Traditional Rum Balls, But Make Them Gluten-Free

I don’t know if I’m blaming the onset of the cold weather or the ridiculous amount of Easter chocolate I’ve been surrounded by recently, but I just can’t get enough chocolate lately! I’m a chronic sweet tooth at the best of times, but lately, I just can’t get chocolate off my mind so I’ve been making these Rum Balls on repeat. They aren’t especially sweet, and they freeze perfectly so you can pop them away (out of sight, out of mind, right!?) and just grab one whenever you need a little touch of sweetness – say everyday at about 3pm? Just me??

If you don’t absolutely love coconut you could definitely roll these in blitzed biscuits, chocolate shavings or cocoa powder/drinking chocolate but the coconut inside is kinda non-negotiable. What is flexible is the Rum, you can totally leave that out and pop a few drops of vanilla extract in instead, or any extract for that matter if you felt like making Orange or Almond flavoured ‘Rum-less’ Rum Balls instead.

This is my Gluten-Free version of the recipe, but if Gluten doesn’t cause you any drama you can totally use this same recipe, just double the amount of condensed milk and use regular Arrowroot biscuits.

Ingredients:

• 205g packet of Woolworths ‘Free From Gluten’ Arrowroot Biscuits (or a 250g packet of Arnott’s Milk Arrowroot)
• Half a 395g can of NESTLE Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOTE: use half the can if using Gluten-Free biscuits, or the full can if using regular biscuits – I don’t know why but GF biscuits don’t soak up the liquid in the same way)
• 1 cup of Desiccated/Shredded Coconut
• 1/2 cup of Desiccated/Shredded Coconut (keep this separate, this is extra to roll them in)
• 1/4 cup of Cocoa Powder
• 1-2 tbs of Rum *or a splash of Vanilla Extract if you’re making them alcohol-free

Recipe:

1. Blitz the biscuits in a food processor until a light crumb, some slightly larger bits are totally fine.
2. Add the biscuit crumb to a large mixing bowl with the Cocoa Powder, 1 cup of Coconut, the Condensed Milk (see note on quantity) and the Rum or Extract if using.
3. Stir until all combined and you have a sticky, dark brown mixture.
4. Using a teaspoon, pick up about a spoonful of the mix and roll between your hands until it makes a neat ball. You can make them any size you like, but I find golf ball size works well.
5. Drop the ball in a bowl with the 1/2 cup of Desiccated Coconut and roll it around until the Rum Ball is covered.
6. Continue to roll until all the mixture is used up. Place each ball on a plate or a rimmed baking tray.
7. Place in the fridge or freezer to harden up – these can be served immediately as they don’t ‘freeze’ solid, but you can leave them out on the bench for 10 minutes to soften up if you prefer (and if you are patient.. I am not).

This recipe makes about 20 – 24 Rum Balls (depending on how big you roll them).

Super simple and easy, these Rum Balls only take about 20 minutes to make from start to finish and they don’t require any baking in the oven or setting for hours in the fridge which makes them the perfect throw-together sweet snack. Plus, all the ingredients are pantry staples, good news all around!

Here are a few of the other chocolate recipes I’ve been loving lately:
Tiny, Salty, Chocolaty Cookies by Alison Roman
Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies by Donna Hay
Crispy Chocolate Cake With Hazelnut & Sour Cream by Alison Roman

Told you I’m going through a major chocolate-loving phase!