Rum Balls

This recipe always brings me back to my childhood. Every Christmas Eve, without fail, we would spend the time with my Mom's side of the family. A huge dinner was served, the entire family was there, we opened a bunch of presents and these rum balls were served as kind of an appetizer, middle of the meal and after meal treat. My wonderful Aunt Irene would always bring these little chocolate confections to the festivities along with some other tasty treats. Although there were other cookies to dive into, I was always enamored with these little balls of nuts, rum and chocolate. I was a little skeptical about them as a very young child and as I got older, they became my favorite treat. Go figure! My Mom's side of the family no longer gathers for the holidays which makes me a little sad. To compensate for sparser yule-tide gatherings, I make these rum balls to bring back the happy memories. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 jar or 7 1/2 ounces marshmallow fluff
1 container sweetened condensed milk
2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup drained and chopped maraschino cherries
1 tablespoon dark rum
2 cups crushed graham crackers
cinnamon and sugar for coating

Method:

Melt chocolate and fluff in a double boiler. Let cool slightly and mix in condensed milk and combine until completely incorporated. Mix in rum and add more to taste.

Zap nuts, maraschino cherries, and graham crackers in a food processor. Mix the nut mixture in with the chocolate mixture and combine.

Refrigerate mixture until completely cool. Roll by teaspoons into balls and coat with crushed nuts or cinnamon and sugar mixtures.