These easy no-bake Chocolate Rum Balls are soft and fudgy treats made with chocolate cookie crumbs, toasted pecans, and a kick of rum. They ship well, and are great for Christmas and Hanukkah gifts, hostess gifts, and holiday platters. A festive adults only treat!
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Why this recipe works
- Rich fudgy chocolate with a soft, slightly chewy texture
- Easy to make with only a food processor. No baking required!
- Adjust the amount of rum to your preference, or use another spirit of your choice.
These chocolate rum balls are so easy to make, requiring less than 20 minutes of hands-on work. There's no baking involved, and no melting chocolate. Also, you won't need corn syrup or condensed milk
These fudgy rum balls have a luscious chocolate flavor, a slight chewy texture from the pecans, and a kick from the rum. This recipe makes 15 chocolate pecan rum balls, but the recipe can easily be doubled if you want more. I'd approve!
Chocolate rum balls are so easy to make, can be shipped, and look festive, too. Great as a Christmas or Hanukkah gift, hostess gift, and on a holiday dessert platter.
Celebrate a birthday, bring them to your next adult gathering, or just treat someone you love with this candy with a kick. They're a festive adults-only treat!
Recipe Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients to make this chocolate rum balls recipe:
Ingredient Notes
Traditional rum ball recipes use crushed vanilla wafers as the base mixed with finely ground pecans. However, I love fudgy rum balls with a soft chocolate core using chocolate cookie crumbs as the base.
Cookie crumbs: You can make homemade chocolate cookie crumbs if you don't have chocolate cookies at home. Seriously, they're so easy to do, and there's no need to run out and buy them! Otherwise, you can use store-bought chocolate cookies or graham crackers, or go with the more traditional vanilla cookies. You'll need about 9 ounces (260 grams) of cookies.
Pecans: Pulsing the toasted pecans with the cookie crumbs helps to thoroughly combine them together for even distribution. the nuts help to add moisture to the rum balls, contributing to its fudgy texture. If desired you can replace the pecans with walnuts or almonds.
Rum: Since you'll be tasting the rum in this recipe choose a rum you like to drink. You can also reduce the amount of rum by half for a more subtly flavored candy to suit your tastes. Just reduce the amount of cookie crumbs to compensate - start with half and add more until you get a good thick consistency.
For a different take, replace the rum with another alcohol (like bourbon, Kahlua, or another strongly flavored spirit). Or you can opt for a kid-friendly non-alcoholic rum ball by replacing the rum with strong coffee, tea, or apple juice and adding ¼ teaspoon of rum extract.
See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
What to choose for rum ball toppings
Use anything that’s small, like sprinkles, coarse sugar, finely chopped nuts, or extra cookie crumbs. Or go all out and dip them in tempered melted chocolate.
Unlike with chocolate truffles, I wouldn't recommend using powdery toppings like powdered sugar or cocoa powder because the rum balls can get gummy.
How to make chocolate rum balls
All you need to do is make a soft chocolate dough, then roll them into balls and your favorite toppings. The dough comes together quickly with a food processor.
Step 1: Mix the cookie crumbs and pecans
Combine the cookie crumbs and pecans in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse them together until the nuts are finely ground (photo 1). Set aside.
Step 2: Make the chocolate base
Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder together (I like this sifter). Add the rum and honey to the cocoa mixture, and whisk until smooth (photo 2).
Step 3: Make the dough
Add the cocoa mixture to the food processor bowl and pulse until the dough is just combined (photo 3).
Set the food processor bowl aside at room temperature, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours so the cookie crumbs absorb the liquid and soften. This makes for a fudgier texture and easier rolling.
Step 4: Roll the dough into balls
Using a small cookie scoop, portion the dough into balls about 1-inch wide. Roll each ball in your hands to get it smooth, then roll it in the topping of your choice (photo 4).
Storage instructions
Chocolate rum balls can be stored at room temperature for a soft texture in an airtight container, or uncovered if you like them a little drier. Stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container, the texture will be firmer. Rum balls will keep for at least 2 weeks.
Questions asked and answered
Here are some questions you might have...
Traditional rum balls use vanilla wafers, but they won't be quite as fudgy. You'll need about 9 ounces (260 grams) of cookies.
You can reduce the amount of rum by half for a more subtly flavored candy to suit your tastes. Just reduce the amount of cookie crumbs to compensate - start with half and add more until you get a good thick consistency.
Sure! Bourbon, Kahlua, or another strongly flavored spirit will work well. For a kid-friendly non-alcoholic rum ball, replace the rum with strong coffee, tea, or apple juice and add ¼ teaspoon of rum extract.
I hope you like this recipe! Let me know if you have any questions, and don't forget to leave a comment and rating. Thanks!
Slainté! L’chaim! Cheers!
- Tammy
Recipe
No-Bake Chocolate Rum Balls
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups chocolate cookie crumbs, see Recipe Notes
- ¾ cup pecans, walnuts, or almonds, toasted
- 1½ tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
- ½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
- ¼ cup rum, see Recipe Notes
- 2¼ teaspoons honey
- toppings, as desired, see Recipe Notes
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the cookie crumbs and pecans. Pulse them together until the nuts are finely ground. Set aside.
- Sift the cocoa powder and powdered sugar together into a small bowl. Add the rum and honey to the cocoa mixture, and whisk until smooth. Add the cocoa mixture to the food processor bowl and pulse until the dough is just combined.
- Set the food processor bowl aside at room temperature, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours so the cookie crumbs absorb the liquid and soften. This makes for a fudgier texture and easier rolling.
- Using a small cookie scoop, portion the dough into balls about 1-inch wide. Roll each ball in your hands to get it smooth, then roll it in the topping of your choice.
- Storage instructions: Chocolate rum balls can be stored at room temperature for a soft texture in an airtight container, or uncovered if you like them a little drier. Stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container, the texture will be firmer. Rum balls will keep for at least 2 weeks.
- This recipe can be easily doubled.
Linda Wait says
I have ground almonds…my question is what would be the measurement of GROUND nuts? …the 3/4c of whole nuts would have spaces between the nuts as they are more bulky. Or is the 3/4c of ground nuts okay?
Tammy Spencer says
Hi Linda, that's a good question. When weighed, ¾ cup of whole almonds is about 105 grams (the ¾ cup pecans used in the recipe weighs about 85 grams). Since 1 cup of ground almonds is about 100 grams, I would say use a cup of the ground nuts. I haven't tried using ground nuts myself, so please let me know how it goes for you. 😉