This recipe brings back strong Christmas memories for me – I am not even sure I ever liked these (if I’m honest) but because my mom made them several times at Christmastime, I can’t help but have the urge to make them every once in a while. I’ve adapted mom’s recipe somewhat and I think I like them better this way – they are still very “rum forward” but I find the almond extract helps cut the alcohol’s potency.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find completely dairy-free wafers – the ones I bought had whey powder.

Ingredients

• 2 pkgs vanilla wafers to make 8 cups of crumbs (in a food processor or high power blender)
• 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped and melted
• 1/2 cup vegan sour cream
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
• 3/4 cup Earth Balance, melted
• 3/4 cup rum
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1 1/2 tsp almond extract

Yield: 2-3 dozen rum balls

In a very large bowl, mix together the melted chocolate, vegan sour cream and salt. Then mix in all the other ingredients with a spoon or your hands. This will be like a thick soup. Put in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

When the “dough” is cold and stiff, shape into 1” balls and roll them in chocolate sprinkles. Keep cold or frozen as they will spoil easily at room temperature.