Kentucky Bourbon Balls
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To celebrate Christmas in Kentucky (or any other holiday, for that matter) we always make up a batch of bourbon balls. We take pride in our state's official liquor and we make all sorts of things with it! There are more ways to make bourbon balls than there are bourbons, but I want to share with you how I make them every year.
This recipe originally came from my good friend Kristi. She makes them every year for her annual Christmas party, but she absolutely hates dipping them in the chocolate at the end, so I would go over and help her out with that part. Sadly, she moved away a few years ago, so I started making them on my own. I think about her every time I dip one! And, never fear, we are still close friends. As I have made them over and over, I've learned a few things and slightly altered her recipe to my own.
These make a great gift for co-workers or a hostess, especially when presented in our printable bourbon barrel favor boxes.
These cute little boxes are part of our printable Kentucky Derby party set, but we're offering this cute template here for you free, for your bourbon ball packaging pleasure!
Kentucky Bourbon Balls
Make traditional Kentucky bourbon balls with a few simple ingredients and steps.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces butter, softened
- 2 pounds confectioners sugar
- 1/2 cup Kentucky bourbon (Maker's Mark, Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace)
- 2 cups finely chopped pecans
- 14 ounces chocolate (we use Ghirardelli)
- pecan halves for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and 1 pound of sugar with a mixer on high speed. Add the bourbon, remaining sugar, and nuts, and mix well.
- Cool the mixture in the refrigerator, covered, until firm enough to handle, about 2 hours.
- Use a small cookie scoop (or spoon) to measure out about a tablespoon of dough, and roll it between your hands to form a ball. Place on a baking sheet with edges lined with parchment paper or wax paper. Chill in the freezer until hard.
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Remove only about six balls at a time from the freezer so they don't melt too fast. Dip each one into the chocolate mixture, and use two forks to turn the candy, coating completely with chocolate. Use a fork to life out of the chocolate, and tap on the bowl's edge to eliminate excess chocolate. Place the coated candy back on the wax paper and add a pecan half to the top to garnish. Continue with remaining candies.
- Place in the refrigerator or freezer until firm enough to handle, then transfer to a lidded container and store refrigerated until ready to serve.
Notes
If you have extra melted chocolate left over, use it to make a quick cup of hot chocolate! Just add milk, a little bit of powdered sugar or honey, and some corn starch, and bring to a quick simmer.
10 comments so far:
Salted or Unsalted butter sticks, or one of each, please?
Emily, we use salted butter.
This recipe sounds simple enough and we do love bourbon balls that we've purchased from various distilleries. Best so far are the ones from Buffalo Trace so will use their bourbon for the ones I make. I'm wondering what you use to print the printable box onto? Obviously paper wouldn't do. Thanks for the recipe and info!
Denise, we recommend printing the box onto white cardstock, which will provide the stiffness needed but still be foldable.
Hi I made these for Christmas and they are delicious! I was wondering why my batch yielded at least 74 bourbon balls, way more than recipe said. Mine were the size of a walnut in its shell. Also can I soak the pecans in the bourbon overnight for more intense flavor? I’m from Kentucky and love the taste of bourbon in these sweet delightful candies. Thank you!
Sandra, you can certainly soak the pecans in the bourbon overnight, and that's actually what I often do! I am not sure why you ended up with so many more, I guess because I tend to make mine rather large. The more the merrier though, right?
Can these be frozen to eat later?
Cathy, you could definitely freeze the undipped balls for several weeks, but once you've dipped them in chocolate, we would not recommend freezing them. (Chocolate tends to get icky when frozen and thawed.)
You use the chocolate without parafin wax and they are still smooth and shiny???? Thank you.
Tanis, as long as I temper the chocolate first, I can get that shine without having to add any wax.