Kentucky Bourbon Balls for Derby Day

The changes I planed to make to the blog are nearly completed. Most of the advertising and clutter have been removed. I was beginning to feel like a carny shill and the chaos of it all was getting to me. I will continue to work with Jenn and Ben at The Foodie Blogroll and will place more emphasis on my Amazon Store in order to keep the blog self supporting, but I plan to keep clutter and advertizing to an absolute minimum. My Amazon Store, which I hope you will visit often, can be found in the pages underneath the blog header, along with some new features I hope you will enjoy or find useful. There is now a Master Recipe Index and there are pages for weekly and seasonal menus. The weekly menu will change every Sunday and the seasonal menus will change in accordance with holidays and/or the seasons. I will, at least for a period of time, be making a push to direct you to my social media sites.

When the Silver Fox and I swapped coasts, the cell phone was still in its infancy and social media was unheard of. If, while walking down the street, you encountered someone who appeared to be talking to themselves, you immediately assumed they were deranged and quickly moved on by. Nowadays, the world is has changed and a walk through a mall or a stroll down the street is akin to visiting the land of the exiled book lovers, who constantly recited their books in Fahrenheit 451. Everyone is wired and everyone seems to have a lot to say, so much so, that the cell phone proved not to be enough and Twitter and Facebook burst on the scene to fill the void. I claimed a small piece of territory in each, but didn't do much with either of them until now. That means I've fallen behind the times and I'm going to ask you to help me catch up by visiting my Facebook fan page or following me on Twitter. If you look in the column to the right of this post you'll see my Facebook fan page. Please pay me a visit. I have no idea of what I'll be doing there, but I promise you it will be great.I hope to see you there soon. Now, on to the recipe of the day.

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I have a whisp of a recipe to share with you today. I'm nearly out of ideas for Derby Day and I had to dig deeply into my grab-bag to find a recipe that I hadn't already shared with you. Bourbon balls are among the easiest of cookies to make and their connection to Kentucky can't be argued. Because they are festive and simple to make I thought they'd be perfect for today. I found recipes galore for their assembly, and by process of elimination, and a boatload of bourbon, I might add, I settled on this one from Bon Appetit magazine, mainly because it was a favorite of their editorial staff. There are a few tricks to their assembly, however, and I think you'll find that all cookies of this type are easier to make if you process the dry ingredients together in a food processor so the crumbs are of uniform size. It also helps to mix the Karo syrup with the bourbon before adding the liquids to the dry mixture. If the dough is too dry to form into balls don't be afraid to add a bit more bourbon. Now,  for the part that is missing from most recipes. Once the balls are formed, let them sit for 24 hours before rolling them in powdered sugar. They can be stored in an airtight for several months, and, like a good fruit cake, they are best when aged and allowed to ripen for at least six weeks before eating. I know you will enjoy these. Here is the recipe. Bottom's up!

Kentucky Bourbon Balls...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Bon Appetit magazine

Ingredients:
4 cups ground vanilla wafers, about 88 wafers
1 cup ground pecans
1 cup confectioner's sugar
3 tablespoons white Karo syrup
1/2 cup good bourbon whiskey

Directions:
Mix vanilla wafers and pecans together in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add Karo syrup and bourbon to dry mixture and process to combine. Shape into small balls, about the size of a large cherry, and roll in confectioners' sugar. Makes about 40 balls, depending on size.













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