Christmas Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball: What do you get when you cross cheesecake and chocolate chip cookie dough? An irresistible no bake Christmas dessert that will be the star of all your holiday parties!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
No bake desserts like this chocolate chip cream cheese dessert ball and our Christmas Tree Cake Dip and No Bake Peppermint Pie, are superstars for holiday entertaining! (Well, and this sugar cookie fudge recipe of course!)
If you want to make a similar dessert cheese ball but not with a Christmas spin, you’ll love this Chocolate Chip Dessert Cheese Ball.
Made with cream cheese, butter, brown sugar and chocolate chips, this dessert ball tastes like cheesecake dip mixed with chocolate chip cookie dough and I’m pretty sure there isn’t a more delicious combination.
With a few simple ingredients and no fancy equipment, this is a no fail recipe for a holiday get together, baby shower or Christmas dessert party!
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Ingredients
Trust me when I say this sweet cheese ball comes together in minutes with just a handful of ingredients from the grocery store.
- 8 ounces of cream cheese, brought to room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
- ½ cup holiday mini M&Ms
- ½ cup crushed candy canes
See the printable recipe card below for detailed instructions, nutrition information and recipe notes.
Instructions
This no bake holiday dessert couldn’t be easier. Just mix, chill, roll and serve!
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract and brown sugar using a hand mixer until the mixture is well combined.
- Add the powdered sugar and beat on low, increasing the mixer speed to medium until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold the mini chocolate chips into the cream cheese base.
- Line your countertop with a large piece of plastic wrap. Form the cream cheese mixture into a ball and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.
- Combine the holiday mini M&Ms and crushed candy canes in a bowl or shallow dish. Roll the cheeseball in the decorative mixture.
- Serve the sweet dessert cheese ball on a platter with graham crackers.
Substitutions & Variations
Savory cheese balls shouldn’t steal the holiday spotlight. Here are a few more fun ways to jazz up this dessert cheese ball recipe:
- Rock and roll it! Feel free to use your favorite festive sprinkles, jimmies or holiday candies to coat this chocolate chip cheese ball.
- Stir it in! Miniature chocolate chips are a classic add in, but you can stir in toffee bits, toasted chopped pecans, shredded coconut, white chocolate chips or even more candy cane bits.
- What do you eat a cheese ball with? Switch up your dippers! We used regular graham crackers, but you can use mini vanilla wafers, chocolate graham crackers, Teddy Grahams, chocolate chip cookies, sugar wafer cookies, pretzels, Ritz crackers or even apple slices to dip in this chocolate chip cream cheese ball.
- Make minis! You can roll the cream cheese mixture into bite-sized dessert cheese balls and chill them before rolling them in the M&Ms and candy canes. Put a pretzel stick or graham cracker sticks into each of the mini cheese balls for easy serving at a holiday party.
Storage
Wrap any leftover chocolate chip dessert cheese ball in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
Related Recipes
If you love cheese balls, then make sure to check out this savory cheeseball recipe!
But if you’re looking for more sweet desserts to serve during the holidays, this dessert cheese ball would look awesome on this Christmas tray idea, or you should definitely give this Christmas Snack Mix a try! My egg custard recipe is a class, vintage recipe that’s popular during the holidays too!
Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!
Recipe
Christmas Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball
Video
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
- ½ cup holiday mini M&Ms
- ½ cup crushed candy canes
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract and brown sugar until the mixture is well combined.
- Add the powdered sugar and beat on low, increasing the mixer speed to medium until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the mini chocolate chips.
- Line your countertop with a generous piece of plastic wrap. Form the cream cheese mixture into a ball and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least two hours.
- Combine the holiday mini M&Ms and crushed candy canes in a bowl or shallow dish. Roll the cheeseball in the decorative mixture.
- Serve the cheesball on a platter with graham crackers.
Notes
- It is important to allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature (about 30-60 minutes) so there are no lumps of cream cheese in the dessert cheese ball.
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to two weeks by wrapping the cheeseball first in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil.
- You can make these cheeseball ahead of time and store it until you are ready to serve it by double wrapping it in the same way. We recommend rolling the cheeseball in the M&Ms/candy cane mixture just before serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Carolyn says
loved this cheese ball. Is there a way to freeze it and for how long can’t you keep it in the freezer?
Jessica says
Hi Carolyn! This is a great question. Although I haven’t tried freezing this yet, I do believe it would be ok to freeze for up to 3-4 weeks — but more than that, I’d be afraid of it’s quality. Make sure you wrap it well, preferably in plastic wrap, or Press ‘n Seal and then in a freezer-safe bag/container. I hope that helps!
Kristen says
My kids loved this, and they loved the cool design too. They thought it was a fancy dish because you had the center dip surrounded by the graham crackers which cracked me up.
Matt says
Such a fun and festive spin on a classic cheeseball recipe. This “dessert” cheeseball is perfect for Christmas and tastes amazing with graham crackers or belVita biscuits.
Allyson Zea says
This is such a cute dessert idea! Adding to my holiday menu!