Festive Holiday Rum Balls

These no-bake rum balls are easy to make and the perfect make-ahead sweet for the holiday season. Dress them up with different toppings and you've got a beautiful box of homemade ornaments to take to your next holiday shindig.

These rum balls have been a holiday staple in my family for as long as I can remember. I always assumed they came from the Romanian side of my heritage.

The combination of chocolate and rum in them really evokes chocolate salami (in Romanian salam de biscuiti) another popular festive dessert in Romania. Plus, rum flavor is in so many Romanian desserts.

So it seemed obvious to me that rum balls are also Romanian.

But it turns out they aren't Romanian but actually more associated with commonwealth countries than with Romania- so it's likely these made their way into my repertoire as a result of growing up in Canada. Who knew.

While the flavor of these rum balls is like chocolate salami, the options for beautiful presentation go way further.

You can really have fun with these and dress them up with different toppings to make what looks like a little box of sweet jewels.

They're also a fun project to make with friends, family, or little ones. Making them together each year is one of the first traditions my husband and I started when we moved in together.

Ingredients for rum balls

• Finely ground biscuits: I usually use digestive biscuits since they're a bit dry and will absorb flavors well but they're also still soft enough to make a nice soft rum ball. You can play around with the type of biscuit to get different flavors. For example, one year I made them with coconut vanilla wafers (aka. Nilla wafers) and they were so good. You can also make these rum balls gluten-free by just swapping in gluten-free biscuits. I did this one year and it was great.
• Finely ground walnuts: I've always made rum balls with ground walnuts because they add a nice nutty flavor, a bit of textural nuance, and also makes the rum balls feel a bit more festive for me (I think because this combo resembles the filling in Romanian cozonac). If you don't want to use nuts, just replace them with the same amount of digestive biscuits.
• Cocoa powder: Cocoa powder adds the chocolatey base.
• Butter: Butter is the liquid component that binds everything together. If you want to make vegan rum balls, just use some vegan butter in place of regular.
• Coffee: Coffee also adds liquid and enhances the flavor of the cocoa.
• Spiced rum: Rum is the star of the show. Choose your favorite spiced rum. I always use the Austrian spiced rum Stroh in 38 proof. Keep in mind it doesn't burn off since these rum balls aren't baked. You'll certainly feel a kick.
• Sugar: Sugar to sweeten and bring it all together.
• Salt: For flavor balance.

And here are some ideas for toppings:

• Coconut flakes
• Mix of ground biscuit and walnut
• Ground pistachio for that beautiful green color
• Powdered sugar
• Cocoa powder
• Sprinkles!

Instructions for rum balls

Whizz up the biscuits in a food processor or blender until very fine. Remove a couple tablespoons and set aside to use it as topping.

If you're starting with whole walnuts, you can add them after the biscuits are fine and pulse until the walnuts are also fine but still have a few bigger pieces for texture (but not too big or they'll have a hard time binding).

At this point I move the mix into a regular bowl since I want to keep some texture in the walnuts. But that's up to you.

Combine the dry ingredients together and mix well. Then add all the wet ingredients and mix well. You'll end up with a nice smooth paste spotted with bits of walnut.

Set out as many small bowls or plates as toppings (you can see in the photo above I set out 4 small bowls).

Use a tablespoon measure to scoop out the rum ball mixture and shape it into small balls. Roll the balls through the toppings.

You can simply put them on a plate or in a box as they are, or for a nice extra touch drop them into some mini muffin liners. Bonus points if you find festive ones.

Making Ahead and Storage

Rum balls are really friendly to being made ahead. You can keep them in the fridge (either before or after rolling) for 3-4 days with no issues.

In fact, rum balls taste best after a day or two to fully absorb and amalgamate the flavors. But you can also eat them right away if that's more your speed. I won't tell.

Serving Suggestion

The rum balls look beautiful on their own in a nice box or arranged on a plate in some mini muffin liners.

They look even better when combined with other pretty holiday treats like the pistachio cream puffs they're paired with below. And since they're so easy to make, it's really doable to make another type of dessert at the same time.

For example, here are the rum balls paired with pistachio cream puffs in a bonbon box.

Arranging rum balls and other holiday sweets in a box makes for a beautiful presentation - great as a gift or to take along to an event. They make me think of beautiful little Christmas tree ornaments!

Related

Looking for more inspiration for the holidays? Try these:

Recipe