Traditional Rum Balls: A Recipe

Hi everyone!


It's Amanda here with a super scrumptious and super easy recipe.  I was inspired to make these when I tasted one of the rum balls that we serve as a little after dinner treat at Naphtali, the restaurant that I have been working at for the past couple of weeks.  They were so delicious, that I wanted to make some for myself (and to share with my house-mates of course).


First of all, these are RUM balls.  They can have quite a strong rum flavor, so if you don't like rum, you probably shouldn't make these.  You can leave out the rum if you want but, in my opinion, they wouldn't really taste like much without it.  Second, they don't require any actual baking at all!  Easy peasy right?  I found the original recipe here and stuck pretty closely to it with only a couple of variations.


Here's what you need:


1 packet of plain sweet biscuits.  I used Arrowroot but you can use pretty much any kind.
3 tablespoons of cocoa powder.  You are supposed to sift it but I didn't because I don't own a sifter.
1 cup of desiccated coconut.
1 can of sweetened  condensed milk.
2-3 tablespoons of rum.  I think I used closer to 4.  It all depends on how much rum flavor you want.  
1 cup of extra coconut for rolling the balls in.


Here's what you do:


Step 1: Gather your ingredients.  Fortunately, this recipe has a very short ingredient list.

Step 2: Finely crush your biscuits.  This would be easiest with a food processor, but you can also put them in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin (or an empty wine bottle).

Step 3:  Add in all of the other ingredients except for the 1 cup of extra coconut for rolling.  Obviously that's for rolling the balls in.

Step 4: Mix it all together.  This mixture should be pretty stiff and easy to roll into balls.  If it's not stiff enough, let it sit in the fridge for a little while until it is.

Step 5:  Roll your mixture into balls.  They can be whatever size you want.  I made mine bite-sized.

Step 6: Coat each rum ball in coconut.

Step 7: Arrange them on a plate and cover with plastic wrap or store in an air tight container.  Keep them in the fridge or freezer depending on when you plan on eating them.

These are traditionally made and eaten in Australia around Christmas time, but I think they are a perfect treat for any time.  

Enjoy!

Love,

Amanda