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We take our rum balls and bourbon balls seriously in this household as they are Mr Magpie’s favourite treat. Which also means that I leave the rum ball making up to him during the holidays! These rum balls are nut free, melt in your mouth, fudgy delights!
How to Make Rum Balls
Making rum balls in my house is SO EASY. First, I ask Mr Magpie to make them. And second, he makes them! Magic! But honestly, here are the super quick and easy steps to making rum balls.
- Prepare your cake. You can make a chocolate cake mix or you can bake up my Crazy Cake or Wacky Cake Recipe. It’s so easy you don’t really need a cake mix to be honest.
- Break up the cake and place it into a large bowl.
- Add in rum or bourbon and condensed milk.
- Make the rum balls, roll them in sprinkles and let sit.
We prefer the rum balls or bourbon balls to be chewy and fudge-like, not dried out like the rum ball recipes that use nuts. Consider these to be rum brownie balls, even, to understand the texture that I am talking about. Take a peek at the photo below, you can tell that these are truly spectacular rum balls! That photo was taken right after I made them, so they are now sitting in my freezer with the flavours melding together until Christmas. The consistency will be the same as shown in the photos.
Tips & Tricks for Making Bourbon Balls or Rum Balls
- Use a good quality rum or bourbon, a dark rum for sure but you could also try spiced!
- These rum balls freeze exceptionally well and are better after sitting for a while in a container. I make these a few weeks before Christmas and then freeze them until the big day.
- Once you try my version of rum balls, you aren’t ever going back to those nut filled dry versions but you could add in some walnuts or favourite nut into the mixture if you wanted to. You can really adapt these to your liking!
- Refrigerate the dough before rolling and wet your hands when you go to form the balls. These are sticky and your hands will get a bit messy making them, so make sure you have everything ready to go before you make them!
Happy baking everyone! I’m sitting here thinking of these babies that are in the freezer and wondering if I can sneak one…
Love,
Karlynn
My Favourite Chocolate Bourbon or Rum Ball Recipe
- Prep Time
- 30 minutes
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Course
- Dessert
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 24 rum balls
- Calories
- 147
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- one 9×13 baked chocolate cake use a mix or my cake recipe
- 1/2 cup dark or spiced rum or bourbon
- 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1/3 cup chocolate sprinkles
Instructions
- Crumble up the baked cake into a medium mixing bowl.
- Add in the rum and the condensed milk. Mix together until all of the ingredients are combined and the cake is now a dough that can be rolled into balls.
- Roll the mixture into one inch balls, then roll the balls into the chocolate sprinkles, covering them completely.
- Place the rum balls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze them individually first, then transfer to a sealed container to keep frozen.
- These are best if left to sit a few days in the refrigerator if you are eating them soon, or keep them in the freezer until you are ready to eat.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Lynda says
Hi, I do NOT like chocolate! I know I am weird. That being said, can I use a white cake mix or another flavor. If so will the results still taste as good? Maybe I should use chocolate, then I won’t eat any.:-))Thanks so much. Merry Christmas!
Susan T. says
I used the linked Wacky Cake recipe (my longtime go-to recipe for chocolate cake) and it worked out perfectly – did not have to add extra rum or condensed milk and the sprinkles adhered to the balls. I believe the secret is to not over-bake the cake. It’s also not necessary to fully cool the cake – in fact, I think that when it’s slightly warm, it forms a better, stickier dough. I refrigerated the dough for about an hour before forming the balls.
I’ve had mixed results with other chocolate rum ball recipes – they’re often too dry. Last year, we couldn’t find vanilla wafer or crumbs so I tried a recipe without them and the result was balls of chocolate icing – too sweet! I really like this recipe because it’s easy, moist, chocolatey and not too sweet!
Marta Roberts says
For the chocolate cake you suggest a 9 x 13 cake from a mix or your chocolate cake. Your cake is 9 x 9. Will your cake be enough?
Karlynn Johnston says
The wacky cake is a 9×13 cake, it will work!
Margaret says
These are so very yummy! Definitely a Christmas favourite. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Jenn says
I just made this recipe & they are delicious. I have an issue with them being wet on the outside though. The sprinkles and the outside of the ball are wet, but the inside is fine. I did wet my hands when rolling them, could that be what caused this? Thanks!
Jill says
Rolled some of mine in coconut!