Woodford Reserve Bourbon Balls ~ A sweet Father's Day Treat


Our daddy loves bourbon. Since I met the Mister, bourbon has been a drink of choice. A couple of years ago, he and some friends headed to Kentucky for a bachelor party bourbon trail tour. He had a great time for obvious reasons, but came home with a new love, appreciation and fascination with bourbon. Our liquor cabinet went from having a selection of 2-3 bourbons to probably 6 or 7 choices at any given time. Blanton's, Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace & 1792 are just a few favorites you'll find in our cabinet.

With Father's Day being just around the corner, I took to Pinterest for some gift ideas. I had already bought him a gift (a New York Mets Fanchest), so I was looking for something I could make him. Last weekend we spent some time with our dear friends who live in Spring, Texas (just outside of Houston). It just so happens that these friends are also bourbon drinkers; so lots of stories about the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, drink recipes/concoctions & cooking/baking were had. Good thing I was listening, because I happen to hear the Mister going on about how much he liked the bourbon balls served at some of the distilleries on the trail...and that's where the idea for our "sweet Father's Day treat" came from. 





Bourbon Balls
yields approximately 36 balls

Ingredients:

3/4 cup chopped pecans 
3 Tbs Woodford Reserve Kentucky Bourbon
1/4 cup of butter, softened
3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
16 oz semi sweet chocolate (I prefer Ghirardelli)
* optional toppings- pecan halves, sea salt, chopped pecans, walnuts, almonds, cocoa, confectioners sugar

Directions:

1. In a small mixing bowl, mix bourbon and chopped pecans. Allow to sit and soak for 1 hour.
2. While pecans are soaking, cream butter and sugar with mixer until smooth.
3. Once pecans have finished soaking in bourbon, mix into creamed butter and sugar mix. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.
4. Roll into 1 inch balls, place on cookie sheet and cover with wax paper. Allow balls to chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.
5. Melt chocolate in microwave in 30 second intervals. Stirring after each interval. I use a small serving fork to dip each ball in chocolate covering completely. Hold ball over bowl to allow excess chocolate to fall off before placing back on sheet pan to cool. If you are using an additional topping (i.e. pecan halves), now is the time to put those toppings on.

I am so excited to give these to our bourbon loving daddy for Father's Day. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chicken Pesto Flatbread

Image
I have recently become a big fan of pesto. Yum-O. I am going to be completely honest and tell you that this recipe was inspired by the "Chicken Pesto Toasted Flatbreads" at Tropical Smoothie. I ate there for the first time last Friday and was blown away by the deliciousness of this flat bread. I knew that I would have to replicate it very soon...and I did just that tonight. What you'll need: -Chicken: I used cutlets since they were thinner and smaller. I actually oven baked my cutlets in foil pockets at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. -Flat bread: I found 5 Grain Foldit Artisan Flat bread in the deli section at Publix. It was delicious and the best part, only 90 calories! -Pesto: I was originally going to make my pesto, but then stumbled upon Monterey's Basil with Almonds and Pine Nuts Pesto. It was in the refrigerated section near the eggs and refrigerated pastas (at least in my Publix). - Mozzarella Cheese: I used Publix brand low fat. - Optional: lettuce, tomat...
Read more

Quick and Easy Chicken Enchiladas (21 Day Fix Inspired Recipe)

Image
Here's another quick, easy and healthier meal option to try. This was my first time preparing and I have to say, it was pretty easy. I will definitely make again, but would make a homemade enchilada sauce instead of store bought. Time and preparation were not on my side when I was shopping for this meal. Like a lot of my recipes, I like to cheat to make things easier. In this case, it was buying a rotisserie chicken and store bought enchilada sauce from Fresh Market. I found this recipe at There's Always Time 4 Fitness . It's a 21 Day Fix recipe. Mine is a slight variation. She does a great job of breaking down all the containers. I encourage you to check out her post if you are following the container portion of the 21 Day Fix. Adapted from There's Always Time 4 Fitness *I used all of the white meat from the rotisserie **2 enchiladas is 1 serving Ingredients: 1 red container of shredded chicken (I used rotisserie chicken from Fresh Market). 1 tsp of So...
Read more