Let�s Get Ready to Rum Ball!

I want to thank a Twitter follower of mine, RookieKoo, for giving me the idea for today�s Michael Buffer-inspired post title. Of course, if you�re not familiar with the iconic boxing ring announcer�s catchphrase, then none of this will make any sense, and you�ll just have to trust me when I tell you it was an amusing reference.

There are hundreds of ways to make rum balls, but this one�s my favorite method. It�s very easy, especially if you have stale brownies lying around. I know, that never happens, which is why I�m linking to an all-purpose brownie recipe below the post. This will also work nicely with store-bought brownies, but stay away from anything that�s frosted. We don�t want to add any additional fat into the recipe, since that will hinder the absorption of the rum.

The amount of rum you add depends on how cakey and/or dry your brownies are, but for a half-pound, you�ll probably need between 1/4 and 1/3 of a cup to soak the crumbs sufficiently. A proper rum ball should be a fire hazard. By the way, I�m not responding to any comments asking about how to make these without using rum. In my humble opinion, you can�t.

The other issue I'm not going to be a big help with is altering the type of chocolate. I used a quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa), which worked beautifully for this, and hope you do the same. I don't have a lot of experience working with chocolate, so I'm not sure what will happen if you want to use white, milk, or other kinds of chocolate for the coating.

I realize these are more of a candy, than a cookie, but after about a half-dozen rum balls, culinary semantics will be the furthest thing from your mind. I hope you give them a try on your holiday dessert table. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 20 small rum balls:

8 ounces stale chocolate brownies, crumbled

1/4 to 1/3 cup dark rum, or as needed

4 oz dark chocolate (I used Lindt Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa)

NOTE: For a quick and easy brownie that will work well for these rum balls, check out this recipe from Allrecipes.com. I recommend checking out the comments on that recipe page before starting.