Christmastime is great for making sweets. Lots of people bake cookies, have cookie exchanges and even full out cookie parties! But cookies shouldn’t get all the hype for Christmas. Enter carrot cake balls. These are such a great alternative to plain old cookies!
They are so good and so incredibly easy, you will not believe it until you make them yourself! I’m not sure why I couldn’t find more recipes or Pinterest pins about carrot cake balls. Perhaps because carrot cake tends to be a bit more moist than other kinds of cake so it doesn’t lend itself to being on a stick like other cake balls or cake pops…? I actually really enjoy the soft texture of these treats. I don’t dip mine in white chocolate because I just feel a cream cheese glaze lets the cake shine. Speaking of the cake…
My mom makes THE best carrot cake.
Hands down. Hands up. Jazz hands, whatever. It’s the best. But she sells her cakes so I didn’t want to ask her for the recipe just yet. Maybe we’ll put it in a cookbook one day, but for now, let’s let her get her retired side hustle on and just use a box mix. My favorite boxed carrot cake is Betty Crocker. I’ve compared it to other brands and it seems to be the most moist and flavorful. It still doesn’t compare to my mother’s and nothing will so I’ve come to terms with that. However, for these carrot cake balls, I find that a box mix actually works better. Nobody wants to mess with the pure awesome carrot cake goodness of my mother’s cake.
So here I go again sharing another shortcut recipe (remember the Mac-n-Cheese?). Don’t judge. Just make these and enjoy the serotonin boost.
Ingredients:
1 box carrot cake mix (Baked according to package directions)
3/4 tub cream cheese frosting
Cream Cheese Glaze:
1/4 tub cream cheese frosting
Directions:
- Bake cake according to package directions. Cool.
- In large bowl, crumble cake making sure to break up any big pieces.
- Add about 3/4 of a tub of cream cheese frosting. I used Betty Crocker (not pictured, sorry!). Mix well until no crumbs remain.
- Form “dough” into small 1″ to 1 1/4″ balls and place on cookie sheet. You can cover the cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper before putting the cake balls on it if you want.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat remaining 1/4 tub of frosting in microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave for 15 more seconds until a drizzling consistency.
- Using a teaspoon, drizzle the glaze over the cooled balls (insert 12 year old boy laugh).
- Let sit until glaze hardens up. Serve!
Are you going to stick to making cookies this year for Christmas or branch out and make other special treats? I definitely think you should try making carrot cake balls, but I might be biased.
I think next up for me is Cream Cheese Peppermints!
