Made from pecans, Biscoff cookies, confectioners’ sugar, and—yes, rum!—rum balls are a grownup-favorite festive treat that are easy to make and fun to gift. They taste even better after a day or two in the refrigerator, so I recommend making them in advance. Perfect little holiday treat for the cookie tray!
One reader, Lynn, commented: “I love rum balls but could never find a recipe that tasted like the ones I remember. These are perfect! I think I may even play with the liquors! ★★★★★“
One reader, Sandra, commented: “I made the non-alcoholic version but added 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of rum extract as well. They had such a unique but delicious flavor. I will make these again. Thanks for the recipe! ★★★★★“
Let’s give the grownups some credit around the holidays. We have a LOT to do in a short amount of time. Between decorating, shopping, wrapping, baking, planning for guests or travel, hosting/attending parties… it’s a fun time of year, but also the busiest. So let’s do a little something especially for the grownups for a change… let’s make rum balls!
[SIDE NOTE: While not strictly a cookie recipe (after all, I do have a different version of these in my Sally’s Candy Addiction book), I decided they qualify for Sally’s Cookie Palooza because they’re often included on a holiday cookie tray. And they are made with crushed cookies, so… let’s just roll with it. Pa-RUM-pum-pum-YUM.]
Why You’ll Love These Boozy Rum Balls
- 2-bite little treats
- Make-ahead friendly dessert—in fact, they’re even better when they’re made ahead!
- Quick and easy no-bake recipe
- Using Biscoff cookies elevates these to the best rum balls you’ve ever tasted
- Dairy-free, egg-free recipe
Only 7 Ingredients
- Pecans: You can use large pecan halves or smaller pieces; either way, they’ll get finely chopped with the cookies in the food processor.
- Biscoff cookies (or Nilla Wafers): My team and I tested making rum balls with Nilla Wafers, which is what most rum ball recipes use, but the Biscoff ones were the clear winner in a taste test. By far the favorite! If you’d prefer to use Nilla Wafers instead of Biscoff, see recipe Notes below.
- Confectioners’ sugar: Sweetens the rum balls.
- Cocoa powder: I used high-quality Guittard brand dutched cocoa powder here, rather than the basic cocoa powder I usually use for baking (Hershey’s). This is not sponsored at all, but we really noticed a difference when using the high-quality stuff. You only need 2 Tablespoons (10g) in the recipe. See what your grocery store carries, and select a higher quality product if you can. I also really love this NuNaturals brand dutched cocoa, too.
- Rum: I love these with spiced rum, especially around the holidays, but you could also use dark rum or even coconut rum, whichever is your preference.
- Vanilla Extract: Homemade vanilla extract would be great in these rum balls!
- Honey: A little honey is the “glue” that makes the mixture come together.
If you’ve ever made this older recipe for dark chocolate coconut rum truffles, you’ll notice some key differences in the ingredients. That recipe uses graham crackers, coconut rum, and shredded coconut; and we also give them a dip in melted chocolate.
How to Make Rum Balls
Start by grinding the Biscoff cookies and pecans together in a food processor into a fine crumb. Add the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder, and pulse a few times to combine. Transfer the dry mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients and stir well with a silicone spatula until a moist dough forms.
Very easy, but I do have some success tips below.
You don’t need to refrigerate the mixture before rolling, because you want the dough to be sticky, so the coating will stick to the rum balls. But let it sit for about 10 minutes before rolling into balls, to give the crumbs some time to absorb the liquid.
Scoop a Tablespoon of the mixture and roll into a ball. Give it a roll in one of your coatings of choice (suggestions below!), and place it on a tray lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Add a Coating
This is where you can have some fun with all the different ways you can coat the rum balls to make them look pretty! Here are a few recommendations:
- Finely shredded/desiccated unsweetened coconut
- Confectioners’ sugar (roll rum balls in this twice, like with snowball cookies)
- Finely chopped nuts
- Sprinkles
- Biscoff cookie crumbs
- Cocoa powder
- Dunk in melted chocolate, like we use for chocolate peanut butter balls and Oreo balls
After coating, place the tray of rum balls in the refrigerator. These taste even better after a day or two of chilling, when the flavors really meld together and mellow out the rum flavor.
Rum Ball FAQs
You could replace the rum with half orange juice and half apple juice/cider, but obviously the taste will change. Or I recommend making these no-bake chocolate coconut snowballs instead!
