Make these Kentucky Chocolate Bourbon Balls by dipping a bourbon-infused buttercream frosting in dark chocolate! and topping each with a pecan for a party-perfect look. They’re sweet with a little kick. Great for enjoying during the holidays or while watching the Kentucky Derby!
If you love bourbon recipes, make sure to check out this Bread Pudding with Bourbon Caramel Sauce and these Maple Bourbon Candied Pecans!
What Are Kentucky Bourbon Balls?
Kentucky Bourbon Balls were invented in 1938 by Ruth Booe, the confectioner behind Frankfort, Kentucky’s Rebecca Ruth Candies. The company still sells her original Bourbon Balls candies made with a bourbon-infused cream center that has been dipped in dark chocolate and topped with a whole pecan.
How to Make Bourbon Balls
This Bourbon Ball recipe is similar to Ruth Booe’s. Which means unlike other recipes, it doesn’t include chopped pecans, vanilla wafer crumbs, or corn syrup.
Instead you’ll use electric mixer to combine butter, powdered sugar, bourbon, salt, and vanilla extract together into a cream filling. Roll these into 1-inch balls and let those harden in the freezer. Finally, dip each bourbon ball in dark chocolate and top it with a whole pecan.
If you don’t like chocolate, you can take the hardened cream balls and roll them in powdered sugar or cocoa powder, but it’ll change the whole taste and I haven’t tested this. (If you do this, let me know in the comments how it goes!)
To make this recipe easy and accessible, I didn’t temper the chocolate, so you’ll need to store them in the fridge, but if you wish to temper the chocolate, you can store them at room temperature. Unless it’s really hot out in which case they’ll melt. Also, if you don’t have parchment paper, you can use waxed paper instead. I just have 200 pre-cut sheets of parchment on hand, so it’s my go-to.
What Kind of Bourbon Should I Use?
Everyone always says, don’t use the good stuff when you bake! But, since these are no-bake balls, I think it really behooves you to use your favorite bourbon as you’ll be adding a 1/4 cup of bourbon and the flavor will come through. That said, if you want to call them Kentucky Bourbon Balls, you should use Kentucky Bourbon.
A few Kentucky Bourbons to consider for this recipe:
- Buffalo Trace
- Blanton’s
- Evan Williams (what Rebecca Ruth’s use)
- Maker’s Mark
- Weller
- Woodford Reserve
What If I Don’t Like Bourbon?
Uh, try a different recipe? Or, you could swap out the bourbon in the recipe for rum and make rum balls. I’d like to find a way to make tequila balls as tequila and absinthe are my other two favorite spirits, but experimenting with one liquor at a time seemed wise so I didn’t end up like this tipsy music note.
Troubleshooting Tips
As you can see in the comments below, this recipe has caused trouble for some folx! If you’re having trouble with getting the filling to harden, here are some tips that might solve the problem. Watch the video below before making them (it’s like, a minute long) as that may help too.
- Use slightly cold butter. I tend to take butter out of the fridge then zap it in the microwave for 5 seconds, turn it over, then zap for 5 more seconds. This is warm enough for the recipe.
- Use a dry measuring cup to measure the bourbon. Our friend found that using a liquid measuring cup resulted in more bourbon, and therefore, a more liquid filling.
- Measure before sifting. If you don’t want to sift, you might get clumps. If you measure after sifting, you won’t have enough confectioner’s sugar.
Kentucky Bourbon Balls Recipe
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 3½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp. coarse kosher salt
- ¼ cup Kentucky bourbon (measure in dry measuring cup)
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 40 whole pecans
Instructions
- Sift powdered sugar.
- Combine butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract in electric mixer on medium speed until it is fully combined.
- Add salt and bourbon and mix until combined. Place mixing bowl in fridge for 30 minutes.
- Scoop into 1-inch balls and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or waxed paper.
- Place baking sheet in freezer for 30 minutes.
- Melt chocolate and coconut oil in microwave for up to 3 minutes at 50% power. Stir every 30 seconds until fully melted.
- Use dipping fork or toothpick to dip frozen balls in chocolate. Place each on parchment paper and top with a pecan.
Notes
- Keep the chocolate warm and smooth. Add 1-2 more tablespoons of coconut oil or rewarm in microwave at 50% power as needed.
- The butter should be cold or room temperature, not warm.
- Measure the bourbon in a dry measuring cup.
- Watch our video to see how we make them!
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These look delicious!
YUM! These truffles look and sound so delicious! The bourbon addition must be so good and I bet these smell amazing too!
Wow, bet the flavour of these is incredible! Definitely going to have to give these a try as a different dessert option one day!
These look so yummy, great for a party or as a gift!
Talk abut decadent!
I’m thinking these will take front stage at next year’s Kentucky Derby party!
Great recipe … Made a batch of bourbon balls and liked it so much I decided to experiment and replaced the bourbon with Diplomatico Rum and made rum balls with an almond on top. These will be a holiday staple from now on.
I’m so glad you liked those! Rum balls sound pretty incredible… might have to try them!
I followed the recipe but they were too creamy to roll into balls. It tasted good though when I licked the goo off my fingers. Then I added more powered sugar and they were too crumbly to form into balls. I triple checked that I measured correctly. Any suggestions?
Hi Dana! Thanks for leaving a comment. Did you freeze them for 30 minutes?
try adding more butter. or use your favorite butter cream recipe
I tried twice to make these and both times the consistency was not firm enough to roll in balls or even dip in the chocolate. The first time I added more butter like a previous commenter suggested. The second time I added more sugar. Freezing them longer didn’t work. I wasted a lot of time and ingredients. I’m sorry to give this such a poor rating but I’m just giving my honest review of this.
