I took a stroll down memory lane today, working on a double batch of bourbon balls. In my mother’s kitchen, we made what today I’d consider a huge variety of Xmas sweets, but I manage only one or two.
At the top of the list is bourbon balls. No bake.
I learned to make them in pre-food-processor days, and I remember crushing vanilla wafers in a plastic bag with a rolling pin, cookie dust seeping out here and there, making a bit of a mess. I remember long sessions with the Big Knife, chopping the pecans to the right size. I remember sifting the powdered sugar and cocoa together, wheeling the handle round and round, to leave tiny gravely bits in the screen.
Now I do each of those steps in the food processor, zip zip, and I’m left with the contemplative time, amidst the bourbon fumes, rolling the spheres and dredging them in more of the white powder, and putting them away, at least temporarily.
This year, the film cans, now lined with fresh wax paper, have come to my household from Mom’s kitchen, and once again they will store our bourbon balls and Xmas goodies for both bold and surreptitious hands to nab through the season.
If you’re so moved, here’s my version of the recipe, so you can assemble the ingredients and have your own version of reflective time while you roll the spheres. Optional: find one or more friends to do this in a group, talking and laughing.