You can use pecan meal (already-ground pecans) if you can find it in the store, and crush the cookies in a zip-top bag, using a rolling pin and some arm muscle. Use a whisk to combine all the dry ingredients.
Because they’re not baked, the alcohol does not cook off. But you’d have to eat A LOT of them to feel a strong alcohol effect, and these are a treat best enjoyed in moderation!
While I have not tested this, you could likely just use more Biscoff cookie crumbs. See recipe Note below.
Yes. Bourbon is another popular choice.
No, but I highly recommend it for the best taste and texture.
Right after making the rum balls, yes, they taste quite boozy. However, give them a day or 2 and then the Biscoff, cocoa powder, and pecan flavors really begin to shine. They are SO much tastier after the flavors mingle!
Dos and Don’ts for the Best Rum Balls
- Do use whichever type of rum you prefer the taste of—dark, spiced, coconut…
- Don’t let the rum balls sit for too long before rolling them in your coatings. They’ll get too dry and the coating won’t stick as well.
- Do keep them out of reach of children! They look like chocolate truffles, especially if coated in sprinkles.
- Don’t use a food processor to combine the wet ingredients with the dry. The mixture quickly becomes overprocessed, and overly moist and greasy. Transfer the dry mixture to a mixing bowl and use a silicone spatula to stir in the wet ingredients by hand.
- Do chill them in the refrigerator for a day or so, for the best tasting rum balls.
- Don’t eat too many at once!
Sally’s Cookie Palooza
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page including:
and here are 75+ Christmas cookies with all my best success guides & tips.
Festive & Easy Rum Balls
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes (includes refrigerating)
- Yield: 30–36
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: American
Description
Rum balls are a grownup-favorite festive treat that are easy to make and fun to gift. These no-bake, boozy rum balls taste even better after a day or two in the refrigerator, so I recommend making them in advance.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/4 cups (150g) pecans
- 38 Biscoff cookies (300g) or Nilla Wafers (*see Note)
- 2 Tablespoons (10g) natural or dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder* (I like this dutch-process cocoa)
- 3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120ml) spiced rum
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) honey
Coating (Choose Any)
- 1 cup desiccated unsweetened coconut (100g) OR finely chopped pecans (130g) (see Note)
Instructions
- Place the pecans and Biscoff cookies in a food processor, and process until finely ground into crumbs. Add confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder, and pulse a few times until combined.
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. (Do not do this step in the food processor.) Add the spiced rum, vanilla, and honey. Stir with a spatula until completely combined into a wet dough. Let sit for 10 minutes to give the crumbs time to absorb the liquid. During that time, place your coatings of choice in small bowls, for rolling.
- Scoop a Tablespoon of the mixture (about 20g) and roll into a ball. Mixture will be a little wet—that’s ok. Roll the ball in coating and place on a lined baking sheet or tray. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Refrigerate the rum balls for at least 2 hours and up to 5 days. I strongly recommend at least 1 day for best taste and texture. If refrigerating for longer than a few hours, cover tightly. The rum balls are also fine at room temperature for a few days.
- When serving, you can place the rum balls in mini baking cups to keep any loose coatings from getting too messy.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: These rum balls taste even better after a couple days in the refrigerator! To freeze: Place them in a freezer-friendly container or zip-top bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Food Processor | Glass Mixing Bowls | Silicone Spatula | Baking Sheet (or similar tray) | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper Sheets | Mini Baking Cups
- Nut-Free: For a nut-free version, I recommend skipping the pecans and adding 12–14 more Biscoff cookies (or about 90g).
- Other Nuts: Feel free to replace the pecans with walnuts. I have not tested other nuts in this recipe, so let me know if you do!
- Substituting Nilla Wafers for Biscoff: If you’d prefer to use Nilla Wafers instead of Biscoff, use one 11-ounce (311g) box to yield about 3 cups of crumbs. Keep in mind the rum balls will no longer be dairy- and egg-free if using Nilla Wafers.
- Cocoa Powder: You can use either unsweetened natural or Dutch-processed cocoa powder. I recommend using a high-quality cocoa powder for best taste. I used high-quality Guittard brand dutched cocoa powder. This is not sponsored at all, but we really noticed a difference when using the high-quality stuff. See what your grocery store carries, and select a higher quality product if you can. I also really love the NuNaturals brand dutched cocoa powder.
- Rum: I love these with spiced rum, especially around the holidays, but you could also use dark rum or even coconut rum, whichever is your preference. I usually use Bacardi spiced rum.
