Celebrate the Holidays with Kentucky Bourbon Balls

There are as many bourbon ball recipes as there are race horses in Kentucky. Kentucky cooks have attempted over the years to duplicate Ruth's recipe. You'll find varying recipes of the candy on the Internet and in Southern cookbooks. One recipe is made with rolled vanilla wafers. I made this recipe many years ago, but forget how they tasted, but I do know they are cake-like. This is not a true Kentucky Bourbon Ball. Ruth's invention is a candy bonbon.

I present you with one of the recipes for Kentucky Bourbon Balls. My first attempt at duplicating the "Real McCoy" was a combination of success and failure. They tasted great, but were a bit misshapen. Evidently there is a science to making these candies.

The trick is to keep the chocolate at an even temperature. I melted my chocolate chips in the microwave, and the first few were a success, but as the chocolate began to cool, it began to lump up. Re-microwaving it just made matters worse. Therefore, I'm going to order one of the chocolate melting pots seen here from Amazon: most likely the Wilton. If you are also interested in purchasing one, read the reviews first.

I modified the Kentucky Bourbon Balls recipe found in Best of the Best from Kentucky Cookbook. They got the recipe from The Kentucky Derby Museum Cook Book. The original recipe uses 4 ounces semisweet chocolate and 4 ounces bitter chocolate. It also calls for refrigerating the cream mixture overnight after forming it into balls.

The modifications that could be made to the cream mixture are limitless. Leave out the bourbon and use mint chocolate chips or flavor the cream mixture with mint. Try orange, maple or any flavor you like. You could also use white chocolate or butterscotch chips. Some people use rum in place of the bourbon. Experiment around and perfect the bonbons to your liking.