Chocolate Salty Balls

Ladies and gentlemen, I have been deceived. Today at the office, many people brought in treats. Some were just the simple sugar cookies cut in the shapes of Christmas trees and angels or whatever with icing. Some brought muffins or coffee cake. One brought a plate of cookies he picked up from his mom's office. This was the plate in question.

I remember being little and going to my grandma or grandpa's holiday parties at the places where they worked. There were always these cookies that you only see around Christmas. I'm trying to think of some of them right now, but I've never known the names. I remember one that's basically a sugar cookie with a maraschino cherry (red or green) smushed into the top. Or there's the crumbly pink cookies and snickerdoodles. I remember those. There's one variety that looks like little balls about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. They're coated in confectioner's sugar, and the actual cookie on the inside is buttery with almonds or pecans. I just took a look online using "holiday cookies" as my search string on Google Images and found out that they're called Mexican Wedding Cookies. The one with the cherries smushed on top is called a Bird's Nest. Then there's the peanut butter cookie with a peanut butter cup pushed into the top. This is called a Double Peanut Butter Cup. Then there's the Haystack which is made with chow mein noodles held together by a glue like melted butterscotch or chocolate.

So, this is the deal. I went to the plate of varied cookies that my co-worker brought in from his mom's office. I saw what looked like a Mexican Wedding cookie with the powdered sugar. I grabbed one because I really like those. Upon biting into it, I quickly found that it wasn't at all what I thought. It took a few grossed-out minutes of holding it in my mouth, but soon I recognized the taste: rum! I had eaten a rum ball. That was my first and my last. I drink, I admit it. There's a lot of alcohol that I like, lots that I've tried, but rum is not high on my list of favorites. I've had desserts featuring liqueurs and vodka in my marinara, that's always good. But, I must warn you, rum has NO PLACE in a cookie, people!

Avoid the rum ball at all cost, you'll thank me later.