Kentucky Bourbon Balls

Soak pecans in bourbon:

Place chopped pecans and bourbon in a small bowl. Let stand, covered, at room temperature until pecans have absorbed some of the bourbon, at least 2 hours or up to 12 hours.

Prepare pans:

Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.

Make bourbon balls mixture:

Beat butter and powdered sugar with an electric mixer on low speed until combined (mixture should resemble coarse sand), 3 to 6 minutes. 
Add soaked pecans and any remaining bourbon in bowl, vanilla, and salt; beat on low speed until combined and forms a dough-like consistency, about 2 minutes. 

Scoop out balls:

Using a 2 teaspoon (10 mL) sized cookie scoop, scoop mixture into 1/2-inch balls, and place onto 1 of the prepared baking sheets. Freeze, uncovered, until firm, about 15 minutes. (Alternatively, cover, and refrigerate up to 12 hours.)

Melt chocolate:

Meanwhile, add water to a large saucepan to a depth of 1 inch; bring to barely a simmer over low.

Place chocolate in a dry medium-sized heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan, making sure bottom of bowl does not touch water.
Melt chocolate, stirring often, until smooth, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat.

Dip bourbon balls in chocolate:

Remove bourbon balls from freezer (or refrigerator.) Using a fork, dip bourbon ball in melted chocolate. Gently tap bottom of fork onto surface of melted chocolate, and wipe on edge of bowl to remove excess chocolate. Transfer dipped bourbon ball to second prepared baking sheet by flipping over to remove from fork.


Repeat process with remaining bourbon balls and melted chocolate. Chill, uncovered, at least 30 minutes or up to 12 hours. Store in airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.