- Non-Alcoholic Version: You could replace the rum with half orange juice and half apple juice/cider (1/4 cup/60ml each), but obviously the taste will change. Or I recommend making these no-bake chocolate coconut snowballs instead!
- COATINGS: For coatings, 1 cup (100g–130g) is usually enough for the whole batch of rum balls. Options for coatings include desiccated unsweetened coconut, finely chopped pecans/nuts, sprinkles, Biscoff cookie crumbs, confectioners’ sugar (the balls stay a little sticky when using confectioners’ sugar), or unsweetened cocoa powder (82g). You can also do a few different coatings in 1 batch, like the pictured rum balls. Use a smaller amount of each coating, such as 1/4 cup.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Can you substitute Kahlua for spiced rum in your recipe Spiced Rum Balls?
Hi Roseanne, absolutely!
I want to make those tonight but Can I substitute the biscoff and use graham crackers instead and I don’t have pecans can I leave them out will they taste any good
Hi Joan, you should be fine to use graham cracker crumbs instead of Biscoff and leave out the pecans.
I used biscuits, without pecans. The concoction is a bit dry. Can I add a little water, juice or more alcohol? I didn’t have rum do I substituted Drambuie.
A teaspoon or so of water should help the mixture come together.
Made them couple of days ago for a family gathering and everybody loved them. Absolutely a game changer and will make them again.
Dear Sally,
I would like to make these rum balls for my husband’s birthday but as I don’t like so much the alcoholic flavor.. can I mix rum and water together?
Hi Mag, you could replace half the rum with orange juice or half apple juice/cider if desired, but obviously the taste will change. Or we recommend making these no-bake chocolate coconut snowballs instead!
From one Sally to another, Great Recipe Sally! My guests and recipients all loved them. I used regular rum, not spiced.
Hi, Sally,
I wasn’t sure how these would turn out at first with how soft and wet the batter was when trying to shape them. But, after some good time in the fridge, they were amazing! Such good flavor, and it just got better with each passing day. I love all the coatings, too.
Your recipes have yet to disappoint me! Not that I am looking for them to. I am just always impressed with anything I make of yours, and so are others.
Thank you so much for making and trusting our recipes, Nicola!
A huge hit. So quick and easy. I rolled half in coconut and half in cocoa and did serve in mini paper cups. Will definitely make again and often.
I followed this recipe exactly and my rum balls came out way too strong of rum, even after letting them sit for a couple days. I think they would have been good if the rum wasn’t so strong. The dough looked a little more soft than the photos too so I’m not sure what happened.
I made the non-alcohol alternative but added 1.5 tsp of rum extract as well. They had such a unique but delicious flavour. I will make these again. Thanks for the recipe!
These are so yummy! I love the biscoff cookies addition the recipe.
I have never had rum balls before but my mom has always told me they were one of my grandpa’s favorite Christmas treats that his mom would make for him. So I was curious to try this recipe as it sounded easy enough. These turned out delicious and I was surprised the alcohol flavor is not overpowering at all. I really enjoyed this, and my husband thought they kind of have the texture of donut holes! One thing I had trouble with was getting certain coatings to stick, but powdered sugar and coarse sanding sugar seemed to work the best for me. Overall it was a fun recipe to try out!
Just made these with biscoff cookies, spiced rum and Dutch cocoa powder. They are AMAZING. Thanks so much!
Just finished making these – they are SO good! I bought higher quality cocoa powder as recommended and was glad I did. Looking forward to seeing how they taste tomorrow. Thanks for the recipe!
I want to make these for a party this week. I don’t have a food processor for the pecans. I see the note about this. I already have flaxseed meal in my cabinet. I do have a mini food chopper. Would the flaxseed meal be okay to use?
Hi Ashley, We have not tested these with flaxseed so we are unsure of the results. You can simply skip the pecans and use more Biscoff cookies instead.
Yikes, I accidentally bought Biscoff cream filled cookies instead of the wafers. Could I scrape off the filling and still use these?
We haven’t tried it, but that should be fine!
Should the coating go on before freezing or after?
Hi Sam, we usually coat before freezing.
so it is possible to freeze the balls? thank you so much
Hi Annabelle, Yes you can. See the make ahead and freezing instructions in the recipe notes for details.
How well would these travel (say in a 2-day express-mailed package, frozen)?
These should be fine to ship if it’s a quick 2-day ship!
