REAL RUM BALLS

I like this story because it is true. I worked at Springs Industries for 25 years. It started out as Regent Mills and then changed hands. This is in Calhoun, GA. I worked in the dye house stacking rugs and then moved to dye weigher and kept it up for 17 years. I had a friend who worked on first shift named Irene Colfax. She made alot of Christmas candy and one recipe was for was rum balls. I talked her into giving me the recipe. Well, I had never done any cooking with rum or any other kind of alcohol so when the recipe called for rum, that is what I used. My first husband was a drinker and it just so happened that he had some 151 Rum for mixed drinks and I sneaked out 1/2 cup for the candy. I mixed everything up and put it in a tin Christmas box for the flavors to meld until the Chrismas party at work. When I opened the box to sample one, the fumes almost knocked me down. Since it was a party, we just ate them anyway. We all were a little tipsy by the time the party was over. I never made them again for a Christmas party. Needless to say, I  don't use 151 rum anymore for Christmas cooking. I found a cooking rum to use and then I found rum flavoring for the kids.

RUM BALLS

5 cups of vanilla wafer crumbs or graham cracker crumbs
1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts
1 cup confection sugar
1/2 cup of rum or brandy*
1/4 cup of Karo syrup
2 Tbs. cocoa

Combine all ingredients and mix well with your hands. Shape into  balls and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
Roll in confection sugar and store in a Christmas tin for about a week and serve. I make them the day after Thanksgiving and let them sit until Christmas.

I mix 1 tsp. rum flavoring in 1/2 cup of warm water instead of the rum for the kids.