Extras: Drunken Bourbon Balls

Ingredients:

  • Box of vanilla wafers
  • 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips
  • 3 tablespoons corn syrup
  • Bottle of bourbon or rum (okay, so you won’t use a full bottle – but it’s good to have handy!)
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup of chopped nuts (optional)
  • Some confectioner’s sugar

Dump the vanilla wafers into a gallon size plastic bag and smash the dickens out of ‘em.  I mean it – pulverize the buggers.  This recipe relieves the stress of the holidays in multiple ways (grin).

Put the chocolate chips in a somewhat deep bowl and nuke for a minute.  Don’t stir.  Chocolate doesn’t like to be disturbed.  If it doesn’t look like it’s fully melted, nuke for another 20 seconds.  Continue the process till the chocolate looks like it’ll be all silky smooth when you stir it.  (If you did stir and your chocolate looks like it’s formed new lumps – add some unsalted butter.  The oil will smooth it out again.)

Stir in white sugar and corn syrup (I know this stuff is bad for you, but come ‘on, it’s Christmas!).  Stir in 1/2 cup bourbon.  It’s okay to be generous.  You might want to taste it first to make sure it’s fresh. (grin)  Now add the the throughly smashed vanilla wafers.  Stir it all together.  The wafers should soak up the bourbon (does that make them doubly smashed?).  Add chopped nuts if you like.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate for an hour or so until the mixture firms up.  In the meantime, kick back with a bourbon and diet coke (my favorite), you’ve earned it.

When the mixture is pretty firm, scoop out spoonfuls of the stuff and roll in your hands to make little dough balls.  I roll the balls in confectioners sugar so I can differentiate between the bourbon and the rum balls (same recipe – different booze).  You can also roll in ground nuts for a different look. 

Do not put these cookies in an oven.  Believe me, you don’t want this stuff anywhere near an open flame!

Now here’s the hard part – store in a covered container for a week before serving so as to blend the flavors.  Yes – this cookie (like me) improves with age.  At least, that’s what I tell myself.  In the meantime, you have the rest of that bottle to help get you through the waiting.  Enjoy.