Hi Sally,
Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes ! I’m a great fan! I wish you had them all printed in cookbooks I could buy !
I have a question: could I just use one tablespoon of rum and add water instead of 1/2 cup rum?
Happy holidays!
Hi Aude, You could replace the remaining rum with half orange juice and half apple juice/cider, but obviously the taste will change. See recipe notes for details.
These are insanely delicious and the biscoff version lends itself very well to rum.
I made the non alcoholic version (1/2 cup OJ only) and found it required about 500g (2 x 250g) of biscoff and an additional 1/2 cup of pecans to be able to roll them.
What I love about having ingredients listed in weights is the ability to recalculate the amounts needed. Since the Biscoff cookies come in 240 gm packages, I simply recalculated all the ingredients to be 80% of what Sally listed here. Seems to have worked out – I’ll let you know tonight!
I love rum balls but could never find a recipe that tasted like the ones I remember. These are perfect! I think I may even play with the liquors!
I plan to try this recipe as written but I have friends who cannot have gluten. Can you recommend a substitute for the cookies in the recipe.
Hi Carol, any gluten free plain type of cookie/sweet cracker will work. I know the brand Simple Mills makes gluten free graham cracker type cookies called “sweet thins.”
I made these with Simple Mills chocolate sweet thins. Worked great for me!
Can these be made without cocoa powder? What can I use as a substitute?
Hi Melody, I really recommend keeping the cocoa powder in there. But, if you want to try it, you can skip it and add some more confectioners’ sugar in its place.
I make these every year for Christmas and New Years. I always change it up by using whiskey, bourbon, peppermint schnapps and even tequila. I also change the nuts up also. Hazelnuts, pecans, almonds brazil nuts and 1 time I tried sunflower seeds. All turned out great but just be creative. After all tis the season. Happy Holidays to you and yours
Made these as soon as I saw the recipe! They are so good! I tried one before they were chilled and they were delicious!
I have been making Rum Balls since high school from a NYT’s recipe. Originally they were my gifts to my teachers. Now I make them every year with one big modification — the original recipe used egg whites– and I eliminated them and just use more rum to bind the dough– a little different from yours but they are always a welcomed treat. Many folks ask for the recipe.
I love the inclusion of a dairy free and egg free recipe! Do you think agave or another substitution for the honey would work to make these vegan? Thank you!
Hi! Light corn syrup or agave should work nicely. I’m not sure maple syrup is thick enough.
Hi, I’m so excited to make this. I see these can be kept in the fridge for a day or two to make them taste better, but I am wondering if after that point they can be kept on the counter? I’d like to bring them to a school cookies swap we have for school teachers, but if I do, they won’t be able to be refrigerated once brought to school and I don’t want to make the teachers sick, haha. Thank you!
Hi Amy, yes, they can be stored at room temperature for a couple days; that’s not a problem.
Hi Sally! Have your tested using toasted pecans? Seems like it might elevate these but I don’t want to mess with a well tested recipe.
Hi Roini, I think lightly toasting the pecans would taste great! Let us know how they turn out!
I loved the IDEA of this cookie/ball but neither my wife nor I care for rum.
Would subbing hazelnuts and some hazelnut liqueur (Frangelico) work for this recipe?
Hi Geoffrey, I’m sure that could work but I have not tested it. Frangelico is sweet, so you may want to reduce the amount. Or reduce the confectioners’ sugar and add more nuts.
Geoffrey, I make these with Amoretto (the Desaronna Brand). Sometimes I use almonds and sometimes pecans. Both are delicious.
Can I use rum flavoring?
Hi Deborah, I’m sure you could add some but there is plenty flavor already from the rum. If you decide to use the nonalcoholic version, yes, you could still add some rum flavoring. I’m unsure of the best amount. Let me know what you try!
Thank u for yr recipe!
What kind of cookies can I use, we do not have Biscoff or Nilla cookies in Italy?
Thank you
Hi Leora, any dry packaged “plain” sort of cookie should work. I am not familiar with all of the options you have available, but if you share some, I can look into it?
Speculoos cookies or the windmill shaped ones you can find are nearly the same as Biscoff.
Hi
I am going to makes these for Christmas but I would ideally like to make them ahead of time. Do you know how long they keep in a sealed container in the fridge please ?
Ps: I’m also going to try making half of them Baileys Irish Crème as I’m not a rum person. Thank you and Happy Holidays
Hi Cherie! Up to 5 days in the fridge. See recipe Notes for freezing instructions for longer storage.