Rum Balls and other ways to eat bouze

Rum Drops, Uncooked
[About Forty-Five 1-Inch Balls]

Fine served with tea or lemon ice.
Place in a mixing bowl:
     2 cups finely sifted crumbs of toasted sponge cake, zwieback, or graham crackers
Add:
     2 tablespoons cocoa
     1 cup sifted powdered sugar
     1/8th teaspoon salt
     1 cup finely chopped nut meats
Combine:
     1 1/2 tablespoons honey or sirup
     1/4 cup rum or brandy
Add the liquid ingredients slowly to the crumb mixture. Use your hands in order to tell by the "feel" when the consistency is right. When the ingredients will hold together, stop adding liquid. Rull the mixture into 1-inch balls. Roll them in:
     Powdered or granulated sugar
Set the drops aside in a tin box for at least 12 hours to ripen.

(They've never lasted to the last step in my house)

Hm, I have soaked cherries in maraschino liqueur for months and they never turned liquidy, exactly. That sounds great though -- I'd be curious to know how to get that effect!

My Greek friend has a closely guarded recipe for putting a tremendous amount of sweetened rum into oranges. They're delicious but even half of one would lay Heracles low.

I found a recipe, but forget the whipped cream to serve, they're much better with mascarpone, and the one's we had don't have the glaze.

LIMONCELLO BABAS
Makes 12 servings
Babas are small brioche-like cakes soaked with sweet, boozy syrup. They are most often served as a French dessert called babas au rhum. Although almost any liqueur may be used in the syrup and glaze, Italian limoncello is a first-rate choice.

Babas:
1 package active dry yeast (21/4 teaspoons)
1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar (divided)
13/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted (divided)
4 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened, cut into pieces (1 stick; see note)
Limoncello Syrup (recipe follows)
Limoncello Glaze (recipe follows)
Sweetened whipped cream, for garnish

Spray a 12-muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Cups should be 2 1/2 inches in diameter.

Sprinkle yeast over warm milk in warmed medium bowl. Add generous pinch of the sugar and allow mixture to stand for 5 minutes to dissolve and proof the yeast. Add 1/2 cup of the flour and mix well with hand-held electric beater on medium speed for 1 minute. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then remaining sugar, salt and remaining flour. Mix on medium speed for 4 minutes.

Cover dough and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Gradually beat butter into the dough a little at a time and continue beating until mixture is smooth. Divide dough evenly in muffin cups and allow to rise in warm spot until dough has risen to top of tin rim, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake babas until dark golden brown on top, about 20 minutes. Allow to rest in pan 1 minute. Turn out babas, arranging them, tops up, in 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan. Poke holes in babas (top, bottom and sides) at 1/2-inch intervals with a cake tester. Using your fingers, submerge each baba into cooled Limoncello Syrup for 3 seconds. Return dipped cake to pan. Pour any leftover syrup over the cakes. Allow them to stand 1 hour; all of the syrup will be absorbed. Cover with plastic wrap.

Before serving, brush tops of cakes with Limoncello Glaze. Serve with softly whipped sweetened cream. Note: Use real butter or stick margarine. Do not substitute reduced-fat spreads; their higher water content often yields less-satisfactory results. Note: Babas may be baked, soaked in syrup, then cooled completely. Freezer-wrap, pan and all. Label and freeze. To serve, let stand at room temperature 1 hour, then warm in 300-degree oven 15 minutes. Glaze and serve.

Limoncello Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup limoncello

Mix water with sugar in small pan and boil 5 minutes. Pour syrup into 2-cup liquid measure, because it is narrow and deep and easy to dip into. Cool syrup to lukewarm, then stir in limoncello. If made in advance, syrup will keep for 6 months. Makes about 21/2 cups.

Limoncello Glaze
Apricot jam
1 to 2 tablespoons limoncello

Heat about 2/3 of a 12-ounce jar of apricot jam in small saucepan until melted. Pour hot, lumpy jam through sieve, pushing on pulp with spatula. You will have about 1/2 cup puree. Add limoncello to taste. Brush onto babas before serving. If made in advance, glaze will keep 6 months. Makes about 1/2 cup.

Eh, it's funnier in German.