Introduction: 5-minute Chocolate Balls

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Quick and delicious Rum Balls recipe (with or without rum!). These tasty treats whip up in no time, and are completely addictive. Whether you need a chocolate fix or a quick gift, these are sure to please.

Step 1: Ingredients

A food processor will help you cut through this recipe in a cool five minutes or less!

  • 1 1/4 cups (120 grams) vanilla wafer cookies, shortbread, or graham crackers (about 35 Nilla brand wafers)
  • 1/2 cup (55 grams) powdered (confectioners) sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (12 grams) cocoa powder (Dutch processed or regular unsweetened cocoa powder)
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) COLD* liquid: juice; rum; water + rum extract (or your favorite); or whatever else you can imagine -- I did one batch with OJ and one with rum
  • 1 1/2 cups (140 grams) pecans (hazelnuts, walnuts, or almonds can be used - and toasting them beforehand makes them awesome! but will probably result in longer than 5 minutes)
  • 1/2 cup (55 grams) topping - crushed nuts, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, flaked coconut, go crazy
Makes about 2 dozen decent-sized chocolate balls.

*the liquid being cold will help the balling process and reduce or even eliminate the need to refrigerate before shaping

Step 2: Mix It Up!

  • Process the cookies and pecans(opt) in the food processor until finely ground.
  • Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder and process until combined.
  • Add corn syrup and liquid and mix well. Yes, you can do this in the processor too! Blend until it creates one massive lump on the side of the bowl.

Step 3: Form Balls

  • Grease your hands (trust me on this one) and shape mixture into 1 inch (2.54 cm) balls.
  • Roll the finished balls in the toppings of your choice. (I used powdered sugar and crushed nuts)
If the balls are too sticky for you to work with, you can stick 'em in the freezer for a couple minutes or in the fridge for a few hours. I'm guessing that would work. . . I've never had the patience to find out!

Step 4: Try to Share!

If you don't eat them all yourself in one sitting, try to remember to bring them in to share with your colleagues/peers the next day. These are perfect little gifts to give too. A sandwich baggie with a colorful ribbon even makes it look like you put a lot of thought into it!