Low Carb Chocolate Rum Balls
Ingredients
| 1/2 cup | Butter or Coconut Oil |
| 3/4 to 1 cup (equivalent) | Sugar Substitute1 |
| 3/4 cup | Unsweetened Baker's Chocolate |
| 1/4 cup | Cream Cheese |
| 1/4 tsp. | Xanthan Gum |
| 2 ea. | Eggs, slightly beaten |
| 1/4 tsp. | Salt |
| 1 tsp. | Vanilla Extract |
| 1 cup | Rum, any type - white, dark, spiced |
| 3 cups | Almond Flour |
| 1/2 cup | Psyllium Husk Fiber |
Preparation
In microwave safe mixing bowl, combine Butter/Coconut Oil, Sweetener, Chocolate, and Cream Cheese. Microwave intermittently, stirring between heats, until melted.
Add Xanthan Gum; stir well to combine. The mixture will thicken quickly and significantly.
Add eggs, vanilla, and salt. Stir, microwaving at 30 second intervals, mixing between cooking intervals, until thickened and smooth.
Add Rum and stir until incorporated.
Add and incorporate Psyllium Husk Fiber and Almond Flour until a thick paste is formed. Refrigerate mixture until firm - minimum 2 hours; overnight is preferable.
Roll into balls, and roll into almond flour, coconut flour (or shredded coconut), cocoa powder, or grated unsweetened chocolate2.
Recipe Notes
Use your favorite low calorie/low carb sugar substitute; simply use in an amount approximately equal the sweetness of 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar. (If using Stevia Glyceride (Now! Better Stevia), use 1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp.)
You can also use artificially sweetened chocolate. If desired, make your own by adding some powdered monkfruit to unsweetened chocolate, melt, and mix thoroughly. Allow to cool and harden before grating.
Testing Notes
1st Test: 2019.11.02
Added Xanthan gum to recipe; thicken the whole mass significantly even before heating. As a result halved the proposed psyllium fibre, and used only 3 cups almond flour and no coconut flour. When adding to refrigerator, after fully mixing all ingredients, mixture had good texture, similar to traditional rum balls recipe.
After a couple of hours in the fridge, covered, texture was good, but still rather soft. It was reasonable, but softer than desired. Returned it to fridge to allow flavors and texture to further develop. Hopefully the psyllium and almond will absorb more moisture from the chocolate/rum to produce a firmer texture. If not, will need to adjust recipe.
Overnight in the fridge allowed the texture and flavors to meld properly; and the mixture was properly stiff (stiffer than expected, in fact). Portioned using a #100 disher, rolled into balls and coated with Almond flour.
The flavour is good, but can be improved upon. Consider adding Vanilla (perhaps 1 tsp.) and more cream cheese in future iterations.