No-Bake Vegan Rum Balls Recipe

hand picking up a vegan rum ball from a stack

5 from 13 votes

This Vegan Rum Balls recipe helps bring on some old-fashioned nostalgia that you're whole family will love. The rum gives a strong bite, but the edges quickly get tamed by a nutty sweetness. No bake, ready in 20 minutes making it an easy, fun dessert for the holidays.

Prep Time20

Total Time20

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: All

Diet: Low Calorie, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: Balls

Calories: 184kcal

Author: Deborah

Equipment

1-inch cookie scoop
large mixing bowl
3 small mixing bowls
rubber spatula
food-safe gloves
measuring cups
measuring spoons
parchment paper
Baking sheet 9x13 inch

Ingredients

5 cups vanilla wafers finely crushed
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup walnuts finely chopped
1/2 cup spiced rum
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp sea salt

Toppings

1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup vanilla wafers finely crushed
1/2 cup walnuts

Instructions

Before you begin, line a 9×13 baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients, including crushed vanilla wafers, salt and finely chopped walnuts.
Sift powdered sugar and cocoa powder into the walnut mixture. Stir until thoroughly combined.
In a small mixing bowl, combine corn syrup and rum. Mix until syrup is dissolved.
Pour over the vanilla wafer mixture and mix until you start to get a thick consistency.
Grab your rubber gloves and, without too much smashing, finish combining the mixture with your hands. It will be similar to cookie dough.
Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, scoop into hands and roll the mixture into 1-inch small balls. Then, place them on your prepared baking sheet.
Choose your toppings and place in small bowls. Once you’re ready to coat them, gently re-roll the balls to make sure they are smooth before rolling them in the toppings.
Alternate dipping into plain powdered sugar and a cocoa powder mixture (think mixing cocoa powder and powdered sugar together or whatever you desire). Place them back on the cookie sheet and enjoy.

Notes

It’s a good idea to make sure your cookie crumbs and chopped walnuts are of a fine crumb consistency. You want them to be similar to dry sand so they mix into your ingredients effortlessly. You can also add them in the bowl of a food processor and pulse for a few seconds to achieve this.
As the rum balls sit, the bottoms will flatten a bit. This is ok because they won’t roll around all over the place when serving them.
If you’re mixture is dry before rolling into balls, add about 1/2 teaspoon of rum at a time until it reaches the right consistency. Don’t want to add more rum? Simply substitute with a little bit of hot water.
If you roll a ball and hold it in your hand and it seems to slowly melt, your mixture is too soft. Simply add more crushed cookies, 1/4 cup at a time until a sandy mixture is reached.
It’s important to note these don’t go into the oven for baking, which means the alcohol is not reduced in any manner. These are best for the 21 and over crowd, or whatever age is the legal drinking age in your area.
You can make without rum, simply substitute with 1-2 teaspoons of rum extract or rum essence. That way you maintain that rum flavour, with less alcohol.
Add extra protein to vegan rum balls by adding a couple tablespoons of plant-based protein powder. You may have to adjust the amount of liquid you use, like the rum or water, to make sure your dough isn’t too dry.
To make this NON-ALCOHOLIC and safe for kids, simply omit the alcohol altogether and/or substitute with this non-alcoholic rum.

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