Description
These Grinchy Christmas Cake Bites are a festive holiday treat featuring red velvet cookie and cream cheese balls dipped in vibrant green white chocolate and decorated with red heart sprinkles. Perfect as a fun and colorful dessert bite for holiday parties and celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Base
- 3 (9.6-oz.) packages Chips Ahoy Chewy Red Velvet cookies
- 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature
Chocolate Coating and Decoration
- 3 (12-oz.) packages white chocolate chips, divided
- Green food coloring gel
- Red heart sprinkles, for decorating
Instructions
- Prepare the Baking Sheet and Process Cookies: Place a wire rack in a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a food processor, pulse the red velvet cookies until they form fine crumbs.
- Make the Dough: In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese at medium-high speed until smooth. Add the cookie crumbs and continue beating until fully combined into a dough.
- Form Cake Balls: Using a 1-tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop out portions of the dough and roll them into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Arrange the balls on the prepared wire rack and refrigerate until firm, approximately 2 hours.
- Melt White Chocolate for Coating: Set a medium heatproof bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, ensuring the bowl’s bottom does not touch the water. Reserve one package of white chocolate chips. In the bowl, melt the remaining two packages of white chocolate chips, stirring frequently until smooth, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add Green Food Coloring: Stir in 1 drop of green food coloring gel, adding more drops as needed until the chocolate reaches the desired vibrant green color.
- Dip Cake Balls in Chocolate: Using a fork, dip each cake ball into the green melted chocolate, allowing excess chocolate to drip off. Place the coated balls back on the wire rack. Repeat with remaining balls. For a thicker coating, apply a second dip if desired. Refrigerate the dipped balls until the coating is set, about 30 minutes. Wipe out the bowl and keep the double boiler setup ready for next use.
- Melt Reserved White Chocolate for Drizzle: In the double boiler, melt the reserved package of white chocolate chips, stirring until smooth, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Color and Thin the Drizzle Chocolate: Add 1 drop of green food coloring gel to the melted chocolate and stir to incorporate, adding more color if needed. If the chocolate is too thick for drizzling, add hot water from the pot, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition until it reaches a smooth drizzling consistency. Transfer the chocolate to a plastic or piping bag and snip off the tip.
- Drizzle and Decorate: Drizzle the green chocolate over the cake balls to create festive stripes. Before the drizzle sets, top each ball with a red heart sprinkle for decoration.
Notes
- Ensure the cream cheese is fully softened to get a smooth dough consistency.
- Use a wire rack over parchment to allow excess chocolate to drip off and prevent sticking.
- Adjust green food coloring gradually to achieve the perfect festive color without overpowering the chocolate flavor.
- Keep cake balls refrigerated if not serving immediately to maintain firmness.
- This recipe yields approximately 36 cake bites, making it ideal for large gatherings.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cake bite
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 90mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 14g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 1.5g
- Cholesterol: 15mg
