Chocolate Rum Snowballs

Ingredients

• 1 box vanilla wafers , 11-ounce
• 0.75 cups confectioners sugar , plus more for rolling
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 0.25 cups dark chocolate chips , or finely chopped dark chocolate
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 0.33 cups plus 1 tablespoon rum , plus more as needed

Instructions

1. 1

   Combine vanilla wafers, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips in a food processor. Pulse on and off until mixture is finely ground.

2. 2

   Add maple syrup and rum. Pulse until mixture comes together to form a stiff, but moldable dough. If mixture is too dry to scoop and roll balls, add more rum, a little at a time, and pulse again, until the proper texture is reached.

3. 3

   Scoop out portions of dough and roll into smooth balls. The ideal size is between 1 and 1 1/2 inches. Place on a plate; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the white chocolate coating.

4. 4

   Place coconut in a shallow bowl; set aside.

5. 5

   Place a heat-proof (metal or glass) bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water over low heat. Reserve about 20% of white chocolate to stir in later; place the rest in the bowl, and let sit, without stirring, until almost all the pieces are melted. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the chocolate should read 105 degrees F (41 degrees C). Add in reserved white chocolate, and stir until smooth and runny.

6. 6

   Drop a rum ball into white chocolate. Use 2 forks to roll it around to coat, then lift out, letting excess chocolate drip off. Drop into the bowl of coconut; toss to coat. Using your hands, do the final shaping, pressing coconut lightly into coating. Transfer to a plate. Repeat until all rum balls are coated. Place the bowl of white chocolate back over hot water if it begins to harden.

7. 7

   Wrap and refrigerate until needed. Rum balls are best made ahead and left to "age." Can be made a week or more ahead, as long as they are kept tightly wrapped.