Margarita Balls

Margarita balls are fun, bite-sized, and crowd-pleasing treats for a summer party. With a soft, sweet center and a tart, sugary, salty exterior, this boozy confection is a whimsical riff on a margarita that’s just perfect for a pool or beach bash—or for a sweet treat right out of the fridge on a hot, lazy day. 

You may also recognize the similarities to bourbon balls. Both desserts lean into their boozy bite but are fun and totally portable.

Learn how to make margarita balls, and enjoy serving these at your next gathering as a unique alternative to regular cookies and bars.

Margarita Balls Ingredients

To make margarita balls, you will need:

• Cream-filled vanilla sandwich cookies (such as Golden Oreos): These form the majority of the dough, and the cream filling helps the balls hold together.
• Almond flour and white chocolate chips: These help hold together the cookie balls and add sweetness and a hint of nutty flavor.
• Blanco tequila (any brand you like): Because you can't have margarita balls without tequila. Blanco tequila is preferred for it's cleaner flavor. An aged tequila will work, but it may overpower the rest of the dessert.
• Orange marmalade: This adds the citrus zing of a margarita with a bit of sweetness.
• Lime (for zest and juice): A margarita requires lime.
• Lime-flavored gelatin (such as Jell-O): For color and flavor.
• Granulated sugar: For sweetness. You could also use light brown sugar for a slight caramel flavor.
• Salt: There may be no rim, but you'll still need the salt.

How To Make Margarita Balls

Margarita balls are fairly effortless, and they come together quickly. The hardest part is the long wait while they chill in the fridge. (Get the full recipe below).

• Step 1: Make the cookie ball dough: Process the cookies in a food processor until finely ground, and then transfer the crumbs to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the almond flour and melted white chocolate, and beat to combine.
• Step 2: Add the "margarita" flavors: Add the tequila, marmalade, lime zest, lime juice, and gelatin to the mixer; beat until the mixture is fully incorporated and resembles a soft dough.
• Step 3: Scoop balls: Portion the dough into 36 pieces, and roll each into a ball. Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Refrigerate uncovered for about 10 minutes.
• Step 4: Roll balls in sugar-salt mixture: Whisk together sugar, salt, and the rest of the gelatin in a bowl to combine. Toss the chilled balls in the sugar mixture to coat. Place them on a serving platter and serve them right away, or store them covered in the fridge until ready to eat.

Our Tips for the Best Margarita Balls

There are a few things that will help you make these margarita balls even better—plus, we have a few variations to suggest

• Cookie considerations: For this recipe, you can use any type of cookie you’d like—Golden Oreos and Nilla Wafers are easily interchanged. This recipe would also work well with lemon creme cookies or sugar cookies, for instance.
• Stick together: But if you’re using a cookie without cream filling, you might need to add more chocolate or corn syrup to hold the dough together.
• Not so smooth: If you’d like the filling chunkier, you can just roughly crush the cookies with a rolling pin or in the stand mixer with the paddle attachment instead of using the food processor to process them into fine crumbs.
• Coat check: Instead of coating the margarita balls in sugar, you may also choose to coat them with white chocolate and garnish with lime zest instead. 

What Do Margarita Balls Taste Like?

This dessert is almost like a cross between a cake pop and a cookie ball. The Jell-O mix gives the dough a delicate, tangy taste and compliments the orange marmalade and tequila well. The sugar mixture also has the Jell-O mix in it and gives that extra tang of citrus.

All the flavors balance each other well. And the salt in the mix mimics the taste of a salt-rimmed glass.

More Boozy Dessert Recipes

If you like your desserts as much as you love cocktails, these dressed-up desserts will be a favorite:

• Margarita Cake
• Mini Bourbon and Cola Bundt Cakes
• Peach-Bourbon Upside-Down Bundt Cake

Editorial contributions by Alesandra Dubin.