These boozy delights aren’t original (bourbon or rum balls have been a southern staple for eons) but I started making them a few years back when I wanted a pretty powdered sugar contrast on my Christmas cookie gift plates. They’re absurdly easy, decadent, and flexible to substitutions. This is my favorite version so far, a warm, lightly spiced mix of Speculoos cookies, pecans, dark syrup, and bourbon. If you’re not an alcohol person, a spiced apple juice or a sparkly cider would also do the trick.
Total Time: About 1 hour, depending on how quickly you crush and chop things and how impatient you are.
1 12 oz package crushed Speculoos cookies
1 cup finely chopped pecans
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp dark corn syrup
1/2 cup bourbon
Powdered sugar for rolling
- Combine all ingredients except extra powdered sugar in a large bowl. If the mixture seems too loose to roll into balls, refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Spoon the mixture into 1-2 tbsp balls.
- Toss in powdered sugar and store in an airtight container. (Theoretically they’ll keep for about 2 weeks, but they won’t last that long.)
The Heart and The Hunger 