Reindeer Oreo Balls
Reindeer Oreo Balls are fun and cute Christmas treats that only require three main ingredients and edible decorations. Get the kids to help you assemble these Christmas Oreo balls and serve them on a Christmas candy board with other festive sweet treats!
Those who know me well understand that I live for Christmas! Adding these adorable Reindeer Oreo Balls to the list of holiday treats I get to make for friends and family to enjoy brings me such joy. I don’t mind nibbling on them either – they’re super delicious!
Fun, delicious, and easy to make! Add these reindeer Oreo balls to your platter of Christmas treats alongside Christmas Wreath Cupcakes, Christmas Peanut Butter Fudge, and Christmas Linzer Cookies, and get ready for all those compliments to roll in!
🌟 WHY I LOVE REINDEER OREO BALLS
Reindeer Oreo balls are super easy to make with just three ingredients – softened cream cheese, crushed Oreo cookies, and melted chocolate. Once coated, it’s just a matter of adding the pretzel antlers and candy eyes and nose!
These Christmas Oreo balls can be made the night before to save you time assembling. The uncoated balls need to be chilled in the fridge before being coated in melted chocolate to help them maintain shape. You could even make the cream cheese and Oreo balls a week or two ahead of Christmas and freeze them!
If you don’t like spending tons of money on revamping your Christmas decorations, adding some edible holiday treats like these reindeer Oreo balls is a great way to add cheer to any room!
🍽 KEY INGREDIENTS
Oreo cookies – You’ll need about 45 of the Family Size package Oreo Cookies for this recipe.
Cream cheese – Softened to room temperature for easy mixing.
Pretzel twists – Broken in half.
Dark chocolate melting wafers – I prefer the Ghirardelli brand. You won’t need to add any oil to this.
Black sugar pearls – For the reindeer eyes.
Red Hots – For the nose.
Swaps
Oreos – Oreos are known for making delicious treat balls, but you could use another type of sandwich cookie.
Gluten-free – Regular Oreos are not gluten-free, but they do offer gluten-free Oreos if you require.
🥣 EQUIPMENT
You’ll need a baking tray, parchment paper, a food processor, a hand mixer, a large mixing bowl, a cookie scoop, and a double boiler.
🔪 HOW TO MAKE
These reindeer Oreo balls are as simple as 1-2-3 with minimal ingredients and no baking! Follow my step-by-step instructions and helpful cooking tips for maximum success!
Preparations
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and crumb the Oreos in a food processor.
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Combine the softened cream cheese and Oreo crumbs in a mixing bowl until fully combined.
Step 2
Use a cookie scoop to measure out the mixture and roll it into smooth balls. Place these balls on the baking tray and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
Step 3
Melt the dark chocolate melting wafers in a double boiler over low heat or in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave. Stir every 30 seconds until melted and smooth. Remove the Oreo balls from the fridge and dip each one into the melted chocolate, tapping the sides of the bowl gently to shake off excess chocolate. Place the balls back onto the baking tray.
Step 4
Immediately decorate the Oreo balls by inserting two broken pretzels, adding two eyes, and a candy nose for each ball. Allow the Oreo reindeer to set before serving.
💭 COOKING TIPS
Chilling the Oreo balls will help keep the balls firm so that they hold their shape better and don’t fall apart when dipped into the melting wafers.
Keep the assembled reindeer Oreo balls refrigerated until you’re ready to serve them. If the balls sit out at room temperature for an extended period of time, the chocolate coating will start to crack.
This recipe can easily be doubled or even tripled – great for serving a larger crowd at your holiday parties and events!
📖 RECIPE VARIATIONS
These Reindeer Oreo balls are adorable as they are, but I’ve listed a few ways that you could easily adapt this no-bake recipe.
VARIATIONS
- Add vanilla extract or almond extract for an added depth of flavor in these reindeer Oreo balls.
- Use milk chocolate or white chocolate melting wafers to coat the Oreo balls.
- Use Golden Oreos instead of regular Oreos.
