Rumballs for Christmas!

My friend and former co-worker Robin has on occasion brought rumballs to the company Christmas potluck. They are always a big hit (I wonder why!)

A few days ago, I emailed her asking for the recipe, and she kindly sent it.

This morning, I put on my Christmas earrings for the first time this month, put on my favorite Christmas CD, and set about making rumballs.

The ingredients

In the bowl, ready to be mixed. The small bowl to the left contains the cocoa/sugar mixture the balls get rolled in.

All mixed up

Ready to be chilled in the refrigerator


Robin said the recipe came from her maternal grandmother, and that her brother would try to see how much rum he could add and still get the dough to form a ball.

No-Bake Rum Balls

1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs (like Nabisco Nilla wafers, but you should be able to find a store brand) (crush fairly fine — a food processor works well)
1 cup coarsely ground pecans
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1-1/2 tablespoons corn syrup (Robin’s recipe called for light corn syrup, but I used dark corn syrup because I had some on hand)
1/4 cup rum
white sugar

Place 1/4 cup of sugar in a small bowl and set aside. (Robin says you can substitute a mixture of 1/2 cocoa powder and 1/2 powdered or granular sugar. Because I believe that chocolate makes everything better, I opted for cocoa and granular sugar.)

Mix together all the other ingredients. Add a little more rum if it seems dry. Form into 1-inch balls. The dough be sticky and get all over your hands. (This is very true. I had to wash off my hands after rolling 4 or 5, first making sure to lick off all I could. Don’t want to waste good rum.)

Roll each ball in sugar or sugar/cocoa. Store in an airtight contained in the refrigerator. Robin says these taste best at room temperature, but after all the flavors have melded together (about 12 hours) and should keep fresh for a week or so.

Enjoy!