Miriam’s Assorted Holiday Booze Balls II (Bourbon / Liqueur / Low-proof Rum)

More variations on the classics!

This year’s edition is also gluten, soy, egg, and dairy free thanks to a key substitution in the cookie base.

The three variations we’ll do today are:

• Old fashioned cocktail style bourbon balls
• Mint-chocolate candy cane liqueur balls
• Low-proof cardamom chai rum balls

Miriam’s Holiday Booze Balls II Improved Cookie Base Mix:

• 2 cup Graham-style crumbs by Kinnikinnick (6 cups for a triple batch)
• 1 cup confectioners sugar (3 cups)
• 1/2 fine ground cup almond meal (1.5 cups)
• 1/2 cup course ground nuts, depending on the variation – almonds, pecans, or cashews (1.5 cup total, divided)
• 1/8 tsp salt (1/2 tsp)

Kinnikinnick can be found online or at gourmet or natural grocery stores – see their store finder https://www.kinnikinnick.com/store-finder. I really like the flavor and texture, it comes pre-crumbled, and it’s great to be able to include folks with celiac, allergies, and common intolerances (other than nuts of course, these recipes are not for them).

Using a mix of almond meal and fresh ground nuts gives a good blend of smoothness and chunk.

Above: Ingredients

Old Fashioned Cocktail Style Bourbon Balls

Directions

1. Place cookie base in a medium bowl and mix in the orange peel. Add the maple syrup and liquor. Mix by hand until the batch is moist, but crumbly. As usual adjust with extra graham crumbs or liquor to get the right consistency. Kinnikinnick boxes contain slightly more than 2 cups, so you’ll have half a cup left over from one batch to use in this stage.
2. Take 1 – 1.5 Tbs of mix to squeeze into a 1 inch ball
3. Place confectioner’s sugar and/or candied orange peel on a tray for rolling finished balls

Mint Chocolate Candy Cane Liqueur Balls

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cookie base mix with coarse ground almonds
• 1/2 cup Mint chocolate cocoa mix
• 2 oz Chocolate Mint liqueur (A mix of peppermint schnapps and chocolate liquor would also work well)
• 1 1/2 Tbs maple syrup
• 1/8 cup crushed candy canes or other peppermint candy
• Additional confectioners sugar and cocoa mix for rolling

Directions:

1. Place cookie base in a medium bowl and mix in the cocoa mix. Mix in the liqueur and honey and mix by hand until the batch is moist but crumbly.
2. Fold in the crushed peppermint candy until just incorporated. (Don’t overman or the candy will start to melt, depriving your eaters of a crunchy surprise).
3. Take 1 – 1.5 Tbs of mix to squeeze into a 1 inch ball
4. Place confectioner’s sugar and cocoa mix on a tray for rolling finished balls

Note: we tried coating this in the crushed peppermint here and it did not work. A mix of confectioners sugar and the cocoa mix works much better. I found a neat recipe for coating the balls in chocolate and then sprinkling the crushed peppermint candy on top. This looks great and I’m sure is delicious, but undercuts the strength of this recipe as a purely room-temperature exercise by adding the steps of melting/tempering chocolate and refrigerating to set.

Low-proof Cardamom Chai Rum Balls

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cookie base mix with coarse ground cashews
• 1/2 cup instant chai tea mix (brand used here)
• 1 Tbs fresh ground cardamom seeds
• 1/2 Tbs ground cinnamon
• 1-2 grinds fresh black pepper
• 2 oz lower-proof Rum (Bumbu used here)
• Additional confectioners sugar and cinnamon for rolling

Directions:

1. Place cookie base in a medium bowl and mix in the chai mix and spices. Mix in the rum and honey and mix by hand until the batch is moist but crumbly.
2. Take 1 – 1.5 Tbs of mix to squeeze into a 1 inch ball
3. Place confectioner’s sugar and cinnamon mix on a tray for rolling finished balls

Note: On Booze proofs. Rum and whisky balls are by their nature a more adult cookie in the holiday cookie pantheon. While a whole batch only has the booze of a single cocktail in a glass, when mixed right you can definitely taste the alcohol in each bite. I’ve been experimenting with more kid- and health-conscious folk friendly variations, and this is one of the best of them. While zero-proof “rums” are absolutely vile and throw off the balance of this cookie (I’ve tried—they’re gross) lower-proof rums result in a surprisingly mellow final cookie that still has a balanced, not overly sweet flavor. Blends as low as 35% ABV still technically qualify as rum, and that’s what is used here. Alcohol is barely detectable in the final result, and after a day or two the actual alcohol evaporates entirely, leaving a cookie that’s both flavorful and kid- and alcohol-avoidant folk friendly.