TBB - Bourbon (Whiskey) Pecan Butter Balls
Welcome to the Alpha Bakers bake-a-long, an online project where a group of food bloggers bake our way through The Baking Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. Most of the recipes made during this project will not be shared, but I will post my commentary followed by a full photo tutorial.
This week's selection - Bourbon Pecan Butter Balls, a quick and easy, no-bake recipe if you use store bought chocolate wafers (Oreos work too! just remove the filling before using).
Special ingredients and/or equipment needed - digital scale, small food processor.
Optional ingredients and/or equipment suggested - #100 scoop.
How do they taste - Scrummy! The bourbon flavor is very subtle, much to my delight... and they're not overly sweet.
How do they look - Irresistible! The recipe calls for coating the balls with granulated sugar, but I really like the way they look coated with turbinado sugar.
Level of difficulty - Very easy.
Were the directions clear - Yes. I only made 1/4 of the recipe which was very easy to do by dividing the gram weights listed in the book.
What would I do differently next time - I'd love to try an almond and amaretto version. Oh my, the mere thought is intoxicating.
Note: When I told the clerk at the liquor store that I was making bourbon balls and asked for him to recommend a smooth tasting bourbon, he suggested Jack Daniel's whiskey. I'm not completely sure that was the right thing to get, but I'd say everything turned out well in the end.
Okay, here's my photo tutorial.
Grind chocolate wafer cookies in a small food processor.
Ingredients (from top to bottom): cocoa powder, corn syrup, bourbon (or whiskey), butter, chocolate cookie crumbs, powdered sugar, pecans.
In a food processor, pulse the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and pecans until finely ground.
Done.
Next we need the bourbon (or whiskey), corn syrup, and butter.
Into the food processor they go.
Blitz together until it looks like this.
The last step is to combine the wet cocoa mixture with the dry cookie crumbs.
You could combine the two by hand, but I chose to mix them together in my stand mixer because I thought it would be neater and the ingredients would be mixed together more evenly.
Done.
Allow the mixture to rest and mellow for about 30 minutes before rolling. I made my balls about 1/2 the size recommended using a #100 scoop.
Roll the balls of dough in the palm of your hand, then immediately toss them with sugar. Again, I chose to use turbinado sugar instead of granulated sugar. I just like the way it looks better, and I like the texture it adds to the bourbon balls.
Mmmm.... wanna try?
Delish!