non-alcoholic by replacing the rum with 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract or imitation rum extract and 6 tablespoons of water.
How Do I Store Rum Balls?
Leftover rum balls can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature or the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. You can also freeze them; just be sure to bring them to room temperature before serving!
Make More Holiday Recipes!
- Festive Danish Butter Cookies
- Iconic Speculaas Cookies
- Best-Ever Sugar Cookies
- 3 No-Bake Christmas Cookie Balls
And don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook!
Full (and printable) recipe below!
Try These Recipes!
Boozy Holiday Rum Balls Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 ¼ cups (12oz/340g) vanilla wafers, crushed
- 1 ½ cups (7½oz/213g) walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
- ¾ cup (3oz/85g) powdered sugar plus more for rolling
- ¼ cup (1oz/28g) cocoa powder plus more for rolling
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (4floz/115ml) dark rum
- 3 tablespoons honey warmed slightly
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine vanilla wafers, walnuts, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.
- Stir in the rum and honey until thoroughly combined.
- Scoop out about 25 heaping tablespoons of dough and roll into balls, then roll in either powdered sugar or cocoa powder.
- Store in an airtight container either at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
My Mom made these for many years!! she wrapped the dough around Marischino Cherries!! A HUGE hit!!!
I don’t like honey can I use syrup instead
Can I substitute bourbon for the rum?
Real vanilla extract has alcohol in it, too, so if you’re going to replace it for that reason, use the fake stuff (and make sure that choice doesn’t have alcohol, either, as some of the imitation ones have it as well) 😀
Tried this for my sister’s birthday and everyone just loved it .. thanks for this simple but awesome recipe ♥️
Hi Gemma,
I really like the recipes in your cookbook, especially how you can make up eg cake & pastry flour, buttermilk, etc.
I am allergic to certain nuts eg, walnut, pecan, hazelnut, and peanuts I can tolerate a little better. Any ideas on what substitute(s) I good use for making the rum balls.
I love your recipes and am excited to try this one. I don’t have any rum handy, but do have Kahlua and Malibu. Do you think either of those would work? I have all the other ingredients so want to give this a try. Thanks Gemma!
What a wonderful beautiful easy recipe. Will definitely try this one. Just a question. Can I dip the balls in melted chocolate
Just made these. Didn’t have nilla wafers super I used graham crackers. Dough was too dry and hard to work with and tasted like graham crackers. So I added another 1/4 c rum and that worked and improved the taste a great deal. Balls are rather gooey so I’m chilling them before I coat with cacao. Might increase the cocoa next time as well.
could i use oreo crumbs instead of vanilla ?