Rum Balls 2.08 The Ins and Outs of Inns

“Honey, I'm so sorry. Am I late late or just late?” “Two pieces of carrot cake and a rum ball.” “Ah, I am so sorry! I swear I meant to be on time, but I was prepping the raspberry glaze for tonight's dessert special, and it struck me. I made a blueberry glaze for the soufflé I made last Tuesday, and this is Tuesday, and a lot of locals come every week on the same night every week, and I just didn't want to serve them some. . .like a similar dessert even though it's a completely different berry...” “I need another rum ball.”

Ingredients:

• 8 oz dark chocolate pieces

• 1 cup powdered sugar, divided in half

• 2 tbsp honey

• ½ cup dark rum

• ½ tsp salt

• 3 cups of vanilla wafers, pulverized to crumbs (roughly one box but you can snack on a few while you’re baking)

• 1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place a heatproof bowl over the boiling water to create a double boiler. Add the dark chocolate to the bowl and allow to melt.

2. Once the chocolate is fully melted, remove the bowl from heat. Add half of the powdered sugar (½ cup).

3. Stir in the honey, rum, and salt. Mix in the vanilla wafers in a cup at a time. Lastly, stir in the walnuts until well combined.

4. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least one hour to chill.

5. After removing the rum mixture from the fridge, add the remaining powdered sugar to a plate.

6. Using your hands, scoop out about ⅛ cup of the mixture and roll into a ball. It will be crumbly at first, but the heat from your hands will help with the consistency.

7. Roll the rum balls into the powdered sugar to coat.

Resist the temptation to eat the chocolate and rum straight from the bowl.

This dessert is easily one of my favorite dishes that I’ve made so far for Eating Gilmore. It’s really easy to make and it’s delicious! There’s no backing involved, you just have to be patient while the mixture chills for an hour, but trust me, it will be worth the wait. Whenever the world heals, and we are able to gather in person again, I am definitely going to make a big batch of these for my annual Christmas party. Because they are bite-sized, be careful that the booze doesn’t creep up on you! They really pack a punch. These are the type of dessert that actually tastes better the next day. You can store them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week. So eat a couple the first day (or six, I’m not judging) and save the rest for the next day. This really allows the rum and the chocolate to become one.

Sneak a couple bites of the mixture, then resist from eating straight from the bowl again.

We get to meet Mia in this episode- the woman who owns the Independence Inn and took Lorelai and Rory in when they first came to Stars Hollow. In Emily in Wonderland we see the garden shed where they lived in at the Independence Inn, and I like that we actually meet Mia and see how she fits into the girls’ lives. I really like the character of Mia. You can easily see how she used to live in Stars Hollow, and I enjoy getting to see her relationship with different townies. She’s the only person that’s allowed to call Luke, Lucas. She doesn’t put up with Taylor. She sasses Michel back. It’s clear that she belongs in this town.

Again, resist the urge to pop this straight into your mouth.

I really enjoy episodes when there is conflict and both sides are believable and valid. There are two conflicts in this episode that do that really well. The first is the fight between Sookie and Lorelai. Lorelai has been having to do a lot of the prep in the process of opening their own inn, but Sookie has always been supportive and a team player. However, she is late all the time. Lorelai is upset that Mia is going to sell the Independence Inn, and she’s nervous about starting her own inn, so she lashes out at Sookie. I think her frustrations with Sookie are valid- I get annoyed when people are late all the time, and if I’m always having to pick up the slack for something. But at the same time, lashing out at your best friend like that isn’t the right move. The friends resolve their conflict by the end of the episode, but this same fight returns in season 4 while they are actually working on the Dragonfly. So either they didn’t fully resolve the conflict in this episode, or their faults don’t really improve.

The other conflict in this episode that I think does a great job in making both sides believable is the conversation between Mia and Emily at the end of the episode. Mia talks about a hypothetical daughter and how she would hope that her daughter would find someone to take her in and give her a home if she had run away like Lorelai had. Emily responds that she would have wanted her to find someone that would have sent her home. While I fully understand and support Lorelai leaving her parents’ house, I can understand where Emily is coming from. The entire show, we see how Lorelai running away has affected Emily and her relationship with her daughter. So even though I think Lorelai and Mia are right here, I see why Emily is so upset.

Now you don't have to resist temptation!

There are a lot of conversations about inns in this episode- as we already knew just by the title of the episode. Lorelai and Sookie are working towards acquiring the Rachel property, known as the Dragonfly Inn from here on out. They learn that the property belongs to Fran Weston of Weston’s bakery. However, Fran doesn’t want to sell the property. And even though she has to die in order for Lorelai and Sookie to actually buy the inn, I’m a little sad that she never gets to see the success that they turn it into.

Let me know if you try these rum balls and if you enjoy them!

Happy Cooking!

I couldn't resist temptation any longer, enjoy!

If you missed what I made last week, catch up here!