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Home » Other Sweets & Treats » Christmas Ornament Red Velvet Cheese Balls

Christmas Ornament Red Velvet Cheese Balls

Published: Nov 18, 2020 · Modified: Nov 26, 2022 by Mara · This post may contain affiliate links - as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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These Christmas Ornament Red Velvet Cheese Balls are a fun, festive addition to your holiday party menu! These super easy treats are sure to get everyone in the holiday spirit!

Christmas Ornament Red Velvet Cheese Ball on a bed of coconut snow flakes with string lights in the background

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Instead of a savory cheese ball, why not make it sweet with a dessert cheese ball shaped as ornaments instead? Cream cheese is usually found in cheese balls. So, what dessert goes best with cream cheese? Red velvet! Say hello to these seriously adorable Christmas Ornament Red Velvet Cheese Balls. It's topped with the cutest rolo ornament topper!

The best way I thought to get red velvet flavor and color while keeping the texture of the cheese ball is to use cake mix. It's rolled in festive sprinkles and there's chocolate chips mixed in for a delicious surprise.

Looking for a savory cheese ball? You have to check out my Ornament Pesto Sun-dried Tomato Cheese Balls! Only 5 ingredients and are equally as adorable and festive.

Christmas Ornament Red Velvet Cheese Balls with green, red and white sprinkles and red ribbon surrounding it

Why You'll Love this Recipe

  • Perfect for holiday entertaining!
  • Seriously adorable! It will get everyone into the holiday spirit.
  • Super easy to make
  • Only 7 ingredients and can be versatile to your taste.

Ingredients

7 photo grid with red velvet ornament cheese ball ingredients including cream cheese, unsalted butter, red velvet cake mix, sprinkles, chocolate chips, vanilla extract and powdered sugar.

See the full list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Ingredient Notes

  • Red Velvet Cake Mix: Gives the red velvet flavor and color! You can use any brand of cake mix as long as it's about 15.25 ounces.
  • Unsalted Butter: Make sure it is at room temperature to easily combine with cream cheese to create our cheese base.
  • Cream Cheese: Creamy & tangy! Make sure it is at room temperature to easily combine with butter to create our cheese base.
  • Vanilla Extract: flavor addition!
  • Chocolate Chips: red velvet isn't red velvet without a bit of chocolate. I like using mini chocolate chips to fold throughout the batter for a delicious surprise.
  • Sprinkles: makes these edible ornaments extra cute and festive and gives extra texture. If you don't like sprinkles, you can use chocolate chips instead.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Side by side photos. In the upper left corner is a number in white text with a black outline. In the left photo has a '1' and shows a baking tray with cake mix spread out. The right photo has a '2' and shows a red stand mixer whipping butter and cream cheese with a whisk attachment.
  1. Pre-heat an oven to 350°F. Spread cake mix onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat. Bake for 5-10 minutes at 350° F until the cake mix reaches a temperature of 160°F. Then, cool for 30 minutes or until room temperature.
  2. In a stand mixer bowl or large mixing bowl, whip cream cheese and butter using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or hand mixer until smooth.
Side by side photos. In the upper left corner is a number in white text with a black outline. In the left photo has a '3' a red stand mixer with a beater attachment, beating red cake mix into the batter. The right photo has a '4' and shows mini chocolate chips beating into red velvet batter.
  1. Next, sift in cooled red velvet cake mix and powdered sugar to the butter and cream cheese mixture. Beat until smooth using a stand mixer with beater attachment or by hand.
  2. Next, add in chocolate chips and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.
Side by side photos. In the upper left corner is a number in white text with a black outline. In the left photo has a '5' shows 2 hands in black gloves holding a sphere of red velvet cake cheese ball. The right photo has a '6' and shows a red velvet cheese ball in plastic wrap in a hand.
  1. Scoop 1 cup of the mixture out and shape into a ball with your hands. Gloves are recommended!
  2. Place the shapen ball into 1-2 sheets of plastic wrap and wrap it. Repeat 3 more times and place the cheese balls in the refrigerator for 2 hours to firm up. While they firm up, make the rolo ornament topper. Steps and photos are listed at the end of this post.
Side by side photos. In the upper left corner is a number in white text with a black outline. In the left photo has a '7' show a red velvet cake ball being rolled in red, white and green sprinkles. The right photo has a '8' and shows a red velvet cheese ball rolled in sprinkles on a small grey plate with a rolo ornament topper.
  1. Before serving, roll the ball in a bowl with high sides with sprinkles.
  2. Top with the rolo ornament topper and serve with cookies of your choice or pretzels!

Expert Tips

  • Baking cake mix is a must!: Raw flour may contain harmful bacteria when eaten uncooked. Toast the cake mix in a 350F oven for 5 -10 minutes to cook it.
  • Room temperature is key.: Take your goat cheese and cream cheese about an hour before you start this recipe. Having your cheese room temperature will make it easier to combine together.
  • Keep it clean!: Food-safe gloves are key to spreading and forming our cheeseballs! While you can definitely do this without gloves, food-safe gloves saves you time from having to continually cleaning your hands.
Christmas Ornament Red Velvet Cheese Balls cut into with mini chocolate chips following out, on a bed of white jimmy sprinkles with white, silver and fairy lights in the background

Recipe FAQs

What other variations can I make?

