:::{Rum Balls}:::

This is another of my momma's recipes... She has been making these every year around Christmas time for as long as I can remember!  When I was younger, my brother and I would snoop in the fridge to find the hidden container of these cookies to snitch a couple... Now that I'm of age, I understand that there is a minimal amount of acutal alchol, but they are still a holiday favorite! They are pretty quick and easy, as well as being very tasty and just a little rummy ;)  I'm warning you now, you'll probably want to go ahead and make a double batch...

Rum Balls

Ingredients
1 (12 oz) box of Nilla Wafers
1 cup powdered sugar (plus ~ 1 cup for rolling)
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4-1/2 cup rum
1 cup pecans (optional)

Directions

1. Smash, bash, or food process the Nilla Wafer cookies; it is fine if there are still small pieces of cookie in the mix.
2. Combine the ground Nilla Wafers, powdered sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and pecans (if desired) in a large bowel or mixer.
3. Add the corn syrup.  Add 1/4 cup of the rum and mix well.  At this point, check the consistency; the dough needs to be wet enough to be rolled into balls, but not too wet or it will be too sticky and gooey.  Slowly add the other 1/4 cup of rum, until desired consistency is reached.  Mine only took 1/2 the second 1/4 cup of rum (so, 1/4 + 1/8 cup = 3/8 cup rum in total).  The resulting dough should look about like the picture...
4. At this point, you can chill the dough in the refrigerator for a few hours or even over night, which allows the rum to really reach its full potential in the dough...
5. When ready to rolls your rum balls, use a spoon or cookie scoop and roll ~ 1 inch balls, then roll in powdered sugar.
6. Enjoy!

~Rachelle