I'm gonna need to see your ID!

Whisky Balls

1 lb Vanilla wafers

2 C Chopped pecans

1 C Powdered sugar, plus more for rolling

3 T Cocoa powder

3 T Karo syrup

1/2 - 1 C Whisky (seriously - use the whole cup!)

If you have a food processor: Add vanilla wafers to food processor and pulverize to dust. Add cocoa powder and powdered sugar and pulse until incorporated. Add pecans and process until pecans are a small dice. Mix the Karo/corn syrup into your whisky. While the food processor is running, slowly drizzle the mixture into the dry ingredients. A pretty wet dough will form. Let the dough sit for a few minutes. This will allow for the vanilla wafers to soak up the whisky. If you do not have a food processor: Load your vanilla wafers into a STURDY plastic bag. Think freezer bag on this one - they're thicker and more sturdy than storage bags. Proceed to pulverize the wafers with a rolling pin, the flat side of a meat tenderizer, or whatever blunt object you choose. Get them as close to dust as possible. Empty the crumbs into a large bowl. Finely chop the pecans and add them to the wafers. Add the powdered sugar and cocoa then stir to combine. Mix the whisky and Karo/corn syrup together and slowly mix into the dry ingredients. Remember, our hands are our best tools in the kitchen! Get in there and give it all a good mix! Your dough is going to be pretty wet, so let it sit for a few minutes.

Both methods:

Pour about a cup of powdered sugar into a shallow dish and get a landing spot ready for your finished product. I use a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to avoid getting powdered sugar all over creation.

Roll tablespoon-sized portions into balls and drop into the powdered sugar. Once you have several in the sugar, roll to coat and transfer to your landing spot. Repeat this process until all dough has been rolled into balls and all of them have been rolled in powdered sugar.

It will look like there is a LOT of powdered sugar stuck to these when you first finish. As they sit, they will absorb some of it and won't be solid white anymore.

Store in an airtight container. These will last for 7-10 days at room temperature, and longer in the refrigerator. (There is nothing that will quickly spoil here and the whisky will ward off most anything!)

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Story time!

My grandmother, Nana, made these for years! I remember being repulsed by them when I was little because they smell like whisky - a lot! It wasn't that she liked them - it was the fact that my daddy very much liked them that propelled her to make these for Christmas every year. This was his mother in law, mind you!

He fussed about her being a crazy old bat, but he not-so-secretly had a soft spot for her. The two of them had their little things that they did here and there that I noticed over the years. He would give her the first sip of his beer because it was the coldest sip, and that's the only sip that she liked. She would make sure to make treats that he liked around the holidays, like these whisky balls.

At some point, I started making them when my Nana couldn't. Every time I make them, I think of them both. They've both been gone for many years now, and recipes are one way I keep their memories around. I've shared these with friends and family over the years, and even served up an unintended surprise to a company owner who wasn't expecting a mouthful of whisky when he nabbed an innocent looking treat from the company kitchen!

There are many versions of these floating around out there. They're all a variation of this recipe in one way or another and none of them are wrong or right. You're most likely to find them listed as bourbon balls, which is clearly what I used here. All bourbon is whisky but not all whisky is bourbon...if you know, you know! I know. The recipe says 1/2 C or 1 C of whisky...I didn't write the recipe, friends! In all honesty, don't even bother with the 1/2 cup measurement on this. Go for the full cup or go home! Does it make the dough a little bit softer? Yup. Is it worth it? Also yup!

I have to say it, so you can't say that I didn't warn you! There is no cooking involved here, so the alcohol is very much "live!" Keep an eye on any littles that may snag one of these lil' devils! They are pretty potent!

These take less than an hour to throw together, so get to rolling! You'll be the most popular person at the cookie exchange this year!