Pecan Pie Balls - dangerously delicious!! I could eat the whole batch! Great for parties, tailgating, and homemade gifts! Pecans, graham crackers, brown sugar, maple syrup, butter, vanilla, and chocolate candy coating. Can add bourbon to the pecan mixture for a boozy treat. A MUST for your holiday cookie tray!
Combine chopped pecans, graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, vanilla, and maple syrup. Stir to combine. Add melted butter only until the mixture comes together and can be easily shaped into balls. (Depending on how you chopped your ingredients, you may have some leftover butter.)
Shape pecan mixture into 1-inch balls.
Place balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the refrigerator or freezer for an hour.
Melt almond bark according to package directions.
Remove balls from refrigerator and dip into the chocolate almond bark.
Place dipped balls on parchment or wax paper and let sit until set.
Notes:
I put my pecans in a food processor and pulsed them a couple of times. You want the pecans in very, very small pieces.
I used a box of Keebler Graham Cracker Crumbs. They are very finely ground.
If you make your own graham cracker crumbs, you want the crumbs to be the consistency of sand.
If you want to make Bourbon Pecan Balls, swap some of the maple syrup for bourbon.
For the chocolate coating, I used chocolate almond bark. Feel free to swap the almond bark for melted chocolate chips or chocolate bars. Add some shortening to the chips or chocolate bars to make the chocolate mixture smoother.
You can also dip the balls in white almond bark or melted white chocolate.
If you don't have maple syrup, you can substitute Karo Syrup.
Decorate the balls with any color sprinkles – Christmas, Valentine's Day, birthday sprinkles, or your favorite team colors.
This recipe makes about 3 or 4 dozen, depending on how big you make the balls.
Store the candy in an air-tight container.
This candy can be easily frozen, stored in the refrigerator, or at room temperature if you’ll be eating them within a day or two.
The candy balls will last about a month in an air-tight container stored in the refrigerator.