NATIONAL BOURBON DAY: BOURBON BALL MARTINI & DOLLY APPEL'S BOURBON BALLS

Today is National Bourbon Day, and with Father's Day coming up this weekend, why not make Dad a  Bourbon Ball Martini and celebrate both holidays? Better than a necktie!

BOURBON BALL MARTINI

2 ounces Bourbon
2 ounces Crème de Cacao
1 oz. hazelnut liqueur

Fill shaker with cracked ice and blend bourbon, creme de cacao & hazelnut liqueur.
Strain into a martini glass.
Garnish with two Bourbon balls on a mini-skewer.

O.K., maybe you want to give Dad a home-made gift. Make these fabulous Bourbon Balls! 

DOLLY APPEL’S BOURBON BALLS

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds pecans
8 ounces of Maker’s Mark Bourbon
2 ounces water
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar
3 pounds semisweet chocolate
3 ounces paraffin

Directions

Break and combine pecans with bourbon, cover and set aside for 4 hours or more. Sift confectioners’ sugar and add pecans, adding sugar gradually to a working consistency until a small ball can be made ½ to ¾ inch in diameter. Water is to be used only to bring mixture to desired consistency. Add water only to prevent ball from falling apart. Mixture should be semi-dry. Prepare balls and place on a waxed papered cookie sheet. Place in freezer to cool. (Approx. 2 hours)

Melt chocolate and paraffin and mix well. Chocolate should not be too hot, just warm enough to work up. The warmer the mix, the thinner coating the bourbon balls will have.

Remove formed balls from the freezer when ready to coat with chocolate. With fingers dip each ball to cover half of ball and return to cookie sheet. After this step return to refrigerator to harden chocolate. (Approx. 1 hour)

To coat top half of ball when ready insert toothpick in the bottom that has already been coated and dip top in chocolate. Remove toothpick and return ball to cookie sheet. Refrigerate again to harden chocolate.

Store bourbon balls in refrigerator until ready to eat!