Help!! I made bourbon balls on Saturday morning, using a recipe from a food blogger, which she said is based on Martha Stewart's rum ball recipe. You make a brownie that's baked on a large 1/2 sheet, then break it up with the booze. They were good the first day (though the brownie seemed quite ordinary to me), but yesterday, they increasingly became very moist, so they were almost like a stiff cookie dough, and today, you can't pick them up without them falling apart into a chocolate mess all over your fingers. Is this typical? If not, what possibly could have gone wrong? (I checked the Martha Stewart recipe and the brownie, at least, seems identical. And I know that I made the brownie correctly, because it turned out fine.) And can I do anything to salvage the 18 or so that I did not pack into boxes and ship on Saturday? Thanks!! ;o)

AntoniaJames
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10 Comments

Nan
Nan December 19, 2019
I made 2 batches of rum balls yesterday one was my regular recipe that came out fine. The other was one that I got off the internet and when I took them out of the frig. this morning to make my balls they didn’t adhere at all. I always make these with 151 rum and hate to loose them, is there anything that I can do to salvage them?
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames December 19, 2019
Nancy, the same thing happened to me last weekend - not a new recipe, but most likely due to the very dry climate here in Boulder County. I just put it all back into the food processor and blitzed it for about 10 seconds, scraping down after five. Then I shaped the balls right away and rolled 5 or so at a time in sugar, before rolling the next 5. It worked like a charm. If it had not, I would not have hesitated to drizzle in a teaspoon or two more of rum (or in this case, bourbon). Hope this helps. ;o)
 
anyone
anyone December 22, 2010
I'm glad I was able to help you!
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames December 21, 2010
betteirine, no, absolutely not. As I said before, the basic component (the Martha Stewart brownie) is really unimpressive. Plus, if they're going to fall apart in your hands after they've been out of the fridge for an hour or two, they're not suitable for entertaining. Period. Thanks for asking, though. ;o)
 
betteirene
betteirene December 21, 2010
Well, that certainly was an easy fix. It's good that you were able to save them.

I'm curious--would you make them again?
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames December 20, 2010
anyone, this looks an awful lot like what I remember doing when we made bourbon or rum balls as a kid. Thank you!! ;o)
 
anyone
anyone December 20, 2010
This is a fool proof recipe for bourbon balls and they taste excellent and don't mind room temp. Allthough this recipe was so simple and lacked complexity I was prejudice until I tasted one and now are my favorite.

1 cup vanilla wafers
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup pecans
1/4 cup bourbon
1 1/2 Tsp Karo syrup

pulverize wafers and mix with all dry ingredient then add karo syrup and bourbon and mix well. Form into balls and roll in powdered sugar.
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames December 20, 2010
betteirene, yes, the humidity was extremely high yesterday due to the constant drizzle/misting/rain, and my butler's pantry has a door going outside that was opened and shut quite a few times. That probably contributed. But I think that just being out of the fridge was the problem. "Someone" didn't put them back in the fridge after sampling some late last night, which is why they were even worse this morning. Now I know. But I won't be using the recipe again, in any case, because as I said, I found that even with the addition of excellent bourbon, the result was quite ordinary. Am looking for a better bourbon ball recipe. Frankly, the one that was very popular when I was a girl, which uses vanilla wafers, is better than the ones I just made. ;o)
 
betteirene
betteirene December 20, 2010
What's your humidity like? My guess is that they picked up a lot of moisture.

I'd try dipping them in chocolate.

My experience is that many of Martha's recipes are ordinary.
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames December 20, 2010
Okay, I think I found the answer. Martha Stewart starts her recipe with "Serve chilled." The recipe I used has instructions (the last step) to store in the refrigerator, but doesn't say to serve them chilled. Mine were out at room temperature for an hour or so yesterday by the time I started putting them on plates to deliver to some of the chocolate lovers in my zip code (along with 2 kinds of truffles). The key here really is to serve them chilled, and be aware that if they aren't chilled, they are a mess!! ;o)
 
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