- Insert a lollipop stick into the bottom of each reindeer Oreo ball when assembling. This is a great way for guests to handle these treats without getting their hands messy.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH REINDEER OREO BALLS
These Reindeer Oreo balls will add festive cheer to any holiday dessert table. Here are two ways I like to enjoy these Christmas treats:
Ice Cream
Serve these Reindeer Oreo balls with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.
Hot Drinks
Enjoy as a sweet holiday treat with your favorite hot beverage – hot chocolate, coffee, tea, or eggnog.
Dessert Board
Create a holiday-inspired dessert board with these Reindeer Oreo balls and other fun treats, such as Chocolate Marshmallow Snowballs, Melting Snowmen Cupcakes, and Christmas Peanut Butter Fudge.
🙋 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
It’s possible to crush the Oreo cookies to a fine texture by adding them to a Ziploc bag and crunching them with a rolling pin. You will definitely need some muscle strength to combine the crushed cookies with the softened cream cheese, but it’s totally possible!
No. The Ghirardelli brand of melting wafers is great for melted chocolate that doesn’t need to be smoothed out with the addition of oil. You may need to add some oil to the mixture when using a different brand.
Yes, you can! It’s one of the reasons that I love making them…they’re easy to make ahead and freeze for later usage! This helps to cut down on the time spent in the kitchen.
🧊 STORING AND ♨️ REHEATING
FRIDGE
These reindeer Oreo balls can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. I like to line the bottom of the container with parchment paper to prevent the chocolate-coated balls from sticking.
You should also add a layer of wax or parchment paper between stacked Oreo balls in storage.
FREEZER
I recommend flash freezing the Christmas Oreo balls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet for 1-2 hours so that they harden, and then transferring them to an airtight container or a Ziploc bag.
Thaw the frozen Oreo balls in the fridge for a few hours before serving.
Keep in mind that any length of storage of these decorated reindeer Oreo balls can lead to broken pretzel antlers softening and the face decorations bleeding or falling off.
OTHER FUN CHRISTMAS TREATS
- Christmas Meringue Pops
- Christmas Wreath Cupcakes
- Grinch Christmas Cookies
- Christmas Lights Cookies
- Christmas Doughnuts Recipe
- Chocolate Marshmallow Snowballs
👪 SERVING SIZE
This recipe makes 24 Reindeer Oreo balls and can easily be halved or doubled without it affecting the recipe steps.
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📋 RECIPE
Reindeer Oreo Balls
Reindeer Oreo Balls are fun Christmas treats you can make with the kids this holiday! You only need 3 ingredients and edible decorations for the reindeer face and antlers!
Ingredients
- 18.12 oz Family Size package Oreo Cookies (about 45 cookies)
- 8 ounce block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups pretzel twists, broken in half
- 15 ounces Ghirardelli dark chocolate melting wafers
- Black sugar pearls, for the eyes
- Red Hots, for the nose
Instructions
- Line a baking tray with parchment and set it aside. Place the Oreo cookies in a food processor or high speed blender and pulse into fine crumbs.
- In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer on high speed, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Add the Oreo crumbs to the bowl and mix on medium speed until well combined.
- Using a 1.5” cookie scoop, scoop up even sized balls and then roll it in the palms of your hands to make it smooth. Place the rolled balls on the prepared baking tray.
- Once you are done making balls, place the tray into the refrigerator to chill for 2 hours.
- In a double boiler over low heat (or use a microwave safe bowl and microwave on low setting), melt the dark chocolate melting wafers, stirring every 30 seconds until fully melted and smooth.
- Use a fork to dip one ball at a time into the melted dark chocolate. Lift the fork and tap it on the side to help remove any excess coating. Place the ball back onto the baking tray.
- Carefully insert two broken pretzel pieces for the antlers about ¼”-½” deep. Add the Red Hot for the nose and hold it in place for about 10 seconds or so to allow the chocolate to set a bit otherwise it will slide down. Then immediately add two candy eyes right above it.
- Repeat with the rest of the Oreo balls. Reheat the dark chocolate melting wafers over low heat or on a low or defrost setting in the microwave if needed.
- Allow the reindeer oreo balls to set completely before serving, about 15 minutes. You can place them in the refrigerator to help them harden faster. Keep refrigerated until ready to eat.