Traditional rum balls are a perfect addition to any gathering and make the perfect gift! These are such a fun and festive dessert and are super easy to make!
If you enjoy hosting for the holidays and have a lot of different recipes cooking on your stovetop and oven, this is the perfect recipe! These traditional rum balls are no bake! They’re not overly sweet, and you can definitely taste the rum. Enjoy them with hot chocolate or peppermint white Russian for the perfect holiday treat.
Ingredient Notes
- Wafers – I used one 11-ounce package of Nilla wafer cookies and pulsed them in a food processor for a few seconds.
- Pecans – Although most people use pecans, feel free to use walnuts.
- Powdered Sugar – Helps sweeten the rum balls.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – Make sure you use unsweetened!
- Rum – Any dark spiced rum will work. Feel free to use any type of alcohol such as whiskey or bourbon.
- Chocolate Sprinkles – I like to coat some rum balls in powdered sugar, some in cocoa powder, and some in chocolate sprinkles. You can also coat them with crushed pecans or cookie crumbs.
Top Tips
- Taste the batter before rolling it into balls. If it’s too sweet for your liking, add more cocoa powder. If it isn’t sweet enough, add more powdered sugar.
- If the batter is too dry, add an extra splash of rum.
- To roll the balls in sprinkles, coat the rolled balls in rum, so the sprinkles adhere to the balls.
- Don’t store these in a warm area.
- Because these are no-bake rum balls the alcohol won’t cook off; therefore do not serve these to anyone under 21 years of age.
How Do I Measure The Rum Balls?
You can use a tablespoon to do so or eyeball it. You can make these as small or as big as you like.
Can I Make These Without Rum?
If you don’t want to use rum feel free to substitute it with sweetened condensed milk and cut the powdered sugar quantity in half so they don’t turn out too sweet.
Can I Make These Ahead Of Time?
Of course! Just remember that the powdered sugar and cocoa powder will absorb in the fridge so make sure to reroll them before serving.
Storage
Place these in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 10 days.
More Recipes You Will Enjoy
Tried this traditional rum balls recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. And consider following me on Facebook or Pinterest!
Traditional Rum Balls
Ingredients
- 1 eleven ounce package nilla wafer cookies crushed
- 1 cup pecans crushed
- 1 cup powdered sugar plus more for rolling
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder plus more for rolling
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon dark spiced rum
- 2 tablespoons honey
- chocolate sprinkles for rolling
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the rum and honey and mix until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift the powdered sugar and unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Add the nilla wafers to a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs. Then do the same to the pecans.
- Combine the sifted powdered sugar, sifted cocoa powder, crushed pecans, crushed nilla wafers, and rum mixture. Mix until well combined. If the mixture is too dry, add an extra splash of rum.
- Cover the mixture and place it in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Once the 20 minutes are up, remove the mixture from the fridge and roll it into 1-inch balls.
- You can coat the balls with powdered sugar, cocoa powder, or chocolate sprinkles. To roll the balls in sprinkles, coat the rolled balls in rum, so the sprinkles adhere to the balls.
- You can enjoy these immediately!
Notes
- Taste the batter before rolling it into balls. If it’s too sweet for your liking, add more cocoa powder. If it isn’t sweet enough, add more powdered sugar.
- If the batter is too dry, add an extra splash of rum.
- To roll the balls in sprinkles, coat the rolled balls in rum, so the sprinkles adhere to the balls.
- Don’t store these in a warm area.
- Because these are no-bake rum balls the alcohol won’t cook off; therefore do not serve these to anyone under 21 years of age.
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