This Dessert Cheese Ball (brownie batter dip) is a no-bake dessert “cheeseball” perfect for an easy dessert or to serve when entertaining.
We’re obsessed with this dessert dip! It’s sweet, chocolate-y, and loaded with chocolate and toffee! If you’re looking for a dip without cream cheese, be sure to try this Edible Brownie Batter — it’s a reader favorite!
Dessert Cheese Ball
We all know and love a good Cheese Ball recipe or a savory veggie dip, like this Baked Potato Dip, so why not enjoy dessert cheese balls too?! And that’s where this brownie batter dip comes in. It’s got all the fun elements from a cheese ball, but in dessert form. While most cheese balls are made with savory cheeses, this one has sweet cream cheese!
This is one of my favorite desserts to bring to share. Not only is it a total showstopper, it’s also consistently the first thing to disappear from the table. It’s rich, sweet, and filled with texture thanks to the toffee bits and miniature chocolate chips. Plus there’s a plethora of things to dip in this dessert cheese ball, so it’s just as fun as serving up some Chocolate Fondue!
So, the next time you’re trying to think of a fun dessert to share with a crowd, look no further than this Dessert Cheese Ball.
How to heat treat the brownie mix
There is part of a boxed brownie mix in this dessert, which contains “raw” flour. If you are concerned about the potential for bacteria in this, I recommend heat treating the brownie mix to ensure any potential bacteria is killed. There are two options for heat treating your mix.
- Heat treat it in the microwave: Add the brownie mix to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high in bursts of 30 seconds, stirring in between each burst. Take your time, stirring well to make sure none of the flour burns. Use a thermometer to test the flour in a few places to make sure it has reached 165 degrees F throughout all the flour. (If you get less than 165 degrees, return the flour for one more burst of 30 seconds.)
- Heat treat it in the oven: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a large sheet pan (with sides) with a nonstick liner or parchment paper. Spread the brownie mix on the pan. Bake the brownie mix, removing and stirring it, every 1 and 1/2 minutes. Every time you remove the brownie mix to stir, test it with the thermometer. As soon as it reaches 165 degrees F, it’s safe to use in the recipe.
Quick Tip
Why heat treat the brownie mix? Any time grains are used in an uncooked form, there is a small but real risk of salmonella or E.coli bacteria being present…and that is a health concern. This is one reason why we’re warned not to eat raw cookie dough. Normally, brownie mix is baked, which kills any bacteria, but since we’re using the brownie mix in its uncooked form, we play it safe and heat treat it to remove any potential bacteria.
Notes on heat-treated brownie mix
- Let it cool completely before using. If you use hot brownie mix, this dessert cheese ball’s consistency will be off. Stick the pan with the brownie mix in the fridge or freezer to quickly bring it to room temperature.
- Break up any clumps with your fingers and discard any stubborn clumps that won’t break up. If brownie mix is stuck to the sides or bottom of the pan, don’t scrape it up for this cheese ball — it’s most likely over-cooked.
- If there are discolored sections discard them– it will make the dip taste burnt.
- We want the heat-treated brownie mix to look just like it did before heat treating it; it shouldn’t be burned or discolored in the slightest.
Dessert Cheese Ball tips
- I recommend full-fat cream cheese for this recipe. When using lower fat cream cheese, it doesn’t hold together as well and can actually get a bit watery.
- Since the brownie mix does have salt in it, I recommend using unsalted butter so the total amount of salt in this Dessert Cheese Ball can be managed.
- Use a fudge brownie mix. We like Pillsbury® chocolate fudge brownie mix or Betty Crocker® fudge brownie mix (neither sponsored). Avoid brownie mixes with chocolate chips in them if you are heat-treating the mix.
- Toffee bits are a game changer! We add milk chocolate English toffee bits and they bring such a great flavor and texture to the dessert.
- Use room-temperature cream cheese and butter. It’s really important that the cream cheese and butter are at room temperature. You don’t want to melt either of them, or this dessert cheese ball won’t set up properly. Leave cold ingredients out for 45 minutes to an hour, or use some of these tricks to bring them to room temperature quicker.
- The whole ball gets rolled in a delicious coating of miniature chocolate chips, but you could also roll it in the toffee bits if you’d prefer that.
Dessert Cheese Ball dippers
While I’m partial to a nice big spoon…here are a few of our other favorite things to dip into this dessert cheese ball:
- graham crackers
- Oreos/Oreo thins (basically any variety of Oreo® cookies are delicious!)
