Rum balls are small desserts made from cake and cookie scraps mixed with rum and coated in powdered sugar. They were created to reduce waste in bakeries and can be made at home with easy-to-find ingredients. They are best kept refrigerated and served at room temperature.
Rum balls are small portions of moist cake along with a dusting of icing sugar for a happy moment of sweetness. Their obvious feature is the alcohol used. Dark and light rums complement sugar well, as seen in popular drinks like mojitos, rum runners, and even eggnog. These desserts combine the flavors of cakes, cookies and cocktails.
Rum balls, like cakes and biscuits, were created in cake shops and bakeries. Bakeries, like most food establishments, tend to disdain waste. Not only is waste expensive to operate, but for many chefs, it’s daunting to throw out good food. Sweets were created as a solution to curb waste. In a bakery, the cakes are typically shaved off their sides to form perfect shapes, so even lopsided brownie and cookie pieces never make it to customers. Instead of throwing out these delicious but misshapen kernels, the chips are mixed and thoroughly combined. Rum is added to the cake and cookie mix to form a clay-like dough and to give the dough a special flavor. Some chefs will add chopped walnuts or almonds to give the dough an enhanced texture. The dough is rolled into bite-sized balls and the balls are tossed with powdered sugar to coat.
For home kitchen cooks, there is usually limited access to cookie and cake pieces. However, a love of rum balls, especially during the winter holiday months, has led to the creation of rum ball recipes made with easy-to-find ingredients. For example, most homemade versions are made with processed crackers and corn syrup. Some recipes use marzipan, a marzipan paste, to form the balls, while other recipes call for vanilla wafers to replace discarded cake pieces. Both dark and light rums can be used in rum ball recipes, and spiced rums are also recommended. Cocoa powder and shaved chocolate also enhance this dish.
Most rum balls will need to be kept refrigerated to maintain their shape and moisture. They are best kept in an airtight container and in cooler temperatures. Before serving, allow the rum balls to come to room temperature.
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