Chocolate Rum Balls (2024)

It's not Christmas without this traditional Chocolate Rum Balls recipe! So easy to make, so delicious to eat, they make the perfect after dinner treat.

I love to whip up a batch of these easy rum balls with coconut at Christmas time. They keep well in the fridge and spruced up with festive sprinkles, they make a lovely homemade gift for neighbours and friends also.

Traditionally rum balls were made with leftover stale cake mixed in with chocolate and alcohol to bring it back to life.

This easy rum balls recipe using crushed biscuits will be familiar to anyone who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s and is probably very similar to the one your mum or grandma made.

I hope it brings back many happy festive memories!

Rum Balls Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients for rum balls:

• Plain butter biscuits - this will depend on where you come from as to what brand you can buy, but I usually use something similar to Arnott's Marie, Arnott's Arrowroot or McVitie's Rich Tea biscuits.
• Condensed Milk - I use full fat, full sugar.... it's Christmas after all!
• Desiccated coconut
• Cocoa Powder
• Rum - you can use any rum you have. Remember though that a lot of the rum balls taste will come from the rum so make sure it is a rum you like! You can also substitute with other liqueurs - Grand Marnier, Baileys, Bourbon and Brandy are all popular alternatives.
• Sprinkles - traditional rum ball recipes tell you to roll the rum balls in desiccated coconut. As it is Christmas, I like to mix it up with a combination of Christmas sprinkles and coconut. Anything goes!

Top Tip: Give your chocolate and coconut rum balls an extra kick by soaking some raisins in rum and mixing them in with the other ingredients.

How to make Rum Balls

Making Christmas rum balls is super easy. First thing you need to do is to crush up the biscuits - you can either do this in a food processor, or pop them in a Ziploc bag and give them a good bash with a rolling pin.

Then you just put the crushed biscuits in a large bowl and stir in all the other ingredients to combine.

Now take a cookie scoop or tablespoon measuring spoon and scoop out tablespoons of the mixture. Roll them into a ball using your hands and roll each one into desiccated coconut or your preferred sprinkles to coat.

Store them in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.

Thermomix Rum Balls

Making rum balls in the Thermomix is super easy. It takes just 5 seconds at speed 8 to crush the biscuits, and a further 30 seconds at speed 6 to combine all the ingredients. The roll them as normal.

Rum Balls with No Rum

It sounds wrong, but you absolutely can make rum balls without the rum. This is particularly good if you are making rum balls for kids (although I'm pretty sure we just ate them as kids, rum and all!). To make kid friendly rum balls, just follow the recipe and omit the rum.

Can Rum Balls get you Drunk?

With just ¼ cup of rum between 30 rum balls, it is very unlikely that you will get drunk from eating these!

How long do Rum Balls Last?

Rum Balls are best stored in an airtight container in the fridge and eaten within 2 weeks. They taste best when cold from the fridge. You can also freeze them for later.

Can you Freeze Rum Balls?

Yes Rum Balls actually freeze really well. Store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.

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