Do you love Bourbon balls, rum balls or brandy balls? I absolutely love them! They are all sooo good! Now, imagine a bourbon ball and a chocolate cake getting married – the kid would be more like a boozy truffle with a brownie-like consistency. Oooooo yumm! And say, you bite into one and find a surprise in there – juicy Maraschino cherries – BOOM! You have found a whole new level of yumness! That’s just what these Bourbon Cherry Bombs are – fudgy, boozy, juicy, truly spectacular, deeply indulgent chocolate treats! Ok, that’s a lot of adjectives! Lol! Hopefully, you got my point – it’s the best kind of bourbon balls! Period.
Bourbon Cherry Bombs are a perfect treat for the holiday season, Valentine’s day and any celebration, for that matter! Whenever I make these, I make a non-alcoholic version for my daughter as well. (Read the substitutions and variations section for the deets.) She loves them!
Culture facts
Did you know Bourbon balls are a regional delicacy from southern United States? Bourbon is an American whiskey made in the US, generally Kentucky. There are different variations for the filling, but mostly they are made of crushed wafers, nuts, bourbon, corn syrup and chocolate. No cherries.
Rum balls, on the other hand, are mostly made of cake or cookie crumbs, chocolate and rum. Again, there are several variations – each household has a different way of making rum balls. Rum balls, however, are part of local traditions in many countries. They are a popular Christmas treat in England, Canada, the US, Germany, Hungary, Austria, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Greece, Australia and New Zealand. Denmark has a variety of rum ball with cherry inside as well, and coated with shredded coconut – they are enjoyed not only for Christmas, but all year.
Recipes vary from region to region and household to household. These Bourbon Cherry Bombs are my variation – not specific to any region.
Substitutions and Variations
- Play around with the liquor types for variety. You can substitute the bourbon with any whiskey, rum or brandy. I have made these cherry bombs with Canadian Whiskey, Spiced Rum and Cognac.
- For the non-alcoholic version of these cherry bombs, you can substitute with apple juice, white grape juice or imitation rum extract. When I use apple juice or grape juice, I also like to add some non-alcoholic vanilla extract to add depth to the flavors. Many stores carry non-alcoholic preserved cherries – just make sure to check the ingredients before buying.
- For the cake, you can use any leftover chocolate or yellow cake you have. Chocolate cake is our favorite. I often use boxed cake mixes and bake a fresh chocolate cake to make these cherry bombs because I can make more of them that way! Just make sure you cool the cake completely before crumbling.
- Coatings: For variations in appearance and slightly in taste, you can coat bourbon balls with powdered sugar or unsweetened cocoa powder or desiccated shredded coconut or crushed (or powdered) nuts. Or simply dip the bourbon cherry bombs in melted chocolate – our favorite! If you are making gift boxes with these cherry bombs, I highly recommend an assortment of different coatings – it’s very pretty and looks fancy!
How to melt chocolate
You can melt chocolate on a stove or in the microwave oven.
To melt chocolate on a stove, we need to use the double boiling method, that is in simple words – heating over a water bath. There are kitchen tools called double boilers that you can buy from stores specifically for this purpose. But, it’s basically just a pot over a pot. Most people make a double boiling set up with the pots they already have. Pour a few inches of water into a pot. Then, place a heat-proof bowl (or pot) over the first pot such that it fits snugly on the pot and the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Bring the water to a boil and simmer. The steam from the water will help melt the chocolate. Add chocolate chips to the top bowl and stir with a heat-proof spoon / spatula. Keep stirring till all the chocolate chips have melted.
To melt chocolate chips using microwave oven, place the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave oven on HIGH for 30 seconds. Remove the bowl and stir. Repeat heating in increments of 10 – 15 seconds and stirring until all of the chocolate has melted.
How to store Bourbon Cherry Bombs
Store bourbon cherry bombs in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 10 days. It hasn’t lasted more than that in our house as we finish them all by then! Haha!
Don’t forget to check out the rest of my Christmas recipes! If you are a chocolate lover, be sure to try my Nutella Hot Chocolate!
Bourbon Cherry Bombs
Ingredients
- 4 cups Crumbled Chocolate cake * (leftover cake, or freshly baked and cooled cake. I use boxed chocolate cake mix most often.)
- 4 tbsp Bourbon Whiskey * (adjust to desired taste and consistency)
- ½ cup Chocolate Chips
- 18 nos Maraschino Cherries / Preserved Cherries (or more depending on the number and size of balls you make)
To melt chocolate over stove (Double Boiler Method)
- Water (enough to fill up to 1 or 2 inches in the pot)
To coat Bourbon Cherry Bombs (Options)
- Powdered Sugar / Icing Sugar
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Powdered or Crushed Nuts
- Desiccated Shredded Coconut
- Chocolate chips (to make melted chocolate)
Instructions
- Crumble cake into a mixing bowl.
- Melt chocolate chips on the stove (double-boiler method) or in microwave oven.
- Add Bourbon whiskey and melted chocolate into the crumbled cake.
- Mix together until combined and the cake crumbs turn into a moist dough-like consistency.
- Taste and mix in more bourbon whiskey if you'd like it to be more boozy, ensuring the dough still holds together to form balls.
- Roll the mixture into balls.
- Place a ball on your palm and flatten it by pressing with the other hand.
- Place a cherry at the centre of the flattened ball.
- Mould the dough around the cherry and roll it into a ball.
- Place the cherry-stuffed ball on a tray / baking sheet lined with parchment sheet.
- Repeat the steps until all the dough has been rolled into cherry-stuffed balls.
- Serve plain or with a coating of melted chocolate or dry coatings such as powdered sugar / unsweetened cocoa powder / desiccated shredded coconut / powdered or crushed nuts.
Coating with Melted Chocolate
- Melt chocolate chips on the stove (double-boiler method) or in microwave oven.
- Using a fork and spoon, dip the bourbon balls into the melted chocolate and roll to coat all over.
- Place the chocolate covered balls on a tray or baking sheet lined with parchment sheet. Leave to harden.
Coating with Dry ingredients
- Roll the bourbon balls in the dry ingredients (powdered sugar / unsweetened cocoa powder / desiccated shredded coconut / powdered or crushed nuts) until covered completely.
These sound so delicious! I love the idea of combining the cherries with the chocolate and the bourbon — I’ll have to try them this holiday season.
You should definitely give it a go! They are the best! 🙂
So…yummy!
Yummy!!!
Well presented.
Want to make this soon.
Thank you so much! 🙂
Always nice to have some treats that the kids can’t touch😉. Such a delicious idea!
Haha! Yeah! There are substitutes for kid-friendly version in the recipe card if at all you change your mind 🙂
Bourbon Cherry Bombs are my favourite! Thanks for including kid friendly options!
That’s awesome! More like a celebration when we have something similar for the kids too, right? 🙂
These look and sound amazing. Perfect for the holidays!
Thanks Julia! 🙂 Yesss, so good for the holidays and for any celebration!