Another no-bake dessert. Crushed wafers and nuts are mixed with melted chocolate and rum, formed into balls and lightly coated with powdered sugar. This sweet treat is more popularly known simply as rum balls but I decided to include chocolate in the title because it appears that there are recipes for rum balls that do not include chocolate, in any form, at all. Another thing that I recently discovered is that rum balls are a traditional Christmas treat in some countries. And that made me think how perfect chocolate rum balls would be for gift-giving especially to friends who are just as crazy about chocolate as I am.
These rum balls are made with crushed chocolate wafers, crushed walnuts, melted chocolate, honey and rum. Most recipes use cocoa powder and light corn syrup rather than melted chocolate and honey but, what the heck—surely, the smooth silkiness of melted dark chocolate would yield far better results.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups crushed chocolate wafers
- 1 and 1/2 cups crushed toasted walnuts
- 250 grams dark chocolate
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup rum
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Start by crushing the wafers. You can use a rolling pin or a food processor.
- If you’re using a rolling pin, just line up the wafers and flatten with a rolling pin. Roll back and forth until you have fine crumbs.
- Toast the nuts in an oil-free pan (or in the oven) before crushing. You may also do this with a rolling pin or a food processor. You may opt to crush the nuts very finely. Me, I like to leave discernible bits for a more interesting texture.
- Cut the chocolate into small pieces. Place in a microwaveable bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Stir. If there are still large chunks, heat for another 30 seconds. Stir until smooth. Stir in the honey, then, the rum.
- Add the crushed wafers and nuts to the chocolate mixture. Fold until the texture is even. The mixture will be fairly stiff. Form into 2-inch balls (or smaller, if you prefer).
- Roll in powdered sugar.
- And that’s it. No baking, no waiting. These rum balls are best served at room temperature as they turn chewy when chilled. If you plan to store them, however, place them in a tightly covered container then allow to sit at room temperature for about ten minutes before serving.
If you cooked this dish (or made this drink) and you want to share your masterpiece, please use your own photos and write the cooking steps in your own words.
Hello and welcome! I'm a retired lawyer and columnist, wife for 28 years, mom of two, and a passionate cook. What is this blog about? Recipes for dishes 
Bacon chili fries
Hi! What Rum did you use?
Bacardi. :)
oh.my.goodness. these look amazing. then again i could be slightly biased to the fact that there’s no baking involved. :)
can i make these minus the rum? will they taste different?
I would eat the whole batch. They look great.
I have been thinking of what to give away for Christmas…this is perfect! Thanks Ms. Connie! =)
These look so delicious!! What chocolate did you use? dark or just ordinary chocolate?
By the way, Ms. Connie I love your website. I’m here everyday looking for new recipes and new ideas and you always have THE dessert or THE main dish, perfect for every occassion I cook for! :)
Dark chocolate. :)
Hi Connie,
thannks for this recipe. looks easy, i want to try it this weekend. i have a question though, since it has rum that means i can’t serve it to kids right? can i omit rum and put something else?
i appreciate your feedback and more power to this website.
monalize
Beth and Monaliza, try vanilla. They won’t be rum balls but they’ll probably still be delicious.
For variety I could try mixing in assorted dried fruits like raisins, chopped dates, cashew nuts or even rice crispies.
…I think toasted dessicated coconut will also work.
Endless possibilities for the chocoholic!
Ms. Connie, where did you get your wafers- the ones I buy usually have cream filling in between them.
My wafers had cream filling.
Can I use crushed graham crackers instead of wafers? My kids do not like wafer. The use of other varieties, such as dried fruits, cashew and rice crispies in lue if walnuts is also a good idea.
I don’t know, really. Why not try and let us know how it turns out?
Hi Ms. Connie!I tried doing this today and it was so easy(no sweat) and yummy too.I think it only took me less than 30 mins to do everything because I used my food processor to crush the wafers and nuts and then I used my smallest ice cream scooper to form the balls!Dont have dark chocolate but the milk chocolate worked perfectly well.I was able to make 32 small balls.I placed them individually in small paper cups and boxed half of it as a gift to a friend.Thanks again for the recipe. This will be part of my Xmas give aways this year.
That is great! I think I’ll get a small ice cream scoop too. :)
These are so fun to make during the holidays! I’ve used other alcohol too like kaluha, baileys and amaretto. They become a little chewier with baileys… Even the sugar coating, I added cocoa, cinnamon, etc. They’re suppose to be aged for two weeks to really develop the flavor- if they last that long. :)