- Chocolate Cheese Ball: devil's food cake mix covered in chocolate chips or chocolate sprinkles
- Birthday Cake Batter Cheese Ball: funfetti cake mix covered in rainbow sprinkles
- Strawberry Cheesecake Ball: strawberry cake mix covered in crushed graham crackers

What should I serve this cheese ball with?

Dippers can include shortbread cookies, Oreos, graham crackers or pretzels just to name a few ideas!

Can I make this ahead?

Yes! These can be made ahead of a day or two. Keep wrapped and refrigerated until ready to serve.

How do I create the rolo ornament topper?

1. Cut a ribbon between around 6 inches.
2. Create one loop and pinch with your thumb and index finger.
3. Wrap the longer end of the ribbon around.
4. Push the end into the opening you created and pull through.
5. Adjust the size of your bow by tugging, pushing, and pulling!
6. Until you’ve created a small bow.
7. Cut ends at an angle. Optionally, you can carefully use a lighter and fray the ends for a cleaner look depending on the ribbon used.
8. Carefully, hot glue a jump ring to the top of a Rolo candy
9. Carefully, hot glue the bow between the jump ring and Rolo. This will hide the glue. Set aside. Repeat until you have 3 toppers in total.

A 9 square photo grid showing how to make an ornament rolo topper. In the upper left corner is a red number with a black outline to showcase each step.

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PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page? I always appreciate feedback. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Christmas Ornament Red Velvet Cheese Ball on a bed of coconut snow flakes with string lights in the background

Christmas Ornament Red Velvet Cheese Balls

Mara
This Red Velvet Cheese Ball is filled with cream cheese, red velvet box mix, and chocolate chips. It's covered in festive sprinkles to make an colorful edible ornament. This last minute holiday dessert couldn’t get any easier or cuter!
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 5 mins
Resting time 2 hrs
Total Time 2 hrs 20 mins
Course Dessert
Servings 12 people
Calories 409 kcal

Equipment

  • Instant Food Thermometer
  • Plastic Wrap

Ingredients
  

  • 16 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
  • 1 box red velvet cake mix (15.25 oz)
  • 1 & ¼ cups powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup chocolate chips mini
  • 1 cup sprinkles red, white and green
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • vanilla wafers for serving

Instructions
 

  • Pre-heat an oven to 350°F. Spread cake mix onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or Silpat. Bake for 5-10 minutes at 350° F until the cake mix reaches a temperature of 160°F. Then, cool for 30 minutes or until room temperature.
  • In a stand mixer bowl or large mixing bowl, whip cream cheese and butter with a whisk attachment or hand mixer until smooth.
  • Next, sift in cooled red velvet cake mix and powdered sugar to the butter and cream cheese mixture. Beat until smooth using a beater attachment or by hand using silicone spatula.
  • Next, add in chocolate chips and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.
  • Scoop 1 cup of the mixture out and shape into a ball with your hands. Gloves are recommended!
  • Place the shapen ball into 1-2 sheets of plastic wrap and wrap it. Repeat 3 more times and place the cheese balls in the refrigerator for 2 hours to firm up. While they firm up, make the rolo ornament topper.
  • Before serving, roll the ball in a bowl with high sides with sprinkles.
  • Top with the rolo ornament topper and serve with cookies of your choice or pretzels!

Notes

  • Raw flour may contain harmful bacteria when eaten uncooked. Toast the cake mix in a 350F oven for 5 minutes to cook it.
  • Using gloves to shape your cheese ball and roll them in sprinkles will save you from having stained hands for the next few hours.
  • This recipe makes 4 cheese balls that use 1 cup mixture each. Each cheese ball can serve 3-4 people. Or, you can make them ½ or ¼ cup each to make them more individually portioned.
  • Rolo Ornament Topper instructions are at the bottom of this post.
How to store: you can keep the cheese ball unsprinkled for up to a week. Then, cover in sprinkles and serve.
Nutritional information for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. Please calculate your own nutritional information if you want it exact to what you make and use my calculations as a guide only.

Nutrition

Calories: 409kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 419mg | Potassium: 171mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 744IU | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Tag me on Instagram @makewithmara or hashtag #makewithmara
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tina says

    November 25, 2022 at 10:31 pm

    How much powdered sugar do you use in this recipe? It’s not listed as one of the ingredients, but it is mentioned in step 3 of the instructions.

    Reply
    • Mara says

      November 26, 2022 at 3:37 am

      Hi Tina! I am so sorry that ingredient was missing in the recipe card! It should be 1 & 1/4 cups of powdered sugar. I hope you enjoy the recipe!

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Mara! The home baker and cook behind Make With Mara. This is where I share my love of recipe testing, plating, and all things tasty. Let’s crEATe something delicious together! More about me →

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