This easy 5-Bourbon Bourbon recipe is a family favorite and makes a great addition to any holiday cake swap or party puff!
Bourbon balls are my favorite birthday cake ever.
When we were little, my parents used to throw a huge birthday party every year. The house was packed with over 100 people, and my mom spent the entire week before getting ready for the party.
My mom made cheese straws, sherry cheese dip, and these bourbon balls, among lots of other appetizers and desserts. Ironically, every year I’d eat a bourbon ball and think “That’s the way it is gross!! (Maybe that’s how a 10-year-old should describe the taste of bourbon’s strong flavor!)
But as I tasted year after year, I came to love the bourbon balls—and the bourbon!
Bourbon is actually our family drink.
My grandmother loved the old fashioned, and my grandfather always ordered a Manhattan.
So you might say the taste of bourbon balls reminds me of my childhood in the best way ever.
Maybe that’s why I love them so much.
What is a bourbon ball?
Traditional bourbon balls are a mixture of cookie crumbs, pecans, sugar, cocoa powder, corn syrup, and bourbon rolled in powdered sugar.
Nilla chips are my favorite cracker, bourbon is booze, but you can also make them as rum balls, with flavored vodka or even moonshine!
I’ve heard about making official Kentucky Bourbon Balls. You can’t use vanilla flakes, and some recipes call for soaking the nuts in bourbon first.
I love sticking to this recipe because it’s so easy and brings the bourbon in.
You may want to warn anyone who doesn’t drink that these are not baked goods. not offered to boys under the age of seven; )
A healthy bourbon ball
In an effort to make these even healthier with more real food, I stocked up on the coconut sugar and replaced the corn syrup with honey.
I thought about rolling it into a superfood, but powdered sugar is a must out.
This version is little bit A bit more bitter without all the powdered sugar inside, but if you like dark chocolate, you’ll love the swap. Roll it in melted chocolate and it might be a fun idea too!
Top with pecans for an extra touch.
5 bourbon balls made up for the recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounce box of vanilla wafers
- 1 cup of pecans
- 1 cup coconut flakes
- 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons of honey
- 1/4 cup wine!
- Confectioner’s sugar for rolling
How to make bourbon balls
Step One: Pecan Toast
Pop them into the toaster or oven for just a few minutes at 400*. Don’t look away or you will get burned.
Step Two: Make the Crumbs
Add the vanilla, pecan, coconut, and cocoa chips to your food processor. Beat the mixture until you get a mixture of soft wafer crumbs.
Step three: make the dough
Pour the crumbs into a mixing bowl and add the honey and bourbon. Mix well by hand until a dough forms.
Step four: roll into balls
Roll into about one inch balls. Set each one aside on a plate or baking sheet as you roll.
Fifth step: roll in powdered sugar
Store in a tin filled with waxed or parchment paper, or fill a jar and tie with a bow to give as a gift! Store it at room temperature.
5 ingredients bourbon balls
This easy 5-ingredient Bourbon Ball recipe is a family favorite and makes a great addition to any holiday cake swap or party puff!
Ingredients
- 12 ounce A box of vanilla wafer biscuits
- 1 cup pecan
- 1 cup Coconut flakes
- 2 Tablespoon cocoa powder
- 3 Tablespoon honey
- 1/4 cup Bourbon
- Confectioner’s sugar for rolling
instructions
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Pecan toast. Pop them into the toaster or oven for just a few minutes at 400*. Don’t look away or you will get burned.
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Make crumbs. Add the vanilla, pecan, coconut, and cocoa chips to your food processor. Beat the mixture until you get a mixture of fine wafer crumbs.
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Pour the crumbs into a mixing bowl and add the honey and bourbon. Mix well by hand until a dough forms.
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Roll into about one inch balls.
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Roll in powdered sugar
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Store in a box filled with waxed or parchment paper at room temperature.
Here’s an old photo of me and I before our annual Christmas party, all dressed up. We sound fancy, right?
And here I am with Gram enjoying some bourbon
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