Sometimes, we find ourselves wanting a more creative way to enjoy our whiskey around here. Our PR Coordinator is an advocate of baking with booze (we’re not sure what it says about her) and so she set out to find a recipe worth sharing with you all. She found Bourbon Balls, the perfect treat for grown-ups with a semi-sweet flavor and your favorite bourbon taste. Plus, they perfectly compliment the spherical theme we’ve got going here!

BAKER’S NOTE: This recipe obviously calls for bourbon, but I happened to already have Irish whiskey on hand, so I cheated (because as much as I love alliteration, I really hate going to the grocery store) and it still tastes great! Also, when you’re deciding on which brand to use it’s important to keep in mind that you won’t be cooking out the alcohol so you get ALL the taste – choose the good stuff.

1 cup (100 grams) pecans or walnuts

2 cups (220 grams) vanilla wafer cookies, finely crushed

1/2 cup (55 grams) confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons (15 grams) cocoa powder

1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup (or liquid glucose syrup)

1/4 cup (60 ml) bourbon

Toppings:

Confectioners (powdered or icing) Sugar

Finely chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds or pistachios)

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

Melted Chocolate (Dark or White)

The process is pretty dang simple. First, crush the vanilla wafers in a food processor until finely chopped and add to the crushed pecans. Then add the rest of your dry ingredients, followed by the corn syrup and bourbon. Mix well, chill the batter and then shape into 1-inch balls.

Once you’ve got the balls made, have some fun with the toppings rolling them through confectioners sugar or cocoa powder, or even dipping them into melted chocolate.

See the original recipe here.

And if you’d rather skip the sweets and head straight to the whiskey, head over here to pick up a set of your own Balls of Steel.