Gingerbread Rum Balls

Gingerbread Rum Balls
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(505)
Comments
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This is the perfect recipe to make if you’ve got crumbs leftover after building a gingerbread house. Or you can use a package of gingersnaps ground up in the food processor or blender. The flavor of rum balls improves after they sit for a couple of days, so plan ahead if you’re considering these for a holiday bash. They will last for two weeks or even longer if you store them airtight at room temperature. Rolling rum balls in confectioners’ sugar gives you a soft, moist confection while using granulated sugar results in a crunchier texture. And if you’d rather skip the alcohol, you can substitute orange or apple juice for the rum. Just reduce the confectioners’ sugar by a tablespoon or two, to taste.

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Ingredients

Yield:About 2½ dozen balls
  • cups/360 grams cookie crumbs, from gingerbread or gingersnaps
  • cups/125 grams pecans
  • ¾cup/85 grams confectioners’ sugar, plus more for rolling if you like
  • cup/80 milliliters dark or amber rum, brandy or bourbon, more as needed
  • tablespoons maple syrup
  • 2tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger, more to taste
  • ½teaspoon ground cardamom
  • ½teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½teaspoon ground ginger
  • Pinch fine sea salt
  • Granulated sugar, for rolling (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (30 servings)

109 calories; 6 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 64 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together cookie crumbs and pecans until nuts are coarsely ground. Do not overprocess — you want the nuts to have some texture. Alternatively, finely chop the pecans and toss them in a bowl with the crumbs.

  2. Step 2

    In a separate large bowl, stir together confectioners’ sugar, rum, maple syrup, cocoa powder, fresh ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, ground ginger and salt. Add to food processor and pulse until just combined, or stir into bowl with the crumb mixture, squeezing everything together into a mass. Taste and add more fresh ginger if you like.

  3. Step 3

    Roll dough into 1-inch balls, then roll in confectioners’ sugar or granulated sugar. If the dough starts to dry out as you roll the balls, drizzle in a little more rum. Store in an airtight container at room temperature (they will keep for at least 2 weeks); roll balls in additional sugar just before serving.

Ratings

4 out of 5
505 user ratings
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Comments

I always marvel at home chefs who dismiss the efforts of the author, to shove their 'better and easier' version at the readers. And whose field were these tested in? Your recipe is totally different as their is no ginger, spices or variation of texture. And the amount of confectioners sugar plus corn syrup sounds too sweet. But this is helpful for 9 readers, who I'm guessing don't care for gingerbread spices.

Great recipe! I rolled mine in gold-colored sanding sugar to dress them up for a party. I also added a bit of tangerine juice to the rum, and a little tangerine zest to the nut and crumb mixture - it seemed like a seasonal thing to do.

I made these today. I used thin ginger snaps from Trader Joe’s. I toasted the pecans before adding. I dipped the top of each ball in melted chocolate and topped them with a bit of candies ginger. They look and smell amazing. I plan to let them sit 5 days before eating. I will keep experimenting with this recipe, different cookies, nuts, alcohol etc... great recipe!

Fun twist on bourbon balls. I made mine with a 50-50 mixture of ginger snaps and Biscoff cookies. Very tasty!

It mentions in recipe to have coarse cookie crumbs, will more fine affect forming the balls together since not sure if over processed? I weighed out the correct amount of ginger bread cookies in grams before processing. I assume that is what I was supposed to do since I have more than 2 1/2 cups worth once processed since surface area increases. But approximately the same weight though.

To avoid mixture sticking to your hands, first chill the dough and rub a couple drops of neutral oil on your hands before you roll into balls

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