You don't sound like a grumpy gus, desi - you just sound like you're having to make some adjustments 
Tis not easy, especially at Christmas.
Besides... rum balls 
I'm almost sure it's impossible to sound like a grumpus when you've just posted about rum balls. Speaking of... recipe, please? PLEASE?
Thanks, sweetie!
Yes, rum balls sure help, don't they?
Well we ended up traveling on Christmas day when the roads were somewhat passable. it was pretty much what I expected. Rushed and stressful, and not helpful for my already not-so-good health. This morning we also hit a huge patch of ice and slid at least 1/2 a KM at 60KPH. The roads had been clear and wet prior to that patch so it was quite a shock. It is only by God's grace that we didn't hit anyone or anything, and were able to stop before crashing into the people in front of us. We are so thankful for that. And we're thankful to finally be home. Yay, it's over! And next Christmas we're staying home and starting our own family traditions finally. I'd like to convince DH that we should spend a few hours volunteering at a soup kitchen or something on Christmas day. That would be really cool. Family can come visit us if the want (prolly won't, but that's fine
).
Anyway, here's how I made the rum balls. I'm amazed how easy they were! You pretty much just add whatever you like until you like the flavour.
First, I made something called Wacky Cake. It's basically an egg-free, dairy-free cake. It usually comes out rather dry, which turned out to be perfect for the rum balls. There are lots of variations on this recipe online. But of course if you don't have the food allergies that I do, then regular cake works just fine too. Doesn't even have to be chocolate (but why wouldn't it be??? lol).
Once the cake is cooled, break it into crumbs. You can use your hands or a food processor for this, depending on how dirty you want to get. Then dump it into a large bowl. From there you can add a variety of ingredients to play around with the taste and texture until you're happy. I used:
about a teaspoon of powdered sugar (use more if you like it sweeter),
a teaspoon of cocoa powder (use more if your cake isn't chocolate),
butter and honey for texture (I used aprox. 2 TBSP of each),
and rum to taste.
Start with small amounts and gradually add more until you're happy. For one cake I used aprox. 1/4 cup of rum, maybe a bit more. I also added some vanilla extract and a bit of caramel and imitation rum flavouring as I just happened to have them on hand.
Once that's all mixed up, separate into small balls, roll them in your hands, and place them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Then, place the sheet in the freezer for at
least six hours. Overnight works well.
Then melt chocolate chips in a bowl. I used the microwave and it was fine. Lightly coat each ball in the melted chocolate, and then VERY quickly roll them in whatever topping you like. (That part gets very messy, but it's fun!) I used a combo of chocolate sprinkles and crumbled marzipan for my topping. You can use crushed nuts, powdered sugar, or shredded coconut if you prefer. Because the balls are so cold, the chocolate will set very fast. So once you're done rolling them in the final topping, they're ready to serve. To store them, just put into a sealable container and store in the freezer. They don't get hard inside when frozen. So they're ready to serve right out of the freezer.
Enjoy!
I brought them on our trip and they were a huge hit with the family. Even DH, who doesn't usually like sweets, thought they were pretty good.
