Christmas Peppermint Oreo Cookie Balls
Today we are making Christmas Peppermint Oreo Cookie Balls! This holiday-inspired, no bake treat idea came about from a few ingredients I had on hand, leftover from making other Christmas desserts. Cream cheese, a box of cool whip, candycanes and Oreos – this foolproof recipe has just four simple ingredients!
I love making these no bake Oreo balls for a potluck or holiday parties when I have friends over, because they’re an easy treat to make, have a quick clean up time, and are difficult to get wrong. There’s no baking, melting, stir frying or any equipment required!
Or when it’s that time of year and you’re busy with family during the holiday season and you have little time but need a dessert ASAP, this recipe is the perfect treat to keep on hand. Plus, you can use golden Oreos, roll the balls in walnuts or crushed pecans and make a ton of different customizations. Read on to find the full recipe at the bottom of this post!
Why You’ll Love These Christmas Peppermint Oreo Cookie Balls
Foolproof Recipe: These festive treats are a great option to make with young children. They can help you in crushing the Oreos, in mixing the ingredients and shaping them into balls. Since there’s only four ingredients, there’s little chance it will mess up. Even if a little more or less of each ingredient is used, you can still shape it into a ball as long as it sticks together, and it will taste amazing either way.
Dairy-Free: These Oreo truffle balls are dairy-free, but also can be easily made gluten-free by switching out the Oreos for a gluten-free version. You can make this soy-free instead of gluten-free, by using Thin Crisp Oreos which don’t contain soy (but do contain gluten).
You can also substitute the cream cheese for a soy-free brand, if you can find a specific brand that uses nuts instead of soy as the cream cheese base (it’s usually either one or the other) in your local grocery store.
Substitutions
Oreos: Oreo cookies are already vegan as per the original recipe, so you can use regular-sized Oreos for this. For a different flavor, try Golden Oreos or even Mint flavor!
For a gluten-free option, opt for gluten-free Oreos. They’re pretty much identical to regular Oreos in taste and texture.
For a soy-free option, opt for Oreo Thin Crisps, as regular Oreos contain soy. Note that these Thin Crisps won’t be gluten-free though. You may need to use double the amount of Thin Crisps to make up one regular Oreo.
Cream Cheese: There are many brands of vegan cream cheese. For this recipe, I used Tofutti brand. For a soy-free option, choose a vegan cream cheese that isn’t soy-based, such as Miyokos brand. Many cream cheeses are either nut-based or soy-based, and it also depends on what’s available at the grocery store in your location.
Cool Whip: This is cool whip in a carton, not in an aerosol can. It’s a frozen topping versus actual whip. The brand I used was So Delicious Cocowhip, which is coconut-based.
Candycanes: Some candycane brands from the grocery store are not fully vegan, due to some food colorings being derived from beetles. You can check this page to find out which brands are. Candycanes may not be as easily found until it’s closer to the holidays though, depending on which store you go to.
Christmas Oreo Balls Recipe Notes
- To make different flavors, try using Golden Oreos, Mint Oreos or other Oreo flavors that would go well with the peppermint flavor of the candycanes. Note that any fudge-dipped Oreos are not vegan.
- For an extra-sugary dessert, melt semi-sweet chocolate, dark chocolate or vegan white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals, or using the double boiler method on a stove. Then drizzle the melted chocolate over the Oreo truffles before rolling them in the candycanes. Place them in the freezer to harden before serving. The crunchy candycane exterior, the hardened chocolate drizzle and finally the inner filling is triple the deliciousness!
- Use a rolling pin to easily break up the Oreos. However, you can also use a food processor or a blender to crush the cookies. Lightly pulse the blender to get them into coarse small-size chunks.
More Holiday Recipes & Sweet Treats
Golden Oreo Cheesecake Funfetti Bites
Peppermint Matcha Nanaimo Bars
If you make these Christmas Peppermint Oreo Cookie Balls, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!
Christmas Peppermint Oreo Cookie Balls
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup vegan cream cheese softened at room temperature
- ⅓ cup vegan whipped cream carton of frozen whip, not whip from an aerosol can (see substitution notes)
- 16 regular-size Oreos
- 3 regular-size candycanes multicolored red, green and white
Instructions
- Grind the candycanes in a spice grinder until they are broken down into small pieces, but not a full powder (see photos in this post for size). Set these aside in a small bowl once crushed.
- Place the Oreos in a sealed Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, crush the Oreos into small to medium size chunks.
- In a large bowl, place the crushed Oreos, the softened cream cheese and the cool whip. Mix it all together with a stand mixer or a spatula, until it comes together into one sticky mixture.
- The mixture will be too liquid-y to shape into balls, so place it in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Check on it every 10 minutes after the 30 minute mark, until you are able to shape them easily with your hands and the mixture holds instead of falling apart.
- Once the mixture is solid enough, shape into 6 balls, coating each ball with the crushed candycanes before placing them on a cookie sheet or a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Once the balls are ready, place them in the freezer to set for about 30 minutes more.
- Once they are fully set, remove from the freezer and enjoy! You can let them thaw at room temperature for some time, or eat them cold as they are.
Notes
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Storage
- Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to one week.
