0:05 Prep / 0:05 Total Time / Servings: 30 balls

Ingredients
• 250 g plain sweet biscuits
• 395 g sweetened condensed milk
• 85 g (1 cup) desiccated coconut
• 25 g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder
• 130 g (1 and 1/2 cups) desiccated coconut for rolling, extra

Add the lemon slices, fresh basil leaves, and green tea bags to a 1 quart mason jar or pitcher. Pour hot water into the mason jar, and allow to steep for 15 minutes. Then, remove the tea bags. Place into the fridge to completely chill for 3-4 hours for the flavours to release.

CONVENTIONAL METHOD
1) Crush the biscuits until they resemble fine crumbs using either a food processor, blender, Thermomix or rolling pin (see notes) and then place into a large bowl.
2) Stir through the cocoa powder, desiccated coconut and sweeteened condensed milk until well coated.
3) Using your hands, roll heaped teaspoons of the mixture into balls and then roll through the extra coconut to coat.
4) Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months.

THERMOMIX METHOD
1) Place the biscuits into the Thermomix bowl and crush on Speed 8, 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
2) Add the cocoa powder, desiccated coconut and sweeteened condensed milk and mix on Reverse, Speed 4, 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides and repeat for a further 5-10 seconds or until combined.
3) Using your hands, roll heaped teaspoons of the mixture into balls and then roll through the extra coconut to coat.
4) Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months.

TOP TIPS FOR MAKING RUM BALLS
Choose a plain sweet biscuit for crushing (I used Arnott’s Marie biscuits that are readily available in all Australian supermarkets). If you can’t buy Arnott’s biscuits, use any plain sweet biscuit you like. If you’re in the US, choose a plain sweet cookie – like a sugar cookie or butter cookie). You can easily crush the biscuits using a food processor, blender or Thermomix. If you don’t have any of these, you can always crush the biscuits using a rolling pin (simply place the biscuits into a sealable plastic bag and hit with the rolling pin until fine crumbs remain). As a general rule, I prefer to use full fat sweetened condensed milk in my baking. However in this recipe, it doesn’t matter if you use full fat or skim condensed milk. For both the rum ball filling and the coating, use desiccated coconut (not flaked or shredded coconut as the balls wont hold together well enough). Once the rum balls have been rolled, they’re ready to eat straight away! However, they are best served after a few hours in the fridge. Rum balls can be prepared ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Author: Lucy – Bake Play Smile