Chocolate Bourbon Balls
Chocolate Bourbon Balls! This easy bourbon ball recipe is perfect for holiday gifting.
If you are looking for a fun twist on the usual Christmas Cookie— these chocolate bourbon balls are it! I shared this bourbon ball idea on Instagram a few weeks ago, and the response for a recipe was overwhelming — so I decided to officially put them in a blog post.
Funny, I’ve eaten these bourbon balls since I was a teenager — a staple of my mom’s Christmas Cookie roundup. The balls were one of the few times my mom pulled out hard liquor and I remember asking her when I was in high school if she thought it was OK if I drove after eating a few. Ha! We clearly didn’t have much alcohol around the house.
These easy bourbon balls are so simple that they don’t even seem like a recipe. Crush the cookies and pecans, mix with chocolate, syrup, bourbon and butter then roll in powdered sugar.
If you’re looking for something that’s easy to gift, easy to make and always a hit then you’ve gotta try these chocolate bourbon balls.
Everything you need to make perfect bourbon balls:
Ingredients for Chocolate Bourbon Balls
As the name implies– you need bourbon for these balls! Plus a few other baking staples.
- Ginger Snaps
- Powdered Sugar
- Bourbon
- Butter
- Corn Syrup
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Pecans
Substitution Notes
Pecans are my go-to nut recipe for these bourbon balls, but any nuts will work. Walnuts are great, or you can use a blend of walnuts and pecans.
I don’t recommend trying to remove the powdered sugar, corn syrup, or cocoa powder, as they are staples of the recipe. You can try dark chocolate cocoa powder if you’d like, but you need the chocolate to be part of these balls. Same with the corn syrup. You can use confectioners’ sugar in place of the powdered sugar.
You can use another type of liquor instead of bourbon, whiskey, or any rye or rum will work. If you use rum, then these become instant rum balls!
Lastly, I love ginger snaps in these for extra spice, but you can also substitute in other cookie crumbs, like chocolate wafers, for more chocolate or a plain vanilla wafer. I’ve even used leftover sugar holiday cookies and it works!
Why this recipe works
This recipe has been in my family for so long that the original is scribbled in my grandmother’s handwriting on a 3×5 notecard. Since I’m terrible at keeping track of anything, I actually took a photo of the recipe to save on my phone.
That recipe is a little different than the one posted below, though I think my tweaks are improvements. For starters, the original recipe calls for vanilla wafers, but I prefer using a base of ginger snaps for a richer depth of flavor. You can use vanilla wafers if you like or do as my mom does which is one cup of each.
Bourbon balls are of course made with bourbon, but I don’t like to have such a bite with my balls so I’ve cut down the bourbon by a few tablespoons. My grandma’s recipe contains 1/3 cup of bourbon, but I think 3-4 tablespoons is plenty.
How to Make Bourbon Balls
Make the cookie base
Place the ginger snaps (or vanilla wafersu002du002d or both) and pecans in the base of a food processor until it become crumb like.
Add the rest of the ingredients
Place the cookie base in a seperate bowl and add in the other ingredients: melted butter, corn syrup, cocoa powder and bourbon.
Roll into balls
Using a spoon, cookie scoop or your hands, roll the bourbon mixture into 1-inch balls.
Cover in powdered sugar
Place the powdered sugar in a small bowl and roll each ball in the sugar. You can use a fork to make things easier.
Tips for perfect bourbon balls
The trick is in the texture. When I was a kid, we’d make these by placing the cookies into a sealed ziplock bag and pounding away at it with a rolling pin. These days, I use my food processor. As you can see in the photos below, there should still be some texture but overall fairly crumb-like.
The original recipe calls for light corn syrup, which is what I recommend. If you don’t have any on hand, then you can sub in agave nectar instead. Maple syrup isn’t tacky enough so I don’t recommend using that. For a vegan version, use a melted butter like Earth Balance.
I prefer to start with 3 tablespoons of bourbon, then add more to taste. Remember that you are rolling these balls in powdered sugar so the base won’t be very sweet. Taste, then add more bourbon if you wish. The mixture should be very sticky; if it’s too dry, add more melted butter. Too wet, then add in more crushed cookies and pecans.
The best part about this bourbon ball recipe is that you can make a few dozen cookies in less than 20 minutes– no baking required!
Frequently Asked Questions
I love these most out of the freezer! As the bourbon doesn’t freeze the balls all the way, they are chilled yet still easy to bite. If I had to choose whether to eat them at room temperature or out of the freezer, I’d choose the freezer! I usually keep them in there for the better part of December and grab one or two after dinner most nights.Â
I used to think this when I was a kid and my mom would make them! Hers were a bit stronger than mine, so I suppose it’s possible. As there is only ~1/4 cup of bourbon in these, you’d have to eat a lot of balls to feel anything. A normal serving sizeu002du002d 1 or 3 will not make you drunk.
No, since the balls are no bake, the alcohol doesn’t evaporate the way it does in cooked recipes.
Does it matter which type of bourbon I use?
My mom will tell you to use the cheapest bourbon for these, but I prefer something that I’d like to drink as yes, you can taste the bourbon flavor. I’m partial to a Jack Daniel’s whiskey, but any bourbon will do.
Some people call these Kentucky bourbon balls and therefore swear by only using a Kentucky brand, but I honestly don’t think it matters. Obviously, save the expensive stuff for drinking and the cheaper stuff for baking these bourbon balls!
More Chocolate Dessert Recipes
- Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Vegan Pudding
- Salted Tahini Chocolate Chips
- No Bake Vegan Peanut Butter Pie
- Vegan Espresso Brownies
- Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Vegan Molasses Cookies
- Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Cranberry Chocolate Cookies
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cranberry Pecan Thumbprint Cookies
I love gifting these bourbon balls for the holidays! They are such an unexpected treat and look gorgeous in a little box– by themselves or with other Christmas cookies! I gifted them this year alongside my molasses cookies, gingerbread pizzelles and my chocolate peppermint cookies.
Hope you love this bourbon ball recipe as much as my family does! If you try it, make sure to come back and rate it and leave a comment. Your feedback helps other readers and seeing you make my recipes makes my day!
Chocolate Bourbon Balls
Ingredients
- 2 cups boxed ginger snaps, or vanilla wafers
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons melted butter, dairy-free, for vegan version
- 3 tablespoons agave nectar or light corn syrup
- 3-4 Tablespoons bourbon
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Place the ginger snaps and pecans in the base of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. See photo above for reference.
- Place in a large bowl and add in the melted butter, cocoa powder, syrup, and bourbon. I usually start with 3 tablespoons and then add in another tablespoon if needed/desired. The base isn't very sweet, but you will roll these in powdered sugar to help balance.
- Place the powdered sugar in a rimmed plate or bowl. Set aside.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon of mixture and roll into a ball, then roll into the powdered sugar. Continue with the rest of the batter.
Notes
- My Mom’s original recipe calls for 1/3 cup of bourbon, which I’ve always found to be a little too potent for my tastes. Therefore, I’d reduced it to 3 tablespoons or 1/4 cup, depending on preference.
- These store in the fridge for about a week. I prefer to store them in the freezer; because of the alcohol they don’t freeze all the way and are a delicious after-dinner dessert.