If it's a splash of liquor, it's probably just a flavor enhancer. If it doesn't change the liquid ratio of the recipe significantly, you can get away with just leaving it out. I'd imagine you could also use a dilution of some sort of extract (vanilla, almond, whatever works).

For larger quantities I'd look for something with similar properties. It all depends upon why the alcohol is in the recipe. If you're making something like a sorbet, then the alcohol actually works to control the freezing point of the mixture, and substitution would be harder.

While you can cook most the alcohol out you often can't cook all of it out. I think it's less the taste than the alcohol itself that is the thing to be avoided.

That said there not many things that stand in for burbon or brandy and damn few that stand in for wine and sherry.
So maybe substitution on another level is the better path. Just find something - that works nicely as opposed to trying to find something that simulates the contribution of the booze.

Maybe a fruity pepper like an Anjou with a little Jalipino. Peppers are fabulous things to add when you can't get some of the things you'd have wanted otherwise.

And of course you can always just do without. Many liquor additions are merely a flourish of some person's idea of what they wanted to achieve or thought they were supposed to do.

Remember the old saying: "To the man with a hammer every problem is a nail." So if you are writing recipes and you were raised adding sherry or port or wine or whatever to the food, you bloody well are going to have that reflected in your recipes. But that doesn't mean that it absolutely must be there. It's merely a flavor you chose to add.

So don't be afraid to say "the hell with it" when an otherwise complex recipe calls for a little booze. You probably don't need it.


Now as to something like bourbon balls - - - well - - - in your situation I'd say to make another cookie like Chocolate chips etc.