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So after a short break, I’m back with more Baileys treats! St. Patrick’s Day needs to get here fast before I overload on Baileys. Today it’s in the form of cookie balls.
No Bake Baileys Irish Cream Cookie Balls
Cookie balls? Yes, cookie balls. No cake here. And not because I don’t love cake. I LOVE cake. But these are even easier because there’s no baking involved. That’s right. You don’t even have to turn on your oven. And yet when you bite into these delightful little balls of joy, you’d never know there was no cake involved. And they are best if you make them and then let them sit overnight. The cookies really absorb all the flavor and then it all just melts in your mouth. A serious Baileys flavor explosion. Awesome! Now let’s get started.
How to Make this Easy Cookie Ball Recipe
The main ingredient here is vanilla wafer cookies. These babies are useful for so many things and I love them for that. I used my food processor to crush them up. You need 3 cups, which was about 1 full box of vanilla wafers. Add in the powdered sugar and mix well. Then add the corn syrup and Baileys and mix it all together. It may seem kind of crumbly, but as you mush it together to form a ball it does hold it’s shape very well. My coworkers were surprised when I told them I’d used vanilla wafers to make them because not only could they not tell from the taste or texture, but they were surprised it all held together so well – but it does! Next, roll the cookie mixture into balls. I used about 2 heaping tablespoons worth of the cookie mixture in each ball.
When you are done rolling the balls, get your chocolate candy melts ready for dipping. (In case you are wondering, you can use other types of candy coating products, but I don’t recommend regular chocolate chips) I melt my chocolate in the microwave in small increments of about 15 – 45 seconds. I usually start off with 45 second or so increments to get the candy melts going, but once it starts getting melty, I taper off to less time so as not to burn the melted chocolate. Once your chocolate is ready, dip away!
Allow the balls to dry and again I recommend letting them sit overnight so that the vanilla wafers soak up all the moisture and flavor of the Baileys. They will still be delicious if you eat them right away, but the cookie crumbs will be more distinct rather than fully incorporated and melt in your mouth awesome. Know what I mean?
NOTE (Updated 12/22/14): Many people had trouble with these cookie balls turning out, so I did some experimenting. I have reduced the amount of Baileys in the recipe and updated the recipe accordingly.
Read transcript
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No Bake Baileys Irish Cream Cookie Balls
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 20-24 Cookie Balls 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
These easy Baileys Irish Cream Cookie Balls are a delicious no bake dessert idea! Made with vanilla wafers, Baileys and chocolate, they melt in your mouth.
Ingredients
- 3 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup corn syrup
- 1/3 cup Baileys Irish Cream
- 12 oz bag chocolate chips or candy melts
Instructions
Notes
The cookie balls are best after sitting overnight so that the vanilla wafers soak up all the moisture and flavor of the Baileys.
Keywords: no bake desserts, cookie balls recipe, baileys dessert, baileys cookies, easy no bake dessert
Modified from Fabulous Foods.
Enjoy!
[…] Irish Cream Cookie Balls […]
Hi…I tried making these no bake bailey’s irish cream cookie balls today & it was a disaster. I followed the directions to the T too. I can’t figure out what happened…I too used my food processor to crush up the wafers…when I “mushed” everything together I couldn’t form a ball and it didn’t hold it’s shape…Everything was very sticky…when I tried to shape into balls…they got flat…I even put them in the freezer to harden up before dipping into chocolate…that didn’t help….I ended up throwing the whole batch out…what a waste of the Irish Cream….I so wanted this to work out.
I’m so sorry that happened Patricia! If you decide to try them again and they still aren’t holding their shape, try adding a little more liquid. If they seen too sticky and you don’t want to add more corn syrup or Baileys, you could try a little milk or melted butter. Again, I’m sorry about that – I hate that they didn’t work out for you – they really are tasty if you want to give them another try!
Hi….Thank you for responding to me…but I was wondering how more liquid can make it better?
