Sugar Free Rum Balls
There are so many things to love about the holiday season. But perhaps the most favorite are our holiday traditions. From those I remember from my childhood to the ones I have cultivated with my own family, there is always something many things to look forward to each year. Including sugar free rum balls.
It’s funny how taste can take you back in time. Each year my mom, aunts, cousins, and I would crowd in our tiny kitchen and bake Christmas cookies. Of all the cookies we baked, rum balls carry the most nostalgia.
Sugar free rum balls are my dad’s favorite cookie. (Although when we started baking they were not sugar-free). Incidentally, I think they were probably my mom’s least favorite cookie. I’m not sure why. They weren’t particularly hard. And I know she liked to eat them. But she griped about making those cookies every year.
She always saved them for last. And often, we rolling rum balls on Christmas Eve.
But she never skipped a year.
Now that Mom is gone, and has been for seven years, I make the rum balls. And since my dad’s diabetes diagnosis in 2012, I make them sugar free.
Why You’ll Love Them
Sugar Free Rum Balls are rich, smooth, and delicious. We keep them in the fridge, so they also have a crisp chill that is a nice contrast to most Christmas cookies.
Sugar Free Rum Balls feel decadent and indulgent, which makes them perfect for the holiday season.
This recipe is soft and creamy and almost has a truffle texture. But the spicy rum comes through and they taste like Christmas.
Sugar Free Rum Balls are easy to make. They only take about thirty minutes (give or take chilling time). The hardest part is pulling the mixture from the fridge before it gets too hard.
They can be a tad messy. The chocolate quickly softens in your warm palms and you may need to wash your hands a hundred times. Back in the day before gel manicures, a fresh manicure was a good excuse to sit out the rum balls. But this is a great recipe to have kids hep you with. They love getting gooey.
How to Make Sugar Free Rum Balls
Add 8 ounces of chocolate cookies to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbs. If you don’t have a food processor, place cookies in a zipper plastic bag and crush with a mallet or rolling pin. I usually use these cookies.
lace 8 ounces of sugar free chocolate chips in a large heat-proof bowl and set aside.
Combine 1 cup heavy cream and 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan and heat over low heat until the edges just begin to bubble. Do not let boil or you will have a mess. Pour the hot liquid over chocolate chips. and allow it to rest for a few minutes until the chips start to melt. Then stir until smooth.
Mix in 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 – 1/3 cup of rum (to taste) and stir to combine. Add the cookie crumbs and mix until combines..
Roll the chocolate mixture into 1-inch balls. Coat in sprinkles or sugars. If your mixture is too soft to roll, place in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. Don’t leave it in there too long or the mixture will harden and be impossible to roll. If the dough gets too soft while you re working, pop it back in the fridge for five minutes to firm up.
Place the sugar free rum balls on a cookie sheet and put in the refrigerator to harden, about 30 minutes.
Store covered in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Enjoy!
Sugar Free Rum Balls are perfect all on their own. They make a great after-dinner dessert. But there’s only a little bit of alcohol in the entire batch, so you don’t have to worry about getting drunk on Christmas morning.
You can use more or less rum depending on your preference. You can also swap out the alcohol. Amaretto Balls are equally delicious (and the Disiranno brand does not contain nuts – amaretto traditionally comes from apricot or peaches, although it can be made from almonds so you do need to always check the ingredients). And you could also do a Bourbon Bar, which might be fun given the popularity of bourbon these days.
Want to skip the alcohol completely? No problem. You can substitute a couple teaspoons of rum extract diluted in water to mimic the taste. IN fact, many people on diabetic diets avoid alcohol, so swapping out the rum for an extract is an easy solution for these Sugar Free Rum Balls.
I do love the way a sugar-coated Sugar Free Rum Ball looks on Christmas cookie tray.
Let me know if you give this recipe a try!
Sugar Free Rum Balls
Equipment
- Heat proof bowl
- Medium saucepan
- Cookie sheet
Ingredients
- 10 ozs chocolate cookies crushed, sugar free
- 1 cup chocolate chips sugar free
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4-1/3 cup white rum
- assorted sprinkles or colored sugars for coating
Instructions
- Add chocolate cookies to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbs. If you don’t have a food processor, place cookies in a zipper plastic bag and crush with a mallet or rolling pin.
- Set sugar free chocolate chips in a large heat-proof bowl.
- Combine heavy cream and butter in a medium saucepan and heat over low heat until the edges just begin to bubble. Do not let boil or you will have a mess.
- Pour hot liquid over chocolate chips.
- Allow to rest for a few minutes and then stir until smooth.
- Mix in vanilla and rum and stir to combine.
- Stir in cookie crumbs.
- Roll mixture into 1-inch balls. Coat in sprinkles or sugars.
- Place on a cookie sheet and put in the refrigerator to harden, about 30 minutes.
- Store covered in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Notes
If the mixture is too soft to roll, place it in the refrigerator for a little bit. I like to check it at twenty minutes and then every ten minutes after. if it gets too hard it will be difficult to roll.
Off we go!
P.S. Don’t forget to grab my FREE Nut Free Cookie Guide for even more delicious recipes. And if you like chocolate, you need to try these Chocolate Thumbprint cookies.
