Coconut Rum Balls

Last week of June. The summer settled in. Hot most days. Thunderstorms in the afternoon Wednesday and Thursday. The peonies were done. The hostas were holding. The herbs in the front bed were in their glory.

Tuesday food bank: arroz con habichuelas — the simplest meal, the homesick meal, the meal everyone wants when it is hot and no one wants to think. Yolanda cooked. I sat. Mr. Patterson chopped. Marcus did the rice in big batches and got it right. Brian served. The line was long because the heat brought more people in.

Wednesday I started prepping for the pasteles I would make for Mami's eventual wake. I made a small batch of sofrito — concentrated, deep, dark — and froze it in a single large container labeled "MAMI WAKE — DO NOT TOUCH." I will keep adding to the container over the year. By the time Mami goes the sofrito will be ready. The pasteles I will make in the week after. The freezer can hold twelve dozen because I have had a deep freeze in the basement since 1999. The freezer is half-empty right now. I cleared a shelf. I labeled the shelf. The plan is the plan.

I told Eduardo about the freezer. He said, "Carmen, are you sure?" I said, "Eduardo, Mami asked." He said, "Carmen, I know. I am asking if you are sure you want to do the work in advance." I said, "Eduardo, doing the work in advance is the work. I do not want to make pasteles in the week after Mami dies. I want to make them now, when she can correct me. I will batch the sofrito while she can taste it. She will tell me what is right. The sofrito will be hers." Eduardo said, "Carmen, that is brilliant." He said it with feeling. He does not say "brilliant" lightly.

Thursday I took a quart of the sofrito to Mami. I had her taste it. She tasted with a small spoon. She said, "Carmen, more recao." I added recao. She tasted again. "Less garlic." I corrected. She tasted again. "Carmen, this is the sofrito for the wake." I said, "Mami, yes." She said, "Carmen, I am going to taste it every week until you have it perfect. The wake sofrito will be the best sofrito you have ever made. It is my last gift to you." I cried. She said, "Carmen, do not cry over sofrito." I said, "Mami, I am not crying over sofrito." She said, "Carmen, then go home and stop crying." I went home. Wepa.

The labeled shelf in the basement freezer has room. The sofrito is growing, one corrected batch at a time, and Mami is still here to taste it — which means I have time for the things that go next to it. Coconut rum balls are a wake food in the best sense: no oven, no fuss, made in advance, improved by waiting. Rum is Puerto Rican logic. Coconut is kindness. You roll them, you coat them, you put them in a container and you do not touch them until it is time. Eduardo will say they are brilliant. He will not say it lightly.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 20 min + 1 hr chilling | Servings: 36 balls

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (about 60 wafers, finely crushed)
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, plus 1/2 cup for rolling
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup dark rum
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, stir together the vanilla wafer crumbs, 1 cup shredded coconut, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt until evenly mixed.
Add wet ingredients. Pour in the dark rum and corn syrup. Stir until the mixture comes together into a moist, uniform dough. It should hold its shape when pressed — if it feels dry, add rum one teaspoon at a time.
Roll the balls. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup coconut in a shallow dish. Scoop rounded teaspoons of dough and roll between your palms into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in the coconut to coat, pressing gently so it adheres.
Chill. Arrange in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet or in an airtight container. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Flavor deepens after 24 hours.
Store or freeze. Keep refrigerated up to 2 weeks, or freeze in an airtight container up to 3 months. Label the container. Do not touch until it is time.

Nutrition (per serving)

Coconut Rum Balls — What I Make While I Wait