Maple-Pecan Bourbon Balls Recipe (2024)

Fortunately for all of us my husband is a mathematician! The amount if vanilla wafers you need here is 60 wafers (“Nilla Wafers”). The recipe is confusing because it is 8 oz. in weight measurement 225 grams. Everything else is in cups except the cookies so we a tually did the math and figured it out. It’s about 3/4 of the box, not and 8 oz. cup!

Love this recipe -- fabulous result! Note: I found the yields to be off. I could see right away that one-TBS scoops would yield far less than 2 1/2 dozen, so I made them smaller (more like the size of a typical chocolate truffle) and got 26. But I was left with enough melted chocolate to make another half-batch. (I weighed ingredients rather than using cups, so couldn't have been off.) I used half 72% cacao chocolate & half 85% -- perfect sweetness! A 100-g bar of each should suffice. Thanks!

I did mine with graham crackers instead of vanilla wafers and that worked just fine. I doubt the difference is noticeable. Wouldn't recommend rolling in powdered sugar until DIRECTLY before serving because the dough is moist and soaks through the sugar in a couple hours, leaving a sticky light brown residue on the outside. Tastes just fine that way! Just an FYI if you care about the appearance.

Growing up, I'd get bourbon balls from the bakery down the block from my elementary school, but I hadn't tasted one in decades until I made these last night–and they taste precisely the same! I used "Four Roses" bourbon. The admonition against chocolate chips is to be followed: I didn't listen, and my first batch's chocolate coating suffered as a result, far too gloppy. My bakery topped its bourbon balls with sanding sugar, as I did: it lends a satisfying crunch and a pop of color.

I found a video about how to coat these without the "chocolate puddle footprint on the bottom" that Louise refers to below. Can't wait to try it. Here's the link: https://www.saveur.com/article/Video/VIDEO-How-to-Dip-Truffles/

You can put the wafers in a plastic ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin or anything else that's heavy. Pour the crumbs into a bowl and do the rest by hand. That's how my mom did it in the days before we had a food processor.

To make these Gluten-free, I used Midel Gluten Free arrowroot cookies (227 gram pkg) along with Daniel’s dark cocoa and Belcolade Belgian Dark Chocolate Noir for the coating. To get the yield outlined, each ball is approximately 20-21 grams of cookie and nut mixture. I also milled granules of maple sugar to the tops of them before the chocolate set. Yummy! I will be making these again.

Wouldn't recommend rolling in powdered sugar until DIRECTLY before serving because the dough is moist and soaks through the sugar in a couple hours, leaving a sticky light brown residue on the outside.

Why not rum?

Made these and they are delicious. I used a 7.5oz box of gluten free graham crackers, so increased the nuts slightly to offset losing the half ounce of cookies. Followed the rest of the recipe and they are fudgy and fantastic, just a whiff of bourbon.

These were as good as Melissa Clark’s fudge bourbon balls, easier to procure ingredients when I couldn’t find the chocolate wafer cookies! Used BSB 103 bourbon, a perfect cooking bourbon! When bourbon balls had set briefly, used three different finishes. A third I rolled in confectioners sugar, another third dipped in melted chocolate (from bar chocolate, thinned a little with coconut oil) and topped with a pecan, and another third rolled in crushed pecans.

A variation worth trying: Golden Syrup as the sweetener. If amounts are adjusted to use 11 oz of Nilla wafers (and other ingredients accordingly), yield is approx 48 fabulously delicious bourbon balls. I omit chocolate dipping in favor of a bit of tinted icing sugar. They are great to start with and certainly improve over time, if you can stand to let them season for a week or 10 days...

We didn't have vanilla wafers. Made this in a pinch when another dessert fell through. We used ikea ginger snaps and shortbread cookies (3:1) instead and it was awesome. The ginger gave it a nice zing. Refrigerating the dough helps.

Can someone tell me for sure if this recipe uses “nilla wafers”? Or, “vanilla wafers”? As far as I know they are different things. Thx!

These come together quickly and I did not have any problems dipping the cookies in chocolate. I also used a gluten free cookie. My husband loves them~

My mom made these every Christmas. Because my husband prefers tequila guy, my daughter started making these for him with tequila and rolls them in coconut flakes instead of coating with chocolate. They never last long.

Have made these several times and they are a huge hit for Christmas! This year I used the Siete Mexican Chocolate Cookies to make these gluten-free. You can also use rum instead of bourbon.

Super easy to make — only came to comment and say of course you can use chocolate chips. I found it odd the recipe says otherwise. Chocolate melts in any form. 10/10!

I really wanted to make these but didn’t have the wafers. I scraped the filling from a sleeve of Oreos…not enough, then added a few graham crackers… still short so threw in an ice cream cone to make the 8oz weight. I added a tiny bit of veg oil to the chocolate after melting which gives it a nice sheen. Added a few sugar sprinkles to the tops as they were drying. Very pretty and tasty despite my weird cookie combo.

I am really surprised that the highest rated tip is from someone who lacks basic knowledge in reading a recipe. 8 ounces is a WEIGHT measurement, NOT a volume measurement. If the NYT wanted you to use a volume measurement, it would have been in Cups. Nilla Wafers come in an 11 ounce box, so yes, 8 ounces will be about 3/4 of the box. But just weight the Nilla Wafers.FYI: An eight ounce cup of water (volume) will weigh eight ounces, bakers accept this truth to apply to milk and butter as well.

Delicious! Followed the recipe as directed.

These were simple to prepare and a big hit. I added a few sprinkles to the tops before the chocolate set. Better the second day once the flavors marry.

These were as good as Melissa Clark’s fudge bourbon balls, easier to procure ingredients when I couldn’t find the chocolate wafer cookies! Used BSB 103 bourbon, a perfect cooking bourbon! When bourbon balls had set briefly, used three different finishes. A third I rolled in confectioners sugar, another third dipped in melted chocolate (from bar chocolate, thinned a little with coconut oil) and topped with a pecan, and another third rolled in crushed pecans.

Used way more cookies, almost broke the food processor!

These are insanely delicious. So easy to make it’s not really fair to other cookies. We made these to give in Holiday cookie boxes and they were a favorite ( and my other cookie box cookies are awesome). Highly recommend making at least a day ahead- they get even better as they sit

Perfect! Easy prep, tasty, special without any fuss. Measured all dry ingredients by weight. Yield was 29x 1-tablespoon balls (measured with a tablespoon measuring spoon, released with a silicon spatula). I started out thinking that 250 g of melted chocolate would be too much, then I thought too little; in the end, it was just right. Definitely will make these again.