Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Banana Shortbread Rum Balls

Pretty much every rum ball I've ever made - or eaten - has been a chocolate affair. So of course I decided to do something totally different.

A while back Blue Chair Bay sent me some banana rum to make cocktails with, and not too long ago Walker's sent me some shortbread cookies. This isn't a required post for either of them - it's just that if I have a product here, I'm going to use it. I mean, why would I go out and buy a different brand if I have these in the house?

But since I didn't actually pay for either, I thought I'd let you know the source.

Anyway, non-disclosures aside, I thought the flavors would be good together. I also added a graham cracker for the texture. You If you don't happen to have graham crackers around, you could skip it without dire consequences.

Banana Shortbread Rum Balls

2 packages* (4.4 ounces each) of Walker's shortbread cookies
1 graham cracker (a 5 x 2 1/2-inch rectangle
Pinch of salt
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup blue Chair Bay banana rum
Confectioners sugar, for coating

Put the shortbread cookies and graham cracker in your food processor and pulse to break them up, then run the processor to turn them into crumbs. It's fine if you have a few small pieces - they'll create a little crunch in your cookies - but you don't want large chunks.

Add the powdered sugar and pulse to combine.

With the processor running, add the rum. Stop when you've added about 3/4 of the rum, and check the consistency. You're looking for a smooth but somewhat thick dough that will hold its shape when you roll it into balls. It shouldn't be crumbly. Add as much more rum as you need to get the right consistency.

If you happen to add too much rum and the paste gets too soft, just crumble more cookies (or a piece of a graham cracker) and add them to the food processor.

Use a small disher or spoon to portion the dough into one-bite balls. I ended up with 32 cookies, but the quantity you get will depend on how large you make them.

Roll the balls in powdered sugar and store in a closed container. The cookies tend to absorb the sugar, so you'll probably need to roll them in sugar again before serving.

Most rum ball recipes suggest that you let them age for up to two weeks, but that's up to you.

*If you don't happen to have the 4.4-ounce packages, you can certainly use cookies from any size package as long as you've got about 8-9 ounces of cookies.
Yum