- pretzels/pretzel thins
- vanilla sandwich cookies
- fresh fruit
- animal cookies
Quick Tip
When wrapped and stored correctly, this Dessert Cheese Ball will stay fresh in the fridge for 4-5 days. Because of the dairy in this dessert (the cream cheese), it is not a great candidate for freezing and thawing. The chocolate chips and toffee also get too soft and mushy.
More delicious brownie-inspired treats
- Brownie Trifle with vanilla cream and berries
- Peppermint Brownies with chocolate ganache topping
- Cosmic Brownies with fudge sprinkles
- Miniature Brownie Bites
- Mini Brownie Bites with Rolos using a brownie mix!
Dessert Cheese Ball
Ingredients
- 1 package (8 ounces) full-fat cream cheese
- 8 tablespoons (equivalent of 1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ cups chocolate fudge brownie mix, dry
- 1 ½ cups miniature chocolate chips, separated
- ½ cups toffee bits
- Dippers of your choice
Instructions
- PREP: It’s really important that the cream cheese and butter are at room temperature. Leave cold ingredients out for 45 minutes to an hour, or use some of these tricks to bring them to room temperature quicker. Do not melt either for this recipe; soften in the microwave for 10-15 seconds if needed.
- BEAT: In a large bowl, beat the room-temperature cream cheese and butter until completely smooth. Add in the vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and dry brownie mix (See Note 1). Mix until completely smooth.
- ADD INS: Stir in 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips and the toffee bits. Mix until incorporated. The mixture will be fairly soft/wet/sticky, but don't worry; it firms up a lot during the chilling process!
- CHILL: Spread out a very large piece of plastic wrap. Using a spatula, scrape and scoop all the mixture into a ball on top of the plastic wrap. Wrap around the dessert ball, form into a ball, and place in the fridge to chill for 3-4 hours or until completely firm.
- COAT IN CHOCOLATE: Spread 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips on a large plate. Unwrap the cheesecake ball and put on top of the chocolate chips. Use the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips to coat all the rest of the cheesecake ball.
- SERVE: Serve with dippers of your choice.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Heat treat it in the microwave: Add the brownie mix to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high in bursts of 30 seconds, stirring in between each burst. Take your time, stirring well to make sure none of the flour burns. Use a thermometer to test the flour in a few places to make sure it has reached 165 degrees F throughout all the flour. (If you get less than 165 degrees, return the flour for one more burst of 30 seconds).
- Heat treat it in the oven: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a large sheet pan (with sides) with a nonstick liner or parchment paper. Spread the brownie mix on the pan. Bake the brownie mix, removing and stirring it, every 1 and 1/2 minutes. Every time you remove the brownie mix to stir, test it with the thermometer. As soon as it reaches 165 degrees F, it's safe to use in the recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I don’t like using boxed mixes in any recipe, so can you create your own “brownie mix” with flour and cocoa? This looks so good!
Hey Donna, I haven’t tested using a homemade mix, if you do decide to give it a shot I have a delicious homemade brownie recipe: https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/brownie-recipe/.
mine was SO difficult to wrap in saran wrap…. it was SO CREAMY!
I tried to shape into a ball, but it keeps falling flat.
Did you change any ingredients or use low fat cream cheese? The only other thing I can think is that your butter or cream cheese were too soft/melty. If that’s the case, some time in the fridge will help firm it up that it should go into a ball!
Absolutely delicious,!! I used vanilla graham crackers an loved it together. Took this to a couples baby shower and everyone wanted the recipe. My platter came home licked clean, lol. Thank you!,
CHELSEA my jaw dropped when i saw this recipe haha. this looks SO goooood. literally my dream dessert.
Also i’m loving the photos, especially those wonderful chococlate chips dropping mid-air
Oh you are so, so sweet! Thank you so much! 🙂
Hello, can I just make this as plain dessert instead of a dip? Will his easily melt outside the refrigerator?
I’m not sure how you plan on serving it if not a dip? It doesn’t harden enough to be able to be cut into anything, but I don’t see why it couldn’t be made into some kind of dessert, just depends what you are thinking? It gets extremely soft outside of the fridge, and I would recommend refrigeration anyways because there is cream cheese in it.
This is so much fun! I loved that you used brownie batter! It’s perfect for game day!
This recipe looks super yummy! Your pictures (as always) are absolutely gorgeous!
Ohmygosh! Cannot wait to try this.
I hope you love it! 🙂
Omg, look at this thing! It looks so rich and creamy. How fun to do a cheesecake ball instead of the regular cheese ones. I think it would be hard for me to share this. 😉 Pinned!
I LOVE the different flavour combinations of brownie and cheesecake ball Chelsea! Perfect for Valentine’s Day!
Awe thank you so much Jessica! <3