Recipe: Bourbon Balls

Recipe for Bourbon Balls

I absolutely love bourbon balls!  They are a bit of work, and being a two day affair require some advanced planning.  Because of that, I often make a double-batch (winding up with closer to 60) and just make them once a year around the holidays.  The bourbon flavor also intensifies with age (you can absolutely eat them the day of, but they’ll be much better two weeks later).

Ingredients

1 cup of crushed pecans
Package of pecan halves (12 oz)
5-8 tablespoons of bourbon*
1/2 cup butter (softened)
16 oz powdered sugar (plus a bit extra)
10 oz semisweet chocolate
10 oz dark chocolate
Toothpicks (ok – less ingredient than tool, but make sure you’ve got them on-hand!

* As to the choice of bourbon, for years I used Old Grand-Dad 114, as I wanted a higher proof and intense flavor. I’ve used Evan Williams bottled-in-bond, and can’t say I could tell a big difference. My recommendation: use whatever you’ve got and that you enjoy drinking, but don’t waste your expensive stuff. If you keep Evan Williams black label laying around, I’m sure that will do just fine.

1. Fill a small jar with crushed pecans, leaving a bit of room at the top. Pour bourbon over until the pecan pieces are completely covered. Seal jar and allow to soak at a MINIMUM overnight, but ideally a week or more (honestly, I’ve left a jar like this for over a year with no ill effects; not that they soak up much more after the first few days, but simply for convenience).

2. Mix the butter and sugar thoroughly. Strain the soaked pecans (the bourbon can be saved for the next round!) and stir the pecans into the butter/sugar mixture. It should be slightly stiff; if it is overly wet – add in more powdered sugar.

3. Using a spoon, scoop out a small amount (like a quarter-diameter in size) and form into a ball. Insert a toothpick about half-way into the ball (NOT through it), and set in a tray (I use a 8 x 13 cake pan) with toothpick at a bit of an angle (just so you can cover the tray later). Repeat with the rest of the mixture (will make about 25 balls, give/take based on the size). Cover tray and refrigerate overnight.

4. Setup a double-boiler and melt both chocolates in the top. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Go through the package of pecan halves and select the best (complete ‘halves’), setting aside 25 (or however many balls your formed, plus a couple extra in case of breakage) on a plate near the tray.  Broken pecan halves can be set aside and later crushed (and soaked in bourbon for the next batch; one reason mine wind up soaking for a year! This is where any bourbon strained from the soaking nuts can be used again too!)

5. Remove the balls from the refrigerator, setting near (but not next to) the double-boiler. Using the toothpick, remove one ball at a time, submerge completely (but quickly) in the chocolate to coat, turning the ball while the excess falls away. Set onto the wax paper covered tray, and try to work the toothpick loose (sometimes a turn or two will do the trick; if not, use a pecan halve to hold the ball while gently pulling the toothpick out). Place a pecan halve over the top where the toothpick was. Repeat with the remainder of the balls. Note that as the chocolate volume in the double-boiler is reduced, you may need a spatula to work the chocolate around the balls to cover them.

6. Store the bourbon balls on a tray in the refrigerator until the chocolate hardens (usually an hour or so). Store in a container in the refrigerator until serving.

Below is an image showing (a double-batch) in production.  Another tip I learned is to put a couple of cookie sheets into the freezer the night before, and rotate them (being cool helps keep the chocolate from spreading too far when they’re placed on the wax paper).

Like most recipes, I borrowed from various sources and have tweaked it.  If you’re not a fan of dark chocolate, just use all semisweet.  Or if you’re a big fan of dark chocolate, use all of that.  I like the 50/50 mix.  I’ve tried peanut butter chips, but wasn’t as happy with that (the balls didn’t harden in the same way, and they melted more easily).  I’ve also tried rye whiskey rather than bourbon, thinking that might bring a nice spicy kick to the party.  It didn’t (they weren’t “bad”, but bourbon and chocolate just have this synergy for some reason; Alton Brown could probably explain it).  Most importantly, enjoy!

Cheers!
Gary