Looking for a homemade holiday treat  for a cookie swap, office party, or neighborhood gifting?  Want something easy, delicious, and memorable?  How about a treat with a kick?

Rum Balls are tasty, look as if you spent hours slaving away in the kitchen and can make any holiday gathering tolerable.  Plus they are simple enough to make even if you sneak a few nips from the rum bottle. Perfect.

*Note: these are not for children (unless you want them to sleep*). Alcohol IS a main ingredient. 

Rum Balls

Time: roughly 30 minutes
Yield: about 3 dozen

2 cups crushed vanilla wafers**
1 cup crushed coconut or pecans (works best to chop in a food processor)
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tbsp. coco powder (you can add up to 1/2 tsp. more if you want them more chocolaty)
2 tbsp. white corn syrup (or honey)
1/3 cup rum (I like Captain Morgan)
extra coco, sugar, or chopped coconut for coating/dusting

• Mix all ingredients.
• Add desired dusting materials to a shallow dish.
• Scoop out about a tablespoon of mixture (use a cookie scoop for speed and consistent size) and roll into balls. (This is easier if you keep your hands damp.)
• Roll each ball in the dusting sugar or coconut to coat evenly.
• Set each ball onto a wax paper covered cookie sheet and chill in refrigerator.

The longer they sit, the tastier they will be.

Place each ball in a mini cupcake wrapper for an impressive display.

*Just kidding. I would never advocate giving kids rum. Though, my MIL still swears bourbon is the best thing for a teething baby…

**If you want to be creative, you can play around with flavors. For a more chocolatey vibe, use 1 cup crushed chocolate wafers.  For a little bit of spice, use 1 cup of ginger snaps and dust with the crushed cookies as well. (I tried this and they were the bomb.)