{"slug":"bourbon-balls","collection":"recipes","is_recipe":true,"visibility":"public","title":"Bourbon Balls","description":"No-bake bourbon balls rolled in powdered sugar — a boozy, chocolatey holiday confection with toasted pecans and a fudgy crumb.","body_md":"\n## Equipment\n- Food processor\n- Mini baking cups and/or -- parchment lined baking sheet\n\n## Ingredients\n- 280g (10oz, 2 ½ cups) vanilla (Nilla) wafers, broken/crushed into large chunks\n- 125g (1 ¼ cups) toasted pecans\n- 120ml (½ cup) bourbon (*see note*)\n- 120g (1 cup) confectioners'/powdered sugar, plus more for rolling\n- 80ml (⅓ cup) cocoa powder\n- 1 tablespoon honey\n- Flaky/course salt- optional (*see note*)\n\n\n## Preparation\n1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the cookies and pecans to a fine crumb.\n2. In a small bowl, wisk together:\n   - Bourbon\n   - Confectioner's sugar\n   - Cocoa powder\n   - Honey\n3. Pour liquid over the cookie/pecan crumbs in the food processor bowl.\n4. Pulse in food processor just until combined.\n5. Transfer dough to a clean bowl. Cover with a towel (do not cover airtight) and let stand overnight.\n6. Roll the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter.\n7. Toss in confectioners' sugar and salt (optional) then place mini baking cups or on a parchment paper lined pan.\n8. Store airtight for a more moist crumb, or store lightly covered to develop a crunchy exterior.\n9. If desired, toss with more powdered sugar before serving.\n\n## Notes\n- For high-proof bourbon, reduce the amount of bourbon measured into a 120ml (½ cup) measuring cup; add water to make up remaining volume. For a 120 proof bourbon, try 60ml (¼ cup) each, bourbon and water.\n- To counter the sweetness of the balls, consider adding a flaky or crunchy salt to the finishing confectioners' sugar.\n- **Unit repair (2026-07-30):** the ounce figures here were placeholders rather than conversions — small weights had been written \"(1oz)\", middling ones \"(2oz)\" or \"(3oz)\", regardless of the actual gram value. The gram weights are correct and are unchanged; only the bogus ounce fragments are removed. A spoon or cup measure sharing the same parentheses is kept, since that one is real.\n\n","draft":false,"servings":"36","prep_time":"20 minutes","cook_time":"0 minutes","total_time":"20 minutes","created_at":"2024-01-01T05:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-30T22:12:39.437977Z","categories":["dessert"],"tags":["bourbon","chocolate","nytimes","pecans"],"methods":["No-Cook"],"themes":["Holiday","Vegetarian"],"ingredients":[{"section":"","items":["- 280g (10oz, 2 ½ cups) vanilla (Nilla) wafers, broken/crushed into large chunks","- 125g (1 ¼ cups) toasted pecans","- 120ml (½ cup) bourbon (*see note*)","- 120g (1 cup) confectioners'/powdered sugar, plus more for rolling","- 80ml (⅓ cup) cocoa powder","- 1 tablespoon honey","- Flaky/course salt- optional (*see note*)"],"parsed":[{"raw":"- 280g (10oz, 2 ½ cups) vanilla (Nilla) wafers, broken/crushed into large chunks","qty":280,"unit":"g","item":"vanilla wafers, broken/crushed into large chunks"},{"raw":"- 125g (1 ¼ cups) toasted pecans","qty":125,"unit":"g","item":"toasted pecans"},{"raw":"- 120ml (½ cup) bourbon (*see note*)","qty":120,"unit":"ml","item":"bourbon"},{"raw":"- 120g (1 cup) confectioners'/powdered sugar, plus more for rolling","qty":120,"unit":"g","item":"confectioners'/powdered sugar","prep":"plus more for rolling"},{"raw":"- 80ml (⅓ cup) cocoa powder","qty":80,"unit":"ml","item":"cocoa powder"},{"raw":"- 1 tablespoon honey","qty":1,"unit":"tbsp","item":"honey"},{"raw":"- Flaky/course salt- optional (*see note*)","item":"Flaky/course salt- optional"}]}],"servings_int":36,"qc":{"status":"passed","last_checked_at":"2026-07-30T22:17:41.950048Z","checked_by":"claude-code","standard_version":"2026-07-29","findings_count":0,"stale":false}}