Dr. Robin McCutcheon's Groβ-mama’s Brandy-Balls
The history of Groβ-mama’s (pronounced gross-mama – roll the ‘r’ and accentuate the two ‘ss’ and you have the German pronunciation of her name –groβmama means Great Mother in German) Brandy-balls. Five generations of women in my family have made these yummy Christmas treats.
In the 1850s, the vanilla wafer was a simple sugar cookie – really over-cooked, so there was little to no moisture in them, brown in color, and very crunchy. The pre-boxed wafers we have now are a very close substitute in this recipe.
When my Great-grandmother made these, she used a ceramic container with a lid that fit tightly. But, times have changed and we have Tupperware now, with lids that fit tightly when closed.
We made these brandy balls in the summer (June or July) and set the Tin box away until Christmas time. At the very least, these brandy-balls should be left to sit in the air-tight container so they can “marinate” for at least a week.
Enjoy! - Dr. Robin McCutcheon
INGREDIENTS
Vanilla wafers – about 15 oz
1/3 cup of brandy
1/3 cup white rum
1 3⁄4 cup of pound of shelled walnuts (finely ground)
1⁄4 cup honey
Colored granulated sugar (I use red and green)
Plastic wrap, wax paper, or colored foil
Tin box, or Tupperware container (some kind of container with an air-tight lid).
DIRECTIONS
Finely grind the vanilla wafers and shelled walnuts –I use a food processor, but you could use a rolling pin and roll the wafers on a cutting board. It’s a good work-out, but the food processor is easier.
2. Mix the finely ground wafers, nuts, honey, brandy, and rum in a large bowl.
3. Shape a teaspoon-full of the mix into a round ball.
4. Roll each brandy-ball in the colored granulated sugar, set aside in the tin-box or Tupperware container – using the plastic wrap (wax paper or colored foil) to separate the layers.