I can’t believe that July 4th is this week! Yikes, where has the year gone? I love decorating and hosting gatherings for the 4th. All the red, white, and blue theme decorations and treats are just so fun and of course help represent the true meaning behind the holiday (that we should all remember when we’re celebrating). This red, white, and blue cheesecake cheese ball is a perfect dessert for the occasion.
This is an easy recipe to make, but it is a bit time consuming to put together due to the steps involved. If you don’t want to take the time to make this into a cheese ball, you could easily layer the colors in a clear bowl (being careful not to mix them) and serve as a regular dip. This goes great with cookies, graham crackers, or fruit.
To build the layers of the cheese ball, you need to start with the first color, let it freeze, and then repeat using the remaining colors. It sounds difficult, but is fairly simple.
I started with the red layer and formed it into a cheese ball on a plate (be sure the plate is covered in wax paper so you can easily remove the cheese ball later). I then put it in the freezer for a couple of hours. See picture below:
I then took the next color and evenly covered the red layer (just like icing a cake). Then it was back into the freezer. Finally, I did the same thing for the top layer and put the completed cheese ball in the freezer to set. I chose to use white as my top layer since I thought the sprinkles would look better against the white 🙂
Once the entire cheese ball has hardened then top with red, white, and blue sprinkles to make it extra festive. Remove from freezer about 20 minutes before serving to allow the cheese ball to soften.
Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake Cheese Ball
Ingredients
- 2 8-oz blocks of cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- red and blue gel food coloring
- red white, and blue sprinkles
Instructions
- With a mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla and brown sugar. Slowly add in powdered sugar until mixture is combined.
- Evenly divide the mixture into 3 separate bowls. Set one bowl aside (for the white) and then add the red color to one, and the blue color to the other. Start out with just a couple drops of the food coloring and add more until you get the desired color.
- Cover a plate with wax paper. Take the red mixture and form into a small cheese ball on the plate. Freeze for a couple hours to harden. :Place the remaining 2 bowls into the refrigerator to use later.
- Remove the cheese ball from the freezer and evenly cover with the blue mixture (just like how you would ice a cake). Place back into the freezer for another couple of hours. Remove, and cover with the remaining white mixture. Return to the freezer to harden. Finally, cover with sprinkles and place into the freezer until about 20 minutes before you're ready to serve.
- Serve with graham crackers, fruit, or cookies.
Do you just eat the cheesecake cheese ball like that or do you eat it with something else?
It is great served with graham crackers or you could serve with your favorite cookies as well.