Rum Balls

The first time we made these, I was a concerned about serving them to minors, the intense aroma of the rum filled up the whole room! But you'd have to be a little piggy and eat nearly the whole tray to get a buzz from these cookies. The ingredients easily mix together in one bowl and require no baking. Use fresh cookies for the crumbs, not leftovers, you don't want any stale after-taste. You may want to use the food processor to grind up the cookies into fine crumbs, but smashing up the cookies in a ziplock bag works just as well. Try to resist the temptation to unwrap these little munchies too soon and your patience will be greatly rewarded. They keep well at room temperature, and are great with hot cocoa or a steamy cup of coffee.

RUM BALLS
makes about three dozen cookies

2 cups finely ground galletas Marias cookies,
OR use vanilla wafers, freshly opened packages only
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/4 cup Meyer's rum or other dark rum, plus more
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
tiny pinch of salt

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper. On a large plate, place 1/2 cup powdered sugar. In a large bowl combine the cookie crumbs, 1 cup powdered sugar, nuts, salt and stir. Add in the rum, corn syrup, melted butter and stir. If mixture seems too dry add a splosh more rum and continue kneading. It couldn't hurt! With clean hands, knead the mixture together or continue stirring. Using a melon baller or iced teaspoon, roll into a one-inch size ball. Roll each ball in the powdered sugar and place on the baking sheet. Wrap baking sheet tightly in plastic, completely covering and let tray sit at room temperature for 48 hours.