Oh no! I’m so sorry! We will test the recipe one more time and try and sort what’s up.
Kentuckian here! Yeah…we don’t acknowledge those faux balls with extra stuff inside to stabilize. Yuck. These are melt in your mouth awesome, so they’re also melt in your hand delicate. My truck is keep a bag of frozen peas on the counter so I can wipe hands, get them COLD, roll another.
Can you use milk chocolate instead of dark?
Definitely!
How long will they last in refrigerator?
Hi! You can definitely use milk instead (I just prefer dark as they’re pretty sweet as is.) They should last at least a week in a sealed container in the fridge.
These look beautiful and taste fantastic! I do prefer the double boiler method over microwave for melting chocolate, that way I can keep chocolate warm as I work. Followed the recipe otherwise and they were perfect, thank you!
I often find that the frosting interior is too soft to roll into balls, so I’ve tried a different method-I use a wide frosting tip to pipe the filling into long ropes, then once they’re firmed up in the freezer I use a sharp knife dipped in hot water to slice them into thick medallions (think Rolo sized) before dipping them. The finished product is slightly less rounded on top, but it’s much easier and saves a lot of mess!
I’m making your bourbon balls and bought melting chocolate instead of chocolate chips. Would I still need to add the coconut oil?
I’ve been a fan of the Rebecca Ruth Bourbon Balls for a while, but they’re so darn expensive. Decided to give this recipe a shot and so glad I did. My husband swears they’re even better than the original. Coincidentally, my name is actually Rebecca Ruth, so I can still call them Rebecca Ruth’s Bourbon Balls! Thanks for the recipe, it’s going in my permanent file.
Super unfortunate! I followed this recipe exactly only to discover that the filling is WAY too liquid-y to form into a ball whatsoever (following refrigerating the mixture for 30 minutes). Thinking I did something wrong, I checked some of the comments to find out that several others had the same problem. I tried several things to salvage the recipe including attempting to freeze the mixture but no real luck. The flavor was spot on so I’m disappointed they will not turn out. Definitely search for an alternate recipe.
Bennett, I’m so sorry! I’m trying to figure out what’s going on with this recipe. I’ve remade it a few times since and it always works for me, but I have noticed some other folks have had issues as well. I’m going to make a video in the hope that helps!
Made today 12/02/2020 and almost as good as Rebecca’s. Know our N.C. will love our taste of Kentucky.
Thank you so much!!!
Could it be that some are using salted versus unsalted butter?
I saw several people had issues with consistency. I am wondering if humidity might be the issue. I know that affects some other candies.
Made these and turned out great! Native Kentucky girl and my Louisiana friends love Rebecca Ruth’s candies! I’m excited for them to try them on Monday!
I can’t get the bourbon with the powdered sugar to harden. It’s been in the fridge for about 3 hours now. Any advise?
Hi Rob – I think the hardening issue is because of moisture/humidity. If you don’t mind me asking, what part of the country are you in? I’ve never had trouble with these, but I think it’s because I live in Los Angeles, where it’s very dry, so I’m trying to problem solve this!
Try adding more powdered sugar until the mixture holds together (unfortunately, this means throwing them back into the mixing bowl). I’d say start with 1/4 cup and go from there. They’ll be a little sweeter, but they should hold together.
Thank you for the recipe, I made 3 batches the first plain with Woodford Reserve, the 2nd with Beam Vanilla and the 3rd with St Elmos cherry bourbon (makers) and added chopped cherries. All dipped in dark chocolate. They were yummy.
Just finished making these Kentucky bourbon balls. They turned out great. Consistency was great. I like your recipe, only thing is I soaked the pecan halves in bourbon. I followed your advice and measured and then sifted. This will be a keeper recipe. I’ve always wanted a good bourbon ball candy recipe. Thanks.
I buy Rebecca Ruth candy ( bourbon balls) whenever we visit my son in Frankfort, Kentucky. They have an amazing selection to choose from.
Kathy, I seriously need to try that approach with the pecans! It sounds fantastic. I’m so glad you liked the recipe and that the tips helped 🙂
I imagine they do! There’s so many delicious bourbons down there. You might also enjoy this other bourbon recipe of ours: https://www.letseatcake.com/easy-bread-pudding-bourbon-caramel-sauce/
Happy holidays!
Lost my Ky Bourbon receipt and found yours. Can’t wait to make them like I have years ag. I would soak my pecans and use them as the topper also!!!! I never had an issue making them
Can’t find the video. Thanks
Hi Sandy,
The video should be directly under the header “How to Make Kentucky Bourbon Balls.” 🙂
I tried this recipe tonight to make a day ahead of a couples dinner tomorrow evening which is bourbon themed. I used a small baking scoop to drop uniform sized balls onto the parchment paper after setting in the fridge for 30 minutes. It worked great! They were perfectly shaped and great for dipping. I may have worked too slowly with dipping since the last few thawed a bit too much to dip. Those because my flavor testers…YUM!!
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I will be making this again. I used Redemption Wheated Bourbon this time. Next batch will be Four Roses Small Batch. 🙂
Delicious! Came out great. I did add a little more powdered sugar.
I’m a Kentucky girl born and raised and I know like with some other candies the humidity affects making these a lot… Will give it a good try and let you know how they turned out..????