Easy Bourbon Balls Recipes
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This is an authentic Kentucky Bourbon Balls recipe. They are rich, smooth, decadent, and delicious! It’s a Southern delicacy of a sweet boozy confection of sugar, pecans, and bourbon.
The smooth, earthy flavor of bourbon pairs perfectly with the luxurious chocolate, creating a decadent treat.
A bourbon ball is a Southern delicacy, invented by Ruth Hanly Booe of Rebecca Ruth Candy in 1938. Bourbon balls are bite-sized confections incorporating bourbon and dark chocolate as an ingredient.
Bourbon Balls
We recently took a trip to Kentucky and did the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. I wasn’t a fan of bourbon until this trip. After learning the process and testing all the different bourbon formulas, I quickly became a fan. Although I prefer Woodford Reserve and Maker’s Mark over the others, every tour offered a unique and interesting experience.
Can eating bourbon balls make you drunk?
While these boozy truffles certainly contain enough alcohol to taste that it’s there, the likelihood of getting drunk off of them is very minimal. Only 3 tablespoons of bourbon is used, which is then dispersed among other ingredients and then divided into 36 different candies.
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Bourbon truffles are the perfect way to tantalize your taste buds with a burst of sweet and indulgent flavors. With the right ingredients and a little bit of time, you can make quality truffles worthy to be served in a five-star restaurant.
If you are looking for a special way to reward yourself or your friends and family, give bourbon truffles a try. After all, what better way to kick off a night of celebration than with a mouth-watering sweet treat!
Every tour allowed you to taste test their product at the end of the tour and most offered their version of Bourbon Balls. I really became a fan of these sugary treats!!
Try my Woodford Reserve Bourbon Cake with Caramel Glaze
You may also like my Martha Washington Candy, Peppermint Bark, Oreo Cookie Balls, and Buckeye Balls.
Bourbon Balls
Ingredients
- ¾ cup chopped pecans
- 3 Tablespoons Woodford Reserve bourbon
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar (aka confectioners) sift and measure carefully
- 16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate Wilton candy melts work best for this
- Optional toppings – pecan halves chopped pecans, walnuts or almonds, cocoa powder, confectioners’ sugar, sea salt
Instructions
- Mix pecans and bourbon in a bowl and allow to soak for an hour.
- Cream (or mix) butter and sugar together in an electric mixer until smooth
- Then add pecans and bourbon to the butter and sugar mixer.
- Chill for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet covered with waxed paper. Refrigerate 2 hours.
- Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals until melted, stirring after each interval. Using a fork to hold the bourbon ball, dip each ball in chocolate covering completely. Hold ball over chocolate a few seconds to allow excess to drip off. Place back on waxed paper to cool completely. *If you choose to top with a pecan half, nuts, or salt immediately press on top of the ball before chocolate cools and hardens.
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are important to you, I recommend calculating them yourself.
Do you temper the chocolate? The recipe just calls for 16 oz. semi sweet chocolate, so I got cakes of semi sweet Baker’s chocolate…is that appropriate or is there a specific type I should use?
No the Baker’s chocolate is typically ready to melt and use. Check the package though, but the Wilton candy melts that I use doesn’t need to be tempered
I don’t have bourbon – would rum work as well? Thanks!
Yes, slightly different flavor, but it’ll be great!
This is 2016. I hope you get this! These look great, but I and people I make them for don’t drink. Any suggestions? Thanks very much.
My parents never did either so I understand. There actually is a bourbon flavoring/extract but it’s hard to find. You can use any flavoring… vanilla, almond, black walnut, and increase the heavy cream 1 or 2 tablespoons. You’ll get the flavor of whatever extract you use, but the texture will be the same.
I stuck a toothpick in the balls before refrigerating them and then dipped them in the chocolate and then removed toothpicks. Was easier for me then the fork. My son and his friends loved them. Thank you for all of your help with different stuff.
Hello! Stopping in from Whimsy Wednesdays! LOVE this recipe! Bourbon + Anything = Awesomeness! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much!!
In the Bourbon Balls, where does the 3 T of cream go? (In the powdered sugar mixture or the melted chocolate!)
oh my goodness, sorry about that! The cream melts in with the chocolate to make it coat the balls better. Add cream and chocolate together and melt in microwave. Going to correct that in the recipe right now. Thanks for pointing out my error! ~ Paula
What weight or measurement is –a stick of butter?
Ok, now that I’m on the computer and can see the recipe there is not a stick of butter listed in this recipe. There is 1/4 cup. Could please clarify where you see this?
Hello- can you please forward the full recipe. Does it need a full stick or 1/4 cup of butter?
The full recipe is listed, not sure what you’re seeing. The recipe is correct as written at 1/4 cup butter.
I used 1/4 c butter (=1/2 stick) softened, but it didn’t seem enough to “cream” with the powdered sugar. I mixed and mixed, but it never got creamy. It was still loose and powdery. Did I use the right amount of butter?
Yes, that’s what I’ve used. It was stiff but did form together into the balls. You can add more butter if needed though. I would add 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture will stick together .
1/4 is correct butter. Perhaps you mis-measured and had too much sugar
A few comments mention heavy cream. I do not see that in the recipe? Is it needed with the chocolate, and if so, how much?
Thanks! Can’t wait to try these!
Cream is not in the recipe. When I say ‘Cream butter and sugar’ it means ‘mix butter and sugar’