Chocolate Bourbon Balls

Abby Dodge, who was on Good Food this week, shares a recipe for her Grown-up Chocolate Bourbon Balls from her new book Desserts 4 Today. Amazingly enough, all the recipes contain just 4 ingredients. Recipe after the jump…

Makes 24 Bourbon Balls

6 oz chocolate (bittersweet or semisweet), chopped

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut up

3-4 Tablespoons Bourbon

2 cups crisp vanilla wafer cookies, finely crushed

1. Have ready a large, flat plate and make room in the fridge.

2. Heat the chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan or in the microwave in a medium bowl until just melted. Add the bourbon and stir until smooth and blended. Pour in 1 1⁄2 cups of the crushed cookies (save the remainder for coating). Stir until well blended.

3. Refrigerate until chilled and firm enough to shape, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes (for faster chilling, pop the bowl in the freezer).

4. Pour the remaining 1⁄2 cup crushed cookies into a small bowl. Shape the dough into 1 1⁄4-inch balls. Roll each ball in the remaining cookies until lightly coated and set on the plate. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve or for up to 4 days. Serve slightly chilled.

Switch-Ins

In place of the bourbon, switch in one of the following:

*orange juice or water, 3 tablespoons

*other liqueur (dark rum, amaretto, orange liqueur, Frangelico®, etc.), 3 to 4 tablespoons

In place of the crushed vanilla wafer cookies, switch in one or a combination of two of the following to equal 2 cups:

*graham cracker crumbs

*gingersnap cookie crumbs

*chocolate wafer crumbs

*amaretti cookie crumbs

*finely chopped nuts (hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, almonds, macadamias), lightly toasted

Gussy It Up

Roll the bourbon balls in chopped pistachios instead of cookie crumbs.