These Christmas Ornament Red Velvet Cheese Balls are a fun, festive addition to your holiday party menu! These are super easy treats this is sure to get everyone in the holiday spirit!
It’s almost 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, baby! Say hello to these seriously adorable Christmas Ornament Red Velvet Cheese Balls.
When thinking of recipes for the holidays, the cheese ball popped into my head. Cheese balls are round... and ornaments are round... I wanted to create a cheese ball that was covered in red, white, and green sprinkles for Christmas. It's topped with the cutest rolo ornament topper! (You can find out how to make these at the end of the post) You can make a total of 4 (1 cup) cheese balls perfect for small group sharing OR make smaller ones that are individually portioned.
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.
Christmas Ornament Red Velvet Cheese Balls Ingredient Photos
This cheeseballs can be served with your choice of cookie — shortbread, Oreos, vanilla wafers or even pretzels for a sweet and salty treat!
See the full list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step-by-Step Process Photos
- Pre-heat an oven to 350°F. Spread cake mix onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or Silpat. Bake for 5 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.
- 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. Steps and photos are listed at the end of this post.
- 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!
Christmas Ornament Red Velvet Cheese Balls Recipe 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.
Recipe Variations
- 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 to Dip with: shortbread cookies, Oreos, graham crackers, or pretzels
More Cream Cheese Recipes
- Tzatziki Feta Cream Cheese Spread: Start your morning with this tzatziki/Mediterranean-inspired spread. Spread it on bagels to start your morning off deliciously!
- Creamy Buffalo Onion Dip: This creamy vegetarian Buffalo Onion Dip is a winner for your next party, tailgate, holiday event, and potluck. It will satisfy vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.
Christmas Ornament Red Velvet Cheese Balls
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!
Equipment
- Instant Food Thermometer
- Plastic Wrap
Ingredients
- 16 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 box red velvet cake mix (15.25 oz)
- ¼ cup chocolate chips mini
- 1 cup sprinkles red, white and green
- 1 tsp 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 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.
- 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Christmas Ornament Red Velvet Cheese Balls
Amount Per Serving
Calories 409 Calories from Fat 243
% Daily Value*
Fat 27g42%
Saturated Fat 14g88%
Cholesterol 62mg21%
Sodium 419mg18%
Potassium 171mg5%
Carbohydrates 40g13%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 27g30%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 744IU15%
Calcium 93mg9%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Ornament Topper Material List
To really sell these Christmas Ornament Cheese Balls I created an ornament topper from rolos, jump rings, ribbon, hot glue gun, hot glue sticks, and scissors. You can optionally use a lighter to fray the ends of the bow for a cleaner look.
Ornament Topper Step-by-Step Process Photos
- Cut a ribbon between around 6 inches.
- Create one loop and pinch with your thumb and index finger.
- Wrap the longer end of the ribbon around.
- Push the end into the opening you created and pull through.
- Adjust the size of your bow by tugging, pushing and pulling!
- Until you've created a small bow.
- Cut ends at an angle. Optionally, you can carefully use a lighter and fray the ends for a cleaner look.
- Carefully, hot glue a jump ring to the top of a rolo.
- Carefully, hot glue the bow between the jump ring and rolo. This will hide the glue. Set aside. Depending on the size of your cheese balls will determine how many toppers you will need: (4) 1 cup = 4 rolo toppers or (8) ½ cup = 8 rolo topper.