How to make No Bake Christmas treats

No bake Christmas treats ~ Mum's Chocolate Rum Balls ~ a no-fail no-cook Christmas recipe usually made only once a year ... 

So Simple Christmas Treats

Ingredients

• 4 oz Butter
• 4 oz Icing Sugar (about one cup)
• 2 oz Cocoa (about half a cup)
• Few drops Vanilla
• 6 Tablespoons Coconut
• One Cup combined dates and raisins (chopped small).  Ginger optional.
• Extra coconut (for rolling mixture in)

Directions

1. Cream butter with icing sugar until light and fluffy
2. Add vanilla to taste, cocoa, coconut and chopped fruits.
3. Roll into small balls and roll in coconut

Leave to dry and chill overnight, or refrigerate for an hour.

This recipe is an "easy to make" treat we have on special occasions. Christmas just would not be the same without Mum's Chocolate Rum Balls.

Notes

• Original recipe ingredients calls for a butter substitute – I have never done this
• Temptation is to make Rum balls too big – measure size about a large teaspoon of mixture – these make a bite sized morsel
• It may be noticed that the “rum” is missing from the ingredients – if you wish – instead of the vanilla, substitute a teaspoon of rum / extract
• One batch makes about 16 to 18 rum balls *see note below
• Mum also used chocolate sprinkles to roll the “rum balls” in but the imitation sprinkles today have ingredients such as hydrogenated palm oil, colour and carnauba wax, which is used in everything from car polishes to cosmetics and pills! Can be biological or synthetic. Fascinating. Instead we use desiccated coconut or shaved chocolate. Information on Carnauba wax

Mum tells me she made this recipe “all her life",  so I am glad she wrote it down for me as it has become part of our family Christmas traditions.

* December 2017 Update:
This year made a few changes for diet & health reasons. In earlier years I have been tempted to make the rum balls larger. Average number in each batch is now 30 which is roughly one heaped Teaspoon. This is a once a year treat as each rum ball contains approximately: Fat 4 grams, calories 40, carbs 7 and sugar as best I can work out 3 grams plus!