Amazing Almond Rum Balls

 

Dear Red Couch Readers, it is that wonderful time of year, when your mind turns to dreams of making sweets for your loved ones.  You go through old magazines and recipe files, and with the advent of Pinterest, you pour over the Pinterest boards.  You think of these treats  as you lie in bed, drive in traffic, or take a shower!   Maybe this will be the year that you try making Venetian Bars or Linzer Cookies, or that smashing new fudge?

 

I have a new sweet for your to put on your list and make -- Almond Rum Balls.

 

 These rum balls are really dream-worthy.  Now these rum balls are not just your everyday kind of candy you make at Christmas.  This is the kind of candy that you bring out or give to your "bestest" loved ones and friends.  They have an amazing flavor and I love the crunch of biting into them and breaking the chocolate around the rum center.  The rum center is so addictive.

 

 

 

My favorite candy to make at Christmas is my husband's Grandma Utahna Felix's Vintage Toffee recipe.  I have made up to 24 batches at Christmas before.  You can find the recipe and directions to make this amazing toffee here, but these rum balls are a close second.

 

 

  

I am not a chocolate dipping queen like my sister Jacqueline at Purple Chocolate Home.  If you are like me, a non-chocolate dipping queen,  these are the perfect chocolates for your to make.  This is Jacqueline's recipe, and it is so good!  Thanks for this yummy recipe Jacqueline.  If you are a chocolate dipping queen like Jacqueline, you can find more precise directions for using tempered chocolate in this recipe on her blog.

 

 The recipe for the rum balls is fairly simple.

 

Almond Rum Balls Recipes

 

4 cups confectioner's sugar

1 cup softened butter

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14-Ounce)

1-1/2 teaspoons almond extract

1/2 teaspoon rum extract

 

1-2 cups dipping chocolate -- I use good quality milk chocolate chips.

3-4 cups chopped and toasted almonds or pecans -- you can quickly whir them in a food processor or blender. Today I used pecans, other days I have used almonds.  I prefer the taste of pecans.  To toast, spread nuts over a jelly roll pan and bake for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  Watch carefully, as they can burn easily.  Cool, then whirl the nuts in a blender.

 

 To make the almond-rum centers, put  the sugar, butter, sweetened condensed milk, and the extracts.in a large bowl in a mixer and mix well.  Store covered in the fridge overnight. 

 

Take the mixture you have refrigerated over night and make into small balls, less than one-inch (1/2-inch to 3/4-inch) in diameter.  Put a bit of flour on your hands to try to control the stickiness of the almond rum mixture.  Store the balls in fridge for an hour or so so that they are firm when you  are dipping them in chocolate.  You could also freeze the rum centers so they are easier to dip.

 

 

In large medium bowl, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, in 10 second increments, being very careful not to burn the chocolate.  After each 10 seconds in the microwave, be sure to stir the chocolate as the chocolate is most likely melted more than you think.  Let the chocolate cool a bit before you dip the rum centers in the chocolate.  Jacqueline says that the chocolate should be cool when you place a tad bit on your bottom lip.  Dip the rum centers, and then try to flick off , with quick switches of your wrist, as much chocolate as you can.  If the chocolate gets hard while you are dipping, just reheat it in the microwave.

 

 

 

The nuts pictured below were hand-cut.  The rum balls pictured above had nuts whirred in the blender. 

  

 

Roll the chocolate-covered rum ball in the chopped nuts.  Then store the chocolate and nut crusted rum ball in the fridge.

 

 

 

This is a picture of the rum balls made with larger nut pieces.

 

 

 

 

Store all of the rum balls in the fridge until you give them away.  You should also give instructions to the happy recipient that the rum balls should be stored in the fridge.  Pack some up in pretty tissue and give them to a loved one.  The silver jingle bells have magnets attached, and are a little "happy" I am including in my Christmas goodies this year. 

 

 

 

On a Christmas side note, we have a huge basket of Christmas books in our Red Room.  I caught my 16 year-old reading a Christmas children's book to my 12-year old today.  As soon as I grabbed my camera, they hid.  Now of course my younger daughter can read, in fact she is a great reader, but since they were little my older daughter has read to her.    Sometimes they switch off reading.  they are just like me; I love children's books. 

 

Don't you just love the Christmas season?

 

 

 

 

I hope you are having fun in all your preparations for Christmas.  Thanks for dropping by the Couch.

 

Posted with the following:

 

What's on the Menu Monday, Craft-O-Maniac Mondays, Made By You Mondays, MM

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Home or Home at Christmas Tablescape

 

Welcome to my Christmas Home Table.  If you were coming to my HOME on Christmas Eve this year, this is the table that would await you.  The table is set with Christmas Home dinner plates, salad plates, and soup bowls by Royal Stafford. 

 

Here is a close-up of the soup bowl.

 

 

 

Doesn't everyone love to be HOME at Christmas??  Last year we almost didn't make it HOME.

 

 

 

We had spent Christmas Eve Day with our oldest son, wife, and grand baby, and my in-laws and sister-in-law.  After the dinner, our son and family went to stay with his in-laws and we decided to drive to Salt Lake City to see the Christmas lights on Temple Square. 

 

Napkin Ring Close-Up

 

 

 

 Bad sign --  on the way there, I could feel our gears sliding.    Then in Salt Lake I parked on a hill and I think I gave the gears a bad work-out.

 

 Simple Greenery Centerpiece

 

 

 

The lights on Temple Square were exquisite.

