Rum Balls

This is a very fun and festive holiday treat! Thank you Martha Stewart. These balls are formed using a batch of brownies that has been broken into bits and flavored with dark rum. The flavors of this dessert are rich with chocolate and rum. This is definitely a treat for adults. The addition of rum is not ideal for the kiddies. This recipe is especially fun to make for special events because you can play with the sugar coating, using different colors or even different toppings. These will impress guests and look beautiful on the party table!

 

Recipe:

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

3 large eggs

½ cup packed light-brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ teaspoon coarse salt

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons dark rum

Coarse sanding sugar, for rolling

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 12-by-17 inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside. Melt butter and chocolate in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
2. Whist together eggs, brown sugar,vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in chocolate mixture, then fold in flour. Pour batter into prepared baking sheet. Spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake until top is shiny and a cake tester inserted into center comes out with some crumbs attached, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
3. Bread up brownie into small pieces; transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With machine on low speed, pour in rum, and mix until crumbs start to come together to form a ball.
4. Shape into 1-inch balls, and roll in sanding sugar to coat. Transfer to a baking sheet; refrigerate, uncovered, until cold, about 2 hours. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

A couple notes:

I didn't have an electric mixer with a paddle attachment so I used my hand mixer and it worked just fine.

The recipe calls for ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons dark rum. I found this to be quite a bit of rum. You can use less to flavor to your taste.

Coarse sugar seems to work the best with this recipe although you can use granulated sugar.

Eat Responsibly!