No baking needed to create this simple and delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake Ball! This fun dessert "appetizer" is packed with pumpkin pie-inspired flavors, filled with milk chocolate toffee bits, and coated in miniature chocolate chips.
Dippers: apple, Biscoff cookies, gingersnaps, vanilla Oreos, etc.
Optional: orange food coloring
Instructions
CREAM CHEESE AND BUTTER: In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer (or in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment), beat together the room temperature (do NOT melt) cream cheese and butter until completely smooth.
OTHERINGREDIENTS: Once smooth, add in the vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, canned pumpkin, powdered sugar, brown sugar, food dye (if desired for a more intense orange color), and pumpkin spice cake mix (See Note 2). Beat until all ingredients are well incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape the sides.
TOFFEE: Stir in the toffee bits. The mixture is fairly wet and might not seem like it will come together, but it firms up a lot in the fridge!
WRAP: Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap and transfer the mixture into the center of it. Tightly wrap and form into a ball (again, it doesn't form perfectly here, but it will be easier to shape once it is firmer!)
CHILL: Chill for 2 hours or until firm.
SERVE: Once firmed and chilled, remove from the fridge. Place miniature chocolate chips on a plate and unwrap the pumpkin ball onto the chips. Roll around and use your hands to press chocolate chips all around the ball. Serve with your favorite cookies/crackers, apple slices, etc.
Video
Notes
Note 1: Do not use low-fat or spreadable cream cheese, as they won't set up. Margarine also won't set up properly, so make sure to use real butter. Both the cream cheese and butter should be softened to room temperature and not melted.Note 2: If you are concerned about the flour in the spice cake mix, I recommend heat treating it first. There are two options for heat-treating your mix:
Heat treat it in the microwave: Add the spice cake 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 mixture burns. Use a thermometer to test the mixture in a few places to make sure it has reached 165 degrees F throughout all the mixture. (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 cake mix on the pan. Bake the cake mix, removing and stirring it, every 1 and 1/2 minutes. Every time you remove the cake mix to stir, test it with the thermometer. As soon as it reaches 165 degrees F, it's safe to use in the recipe.