 

 

  

After the beautiful visit on Temple Square, we had a two-hour drive home, with about an hour in a very steep canyon.

 

Close-up of Centerpiece

 

 

As we drove HOME,  it became very obvious that we were having problems with our clutch.  I tried to ignore it, and tried to ignore my husband telling me I should go back to his parent's home.  You see, I wanted to be HOME for Christmas.  I mean, Santa was coming, and there were all of our gifts there.  The cats and the chickens needed to be fed.....yada, yada, yada....

 

I threw in this one because you can see my hand in the right red ball -- honestly, my fingers aren't that fat.

 

 

 

As I was driving, I noticed that there wasn't a lot of traffic in the canyon.  The truckers were HOME for Christmas, and everyone else that seemed to travel in the canyon seemed to be HOME for Christmas.  I thought, well we had some Martinellis, some oranges, and some chocolate to eat if we did get stranded.  My husband kept on telling me to turn back...

 

The King's Crown that graced my Aunt Ionia's Adult table every year on Christmas Eve.

 

 

 

Then I began to think about the lack of cellphone coverage in the canyon as I eeked up the first small hill, barely making it. Since there was no cellphone service, and there was little traffic, the reality of becoming stranded on Christmas Eve loomed larger in my mind.  Then I thought about the second hill, which is at an elevation of 8,000 feet. In my denying state of mind I still thought " Maybe I can make it...."

 

Ohhhh, don't you just love the RED?

 

 

My practical husband kept on telling me to turn back....and finally, I listened and turned back. I wasn't happy about it, because thoughts of HOME still were in my mind.   It was late, probably about 10:30 pm by then,  and we slowly drove back to my in-laws.  Slowly because that is all the car would do at that point. 

 

Of course we will use our silver, Damask Rose pattern, that my parents gave us for a wedding gift. 

 

 

Don't get me wrong, I love my in-laws, but how was Santa going to find me if I wasn't HOME?  Although I had some setbacks and some transgressions,, I had tried to be a really good girl last year, and I knew Santa would want to find me.  I mean, did he really want to keep on lugging around all those heavy gifts in his big black bag, just because I didn't make it HOME?

 

Santa came early to my home for Christmas this year, SHE (Jacqueline at Purple Chocolat Home) brought me 16 soup bowls in the Christmas Home pattern and three servings bowls in her big black bag.  Thank you Mrs. Santie Claus.

 

 

Mrs. Santa Claus also brought me this serving platter.

 

 

We found cellphone service as we eeked our way to their home.  Thankfully my in-laws were still up.   I was so happy because they graciously offered to  let us drive home their car and we left our car with the broken clutch at their HOME.   So we unpacked our car and put all our luggage and Christmas paraphernalia in their trunk, and made it HOME by about 3:00 am Christmas morning!    Guess what?  The big guy had not arrived yet, so I was safe!  Santa could still deliver all those heavy presents he had to my HOME. 

 

 

The sunlight filtering the table.

 

 

Wherever you call HOME, I hope you can make it there this Christmas.

 

 

Thanks for dropping by Red Couch Recipes!

 

Posted with the following:  Let's Dish, Tablescape Thursday

 

Cocoa Peppermint Snowballs

 

 

A warm welcome to Red Couch Recipes.  Thanks for dropping by my little kitchen at this busy time of year.   I have always loved this type of cookie whether they are called Russian Teacakes, Mexican Wedding Cakes, or Snowballs, and this version is a keeper.  I would describe this version as hot chocolate in a cookie, laced with a bit of peppermint dust. The ground pecans in it give the cookies a rich, nutty flavor  They are a  cookie that just ring "Christmas is coming, Christmas is coming!" Make up some cookies right now and drink them with some hot chocolate.  Don't you just love the baking and cooking at Christmas?

 

Cocoa Peppermint Snowballs

Adapted from a recipe from Good Housekeeping Magazine

 

1 cup pecans

1-3/4  cup confectioners' sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cold, cut up (no substitutions)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1- 3/4 cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Candy Cane Dust (see Joni's Notes)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Yield:   2 dozen.  Directions:  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  In food processor with knife blade attached, pulse pecans with 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar (reserve remainder)  until pecans are finely ground.   Add butter and vanilla and process until smooth, occasionally stopping processor to scrape side with rubber spatula. Add flour and cocoa and pulse until evenly mixed. Add chocolate chips; pulse just until combined. 

Round chocolate balls --  Don't test taste them at this point, they will be a little bitter and bland.

 

Shape dough by rounded measuring teaspoons into 1-inch balls. Place balls, 1 inch apart, on ungreased large cookie sheet.  Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.   DO NOT OVER BAKE.  Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool slightly.

The cocoa cookies, fresh out of the oven, being rolled in confectioner's sugar.

While cookies are still warm, roll cookies in remaining (1 3/4 cups) confectioner's sugar to coat; return to wire rack to cool completely. When cool, gently roll cookies in sugar again. Be careful, as they can break up while rolling.  When cool, sprinkle candy cane dust on top of the cookies.
 

Joni's Notes:  For a sweeter cookie, use milk chocolate chips.  To make candy cane dust, place candy canes in blender and pulverize.
 

 Candy Cane dust ready to be sprinkled on top of the cookies.

 

 

 

I think they look beautiful boxed up -- great for giving!

 

 

Thanks for dropping by Red Couch Recipes!

 

 Posted with the following:  Craft-O-Maniac Monday