Pecan Bourbon Balls made with vanilla wafers and rolled in spicy pecans. They’ll be the hit of your party.
As a gift for Natalie’s friends, we sent them home with a small box filled with pecan bourbon balls. Since they were underage, I cut the bourbon significantly. For adults, use the entire amount. I have tried lots of bourbon balls but these are quite a bit different. First, the base is made with vanilla wafers, so while they are chocolaty, they are not as rich as a truffle. What makes these over the top, are the spicy pecans that I rolled them in. The taste is subtle and unexpected. I also rolled some in toasted coconut and in powdered sugar. They were all good, but we liked the ones rolled in spicy pecans the best. Save some of the spicy pecans to eat all by themselves, they are fantastic.
Sweet, salty and spicy, what more could you ask for. I think these are worthy of our annual Kentucky Derby party. They meet all my criteria, you can eat them with your fingers, they are not messy, they hold up in the heat, you can make them in advance, and finally they are delicious.
Southern Living December 2013
PrintPecan Bourbon Balls
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 12 ounce box vanilla wafers, finely crushed
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped
- ½ cup bourbon
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 4 cups pecan halves
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground red pepper
Instructions
- Buttery Toasted Pecans
- Preheat oven to 325º.
- Toss together 4 cups of pecans, butter and salt and red pepper. Spread pecans in a single layer in a jelly-roll pan and bake for 25 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt and pepper, tossing to coat. Cool completely.
- Pecan Bourbon Balls
- Stir together all ingredients. (The recipe calls for ½ cup bourbon, but if that seems to strong, cut it with water) Shape into balls with an ice-cream scoop. Roll into toppings. Try chopped Buttery Toasted Pecans, powdered sugar or toasted coconut.
- Makes about 3 dozen
- Southern Living December 2013
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