New Years Candy Rum Balls
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With New Year’s Eve nearly here, today I am sharing a fun and festive New Years Candy recipe. This Rum Balls recipe is alcohol-free and perfect for New Year’s Eve parties.
While this Rum Balls Recipe can be made with rum, this recipe is for a kid friendly version so they are essentially, Rum Balls without Rum.
These tasty bite-sized treats are sweet, decadent, and perfect for holiday gatherings.
What Are Rum Balls?
Rum balls are a classic candy that is made with crushed cookies, and are typically combined with rum, sugar, and cocoa powder. The cookie mixture is shaped into balls and then rolled in powdered sugar, cocoa powder, or chopped nuts for a festive dessert.
My Rum Balls are made with Vanilla wafers and are made without rum. You could also make Rum Balls for kids with graham crackers or shortbread cookies.
New Years Candy Ingredients
- Vanilla Cookies – I lke to use Nilla wafers
- chopped glazed pecans – be sure to use glazed for added flavor, these glazed pecans are my favorite.
- powdered sugar
- unsweetened cocoa powder – Ghirardelli’s premium baking 100% cocoa
- honey – I like to use honey but you can use agave.
- vanilla extract
- edible luster dust – love to use this edible gold dust and silver dust for special occasions, but you could use colored sugar or edible glitter.
Equipment and Kitchen Tools
- large bowl
- mini cupcake liners – I use these mini liners for candy cups
- serving platter
- small cookie scoop (optional)
- pastry brush (optional)
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Rum Balls Without Rum
Step 1 – Crush cookies and place in a bowl with chopped pecans.
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Step 2 – Add powdered sugar, cocoa powder, honey water, and vanilla extract.
Step 3 – Mix until a sticky dough forms. Refrigerate about 2 hours.
Step 4 – Roll into 1″ balls with clean hands or a cookie scoop. Coat in glitter or dust and place each ball in a paper liner. Serve or store in refrigerator.
How to Make Rum Balls with Rum
If you want to make these with rum, just substitute the vanilla extract and water with 3 tablespoons of rum. I like a smooth rum such as Bumbu rum.
More New Years Candy Ideas
Timesaving Tips
- Before rolling into balls, sample the balls to see if they need more vanilla extract.
- If dough is dry, you can add a little water to the dough.
- Double the recipe and make some for friends or neighbors.
- Rum balls can be frozen.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Thaw them in the refrigerator before serving.
Rum Balls Without Rum
Equipment
- Large Bowl
- mini cupcake liners – I use these mini liners for candy cups
- serving platter
- small cookie scoop (optional)
- pastry brush (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 cup ground vanilla cookies or shortbread cookies Nilla wafers
- 1 cup glazed pecans
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons Ghirardelli’s premium baking 100% cocoa unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons water
- edible dust or edible glitter
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the Nilla wafer crumbs, pecans, powdered sugar, cocoa, honey, water and vanilla extract.
- Mix until a sticky dough forms. Place the mixture in the fridge for about two hours.
- Using a tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop a level tablespoon of the mix then roll into a ball. Repeat the process until all of the balls are rolled.
- Once all of the balls have been rolled, coat each one in edible gold or silver luster dust. A pastry brush can be helpful to brush on the gold and silver. Cover and store in an airtight container for up to 10 days.
Notes
Nutrition
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These were yummy!