When they were so sticky, I couldn’t even handle them. I ground the vanilla wafers real fine in my processor…would that have made a difference? Would adding more powdered sugar help? Please let me know. Thanks. Patricia
It sounded as though they weren’t holding together, so I thought maybe more moisture would help. It really is hard to say without being able to see and feel it. I don’t remember them being sticky. If the problem you’re having is that they are too sticky to form balls because it’s sticking to your hands, adding powdered sugar could help. You could also try putting powdered sugar on your hands to keep it from sticking to you. I’m sorry you had that problem. 🙁
What kind of corn syrup works best for this recipe…light or dark? I’m about to try this and I’m not sure which to use! THANK YOU! 🙂
I use light corn syrup
Hello. I think Patricia may have made the same mistake that I did. I just finished mixing all my ingredients…and the balls just weren’t holding together. So I started reading through the comments to see if anyone else had this problem. Then I discovered it…you used Nilla Wafers. And I used sugar wafers. It’s my own fault, but when I read vanilla wafers, I pictured the sugar wafer sandwiches we all ate as kids. Ya know, they have a waffle look to it? Anyways, they don’t work…and I have a feeling the balls would be TOO sweet even if it did. So now I’m off to the grocery store to get some Nilla wafers! We have a St. Patrick’s Day bridal shower for my cousin this weekend and my mom is looking forward to this recipe!
OK – I’m back again. Unfortunately, I’m still with Patricia. I got the correct Nilla Wafers and the recipe still isn’t working for me. The only thing I can think is that it’s too much liquid, too. Maybe the corn syrup? I am trying to double the recipe. Not sure if that’s the problem. I’m using light corn syrup. Is there another kind?
It’s a great looking recipe! I just wish I could figure it out!
Hi Liz! Thanks for letting me know that you’re having trouble. I cam home after work to try and make them again to see if I can recreate the problem. For me, they are very moist. Not having an issue holding together at all. Are you having trouble getting them into balls, or with them staying together when dipping them in the chocolate?
Also Liz, as the mixture sat for about 15 minutes, it really firmed up a lot for me which made the balls even easier to make. Did that not happen for you? I’m really trying to figure this out. I’d like to be able to update the instructions so that people don’t keep having trouble. So thank you for your responses. And I’m sorry for all the trouble you’ve had with it.
I had the same problem that Patricia had. 🙁 I ended up with a bowl full of sticky mess that would not form balls. I even tried adding more powder sugar and freezing them…. I currently have what looks like very flat cookies in my freezer. I keep hopping for a way to save them. I was so excited about these! 🙁
I’m sorry to hear that Megan! After a few comments about having trouble, I tried making them again myself last night and while the mixture was certainly moist and sticky, after sitting for about 15 minutes, it really firmed up and was quite easy to shape into balls. I hope you were able to use them. I’ll be updated the recipe soon to make the instructions more clear.
I just love the idea of using cookies instead of cake – looks so good!
Thanks Summer! Yea, it’s nice to not have to bake a cake sometimes 🙂
[…] No Bake Irish Cream Cookie Balls from Life, Love and […]
I’ve been making these for a while using my rum ball recipe, also different alcohols . Dipping in chocolate is a new thought, I usually roll in a coco powder and 10x
They’re tasty, aren’t they? Yum!
I was wondering, do you dip then , then let them sit overnight? Or make the balls, let them sit overnight, then dip them?
Dip them, then let them sit overnight. The chocolate coating holds in the moisture and the flavors really soak into the cookie crumbs.
Could you use Bailey’s coffee creamer instead of the real stuff?
I haven’t tried it, but it shouldn’t mess anything up. The taste of Baileys may not be as strong though. Also, you might want to refrigerate the balls, since they’ll have the creamer in them.
I’m in the UK and wanted to know what vanilla wafer cookies are? I’ve googled and found the wafer sandwiched fingers which we have here in the UK and also little circular biscuits which we don’t have here like Nilla wafers.
The vanilla wafer cookies I used were Nilla Wafers. I’m not sure what you have available there to suggest the best substitute, but I’d think graham crackers would work. The flavor might be a little different since Nilla Wafers have more of a vanilla flavor to them, but the texture should be similar.
I was just going to ask if they were the “Nilla Wafers” or some other sort of vanilla wafer.
Yes, I use Nilla Wafers.