This easy 5 ingredient bourbon balls recipe is a family favorite and makes a great addition to any holiday cookie swap or party dessert spread!
Bourbon Balls Recipe
Bourbon balls are my all-time favorite Christmas cookie.
When we were young, my parents used to throw a huge Christmas party every year. The house was packed with over 100 people, and my mom spent the whole week before getting ready for the party.
Mom made cheese straws, sherry cheese dip, and these bourbon balls, among lots of other appetizers and desserts. Ironically, every year I would eat a bourbon ball and think “this is disgusting!!” (This is probably how a 10 year old child should describe the taste of strong bourbon flavor!)
But as I tasted one year after year, I grew to love bourbon balls – and bourbon!
Bourbon is actually our family drink.
My grandmother loved an Old Fashioned, and my grandfather always ordered a Manhattan. So you might say that the taste of bourbon balls reminds me of my childhood in the absolute best way. That’s probably why I love them so much.
What is a bourbon ball?
Traditional bourbon balls are a mix of cookie crumbs, pecans, sugar, cocoa powder, corn syrup, and bourbon rolled in powdered sugar. Nila wafers are the popular cookie of choice, and bourbon is the booze, but you can also make these as rum balls, with flavored vodka or even moonshine!
I’ve heard to make official Kentucky bourbon balls you can’t use vanilla wafers, and some recipes call for soaking the nuts in bourbon first. I like to stick to this recipe because it’s super easy and brings on the bourbon.
You might want to warn anyone who doesn’t drink that these are no bake. Do not offer to seven year old boys ; )
A Healthier Bourbon Ball
In an attempt to make these a *little* bit healthier with more real food, I subbed the dough’s sugar for coconut and traded the corn syrup for honey.
If you aren’t chasing a healthier version, you can swap the coconut for 3/4 a cup of powdered sugar and the same amount of honey for light corn syrup.
I thought about rolling them in something superfood, but the powdered sugar is a must for the outside.
This version is slightly more bitter without all the powdered sugar inside, but if you like dark chocolate, you will love the swap. Rolling them in melted chocolate and might be a fun idea too!
Top with a pecan for an extra touch.
5 Ingredient Bourbon Balls Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounce box of vanilla wafers
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 cup coconut flakes
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup booze!
- confectioners sugar for rolling
How To Make Bourbon Balls
Step one: toast pecans
Put them in your toaster or oven for just a few minutes at 400*. Do not look away or they will burn.
Step two: make crumbs
Add vanilla wafers, pecans, coconut and cocoa to your food processor. Pulse until you have a fine wafers crumbs mix.
Step three: make dough
Pour crumbs into a mixing bowl and add honey and bourbon. Mix well with hands until a dough forms.
Step four: roll into balls
Roll into about one inch balls. Set each one aside on a plate or baking sheet as you roll.
Step five: roll in powdered sugar
Store them in a tin filled with waxed paper or parchment or fill a jar and tie with a bow to give as a gift! Store at room temperature.
Print Pin
5 from 1 vote
5 Ingredient Bourbon Balls
This easy 5 ingredient bourbon ball recipe is a family favorite and makes a great addition to any holiday cookie swap or party dessert spread!
Course Desserts
Cuisine American
Keyword bourbon
Prep Time 15 minutes minutes
Servings 30 bourbon balls
Equipment
food processor
Ingredients
- 12 ounce box of vanilla wafers
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 cup coconut flakes
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- confectioners sugar for rolling
Instructions
Toast pecans. Put them in your toaster or oven for just a few minutes at 400*. Do not look away or they will burn.
Make crumbs. Add vanilla wafers, pecans, coconut and cocoa to your food processor. Pulse until you have a fine wafers crumbs mix.
Pour crumbs into a mixing bowl and add honey and bourbon. Mix well with hands until a dough forms.
Roll into about one inch balls.
Roll in powdered sugar
Store in a tin filled with waxed paper or parchment at room temperature.
Here’s an old photo of mom and me before her annual Christmas party, all dressed up. We look pretty fancy don’t we 😉
And here is me with Gram enjoying some bourbon drinks
Other Family Holiday Recipes:
- Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies
- Mom’s Spinach Soufflé
- Mom’s Tomato Sauce
- Sherry Cheese Dip + 30+ Holiday Potluck Appetizers
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Balls
- Chocolate Coconut Balls
