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The snowball look of Bourbon
Balls makes them a festive addition to any Christmas tray. Bourbon Balls are a
sweet and chewy, no-bake confection made from a combination of crushed
vanilla wafers, confectioners sugar, cocoa powder, chopped pecans or
walnuts, held together with a little corn syrup and bourbon. It is easy to
like Bourbon Balls since they taste great, they are quick and easy to
make, and they only improve with age. Essentially Bourbon Balls and
Rum Balls are twins, the only difference being
the alcohol. It seems to me that whether you prefer Bourbon Balls or Rum
Balls may have to do with where you live and whether you come from a
bourbon or a rum drinking family.
Did you know that in 1964
the U.S. Congress declared bourbon to be "America's Native Spirit"?
Bourbon is an American whisky made primarily from corn and it is named
after Bourbon County, Kentucky. Although bourbon can be made anywhere in
the United States, only bourbon from the state of Kentucky is allowed to
have its' name of origin printed on its' label. Now Bourbon Balls will
only taste as good as the bourbon you use, so if you wouldn't drink it
from a glass, don't use it. There are a few ways to maximize the flavor of
these little gems. First, I recommend toasting the pecans to bring out
their wonderful flavor. But don't feel you have to use pecans, for walnuts, hazelnuts, or almonds also
make excellent bourbon balls. While many recipes call for finely crushed
vanilla wafers, other favorites are graham cracker crumbs or you might
like to try using crushed shortbread cookies, crushed ginger cookies, or
even crushed chocolate
wafers. You can use either natural unsweetened or Dutch-processed cocoa
powder. Also corn syrup is a thick, sweet syrup made from cornstarch that
is available both clear (light) and brown (dark). It is sold
in glass or plastic bottles. If you cannot find light corn syrup than liquid
glucose can be used in this recipe. If you find that after mixing the ingredients the batter
is quite sticky, chill it for about 30
minutes. While I like to roll the cookies in powdered sugar, you could
also roll them in granulated white sugar, cocoa powder, chopped nuts, or
they can even be dipped in melted chocolate (like these
Rum Balls). Bourbon Balls really taste better
if stored for at least a day or two so their flavors have time to mingle and
soften. Make sure to store the bourbon balls in a covered container in the
refrigerator but bring them to room temperature before serving.
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