If you’ve been around HIH for any period of time, you can probably guess that bourbon is the spirit of choice! We’ve featured two bourbon cocktail recipes, the HIH Bourbon Hot Toddy and the Kentucky Espresso Martini AND a dessert, Caramel Bourbon Custard in the short time HIH has been on the block. Today is the day I finally get to share one of my favorite ways to use bourbon, bourbon balls! These little truffles are absolutely delightful! They’re sweet, creamy, chocolatey, nutty, and very boozy. I can’t stop eating them!
The first Saturday in May, AKA Derby Day is a holiday in my book. From the horses to the hats to Southern food and Mint Julep cocktails, the day celebrates so many of my favorite things! Whether I’m attending a big Derby themed soiree, hosting an elaborate party of my own, or watching from my phone, you can bet I’ve got my horses picked and I’m not missing the action. Do you have a favorite for the 2022 Kentucky Derby? I’m still narrowing down my picks. No matter which horse you pick to win, if your party serves these bourbon balls it’s guaranteed everyone is a winner!
I’ve made a batch of these bourbon balls nearly every year since I hosted my first Kentucky Derby party in 2015. They are a classic addition to any Derby Day celebration. They might even seem a bit familiar! For St. Patrick’s Day, HIH featured a spin-off recipe, Drunk Leprechaun Truffles, using Irish whiskey instead of Kentucky Bourbon…and a touch of green food gel. They were a BIG hit!
Keys to Success
- Add the powdered sugar slowly. If you add your powdered sugar all at once or too quickly, you’ll risk having to wipe a dusty layer of sweetness from the surface of your kitchen. Additionally, by adding in stages, the butter and sugar will have an easier time becoming friends. It will seem like there’s WAY too much sugar for the butter, but I promise it will all cream together well.
- Don’t skip the chill or the soak. The filling is much easier to work with when it’s chilled. If you attempt to dip your truffle filling into the warm chocolate at room temperature, it will likely melt and the bourbon balls could lose their shape. The bourbon flavor is SO much better when the pecans soak it up. I’ve cheated and just thrown it all in when I mixed up the filling. Soaking the pecans helps all the flavors work together for a perfect bite instead of tasting sweet creamy filling and then being hit in the face with bourbon.
- A spring loaded cookie scoop will save you TONs of time. You can find spring loaded cookie scoops in most grocery store baking supplies aisles and, of course, Target and Walmart. Here’s quick link to my tried and true cookie scoop set from Amazon. If you’re looking for a perfectly smooth finish, I recommend a silicone mold vs. using a scoop.
Kentucky Bourbon Balls
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer or hand mixer with metal mixing bowl
- 1 Rubber spatula
- 1 pair rubber or laytex gloves
- 1 small spring loaded cookie scoop
- 1 sheet pan
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 lbs confectioner's powdered sugar
- ¾ cup salted butter, softened
- 1 cup pecans, chopped fine
- 6 tablespoons bourbon add up to 1 additional tablespoon for a more assertive whiskey flavor without compromising texture. Reduce by 1 tablespoon for a hint of whiskey.
- 1 cup melting chocolate wafers or 1 cup chocolate chips + 1 tablespoon refined coconut oil
- 30 toasted pecan halves for garnish optional
Instructions
- In a sealable, airtight container, combine the finely chopped pecans and the bourbon and allow to soak for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or using a hand mixer with a deep metal bowl, add the softened butter, the bourbon soaked chopped pecans and about 1 cup of the powdered sugar and begin to mix on low, gradually increasing to medium to prevent the sugar from going all over. Continue to add the remaining powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time until well combined.
- Once the mixture is smooth, turn off the mixer and scrap down the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Using a small spring loaded cookie scoop, scoop level scoops of the filling and place on a parchment lined sheet pan. Make sure the sheet pan will fit in your fridge. When finished scooping, place the sheet pan in the fridge.
- Optional: if you prefer a more refined bourbon ball: after 30 minutes in the fridge, gently roll each ball to smooth out any harsh edges. I recommend using Laytex (or similar) gloves for this step. Return to the fridge for another 1 hour 30 minutes.For more rustic bourbon balls, just refrigerate for 2 hours
- 15 minutes prior to the completion of the refrigeration time, melt the melting chocolate wafers or chocolate chips/coconut oil per package instructions.
- Remove the balls from the fridge and dip into the melted chocolate using a fork. Allow any excess chocolate to drip off through the tines of the fork and return to the parchment paper. Repeat with all of the balls. While the chocolate is still liquid, place one toasted pecan halve on top.
- Return the finished balls to the fridge for another 2 hours.
- The balls will hold at room temperature for serving, but they are sensitive to heat. Keep refrigerated until time to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
All Bourbon is Whiskey, all Whiskey is not Bourbon
Now that I’ve shared two similar versions of this recipe, one with bourbon and one with Irish whiskey, I thought a little whiskey lesson might be a nice way to close out this post. Whiskey is a distilled spirit made from any combination of grains then aged in wooden barrels. For whiskey to earn the title of bourbon, it must contain 51% corn, age in new charred oak barrels, and be made in the USA! That’s right, if you’re drinking bourbon, you can celebrate a truly American product! Since bourbon barrels must be new, used bourbon barrels often get exported to age other spirits without this requirement.
Each type of whiskey has it’s own nuances. Bourbon is known for being a sweeter whiskey. Many feature notes of vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch. The sweetness comes from the high sugar content of the corn. The complex flavors and the color develop from being aged in the charred oak barrels. The burn bourbon is often associated with comes from being bottled at a relatively high proof. The higher the proof, the more likely you’re going to feel that burn. Bottled bourbons must be at least 80% proof or 40% ABV, but you’ll find many with much higher proofs. Cask strength and barrel-proof bourbons can range from 110 – 135+ proof.
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