Six ingredients, no oven, and an hour and a half of which an hour is the fridge doing the work.
Two things about the safety of a no-bake dessert are worth stating plainly, because there is no cooking step to fall back on: there is no egg and no raw flour anywhere in this recipe, and because it contains cream cheese it stays refrigerated.
Why This Recipe Works
- Processing the cookies to fine crumbs lets the cream cheese bind them into a smooth, rollable mixture.
- Reserving two tablespoons of crumbs before mixing gives a dark topping that matches what is inside.
- Thirty minutes of chilling firms the balls so they hold their shape in warm coating.
- Letting the excess coating drip away stops a pool forming around the base.
- Decorating while the coating is tacky is the only window in which sprinkles will hold.
Ingredient Notes
- Oreo sandwich cookies
- Thirty-six, filling and all, processed whole. Two tablespoons of the crumbs are set aside before the cream cheese goes in.
- Block cream cheese
- Eight ounces, softened, and block rather than spreadable. It is the only binder, and it is why the finished balls stay in the fridge.
- White melting chocolate
- Twelve ounces of melting chocolate or candy wafers, melted to the packet's own directions.
- Pastel drizzle and sprinkles
- Two tablespoons of each, applied in the short window while the white coating is still tacky.
How to Make It
Crumbs, and keep some back
Process Oreo cookies into fine crumbs; reserve 2 tablespoons for topping.
Bind with cream cheese
Mix remaining crumbs thoroughly with cream cheese. No egg or raw flour is used.
Roll 24, chill 30 minutes
Roll into 24 balls and chill 30 minutes.
Dip, and let it drip
Melt white coating according to package directions and dip each chilled ball, letting excess drip away.
Decorate while tacky
Add pastel drizzle, sprinkles, and reserved cookie crumbs while the coating is still tacky.
Chill again, and keep cold
Chill at least 30 minutes until firm and keep refrigerated until serving.
Ninety Minutes, and One Very Short Window
Nothing here is cooked, so timing is the only technique the recipe has. An hour of it is spent in the fridge, and the part that decides how the finished balls look lasts less than a minute each.
0:00
36 Oreo sandwich cookies processed to fine crumbs - with 2 tbsp SET ASIDE before anything else happens
Those two tablespoons are the dark crumb visible on the finished balls. Once the cream cheese goes in there is no way to get plain crumbs back.
0:05
8 oz of softened block cream cheese, mixed thoroughly into the remaining crumbs
The only binder in the recipe, and the reason the finished balls live in the fridge. Note what is NOT here: no egg, no raw flour. In a dessert with no cooking step at all, that is worth being explicit about, and the recipe is.
0:15 - the first chill
Nothing. 24 rolled balls, 30 minutes in the fridge
Firmness, not flavour. A soft ball loses its shape the moment it meets warm coating.
0:45
12 oz of white melting chocolate or candy wafers, melted to the packet's directions, each ball dipped and the excess allowed to drip away
Letting it drip is what stops a set pool forming round the base of each one.
Seconds later - the only real window
2 tbsp pastel candy melt drizzle, 2 tbsp pastel sprinkles, and the 2 tbsp of reserved cookie crumbs
WHILE THE COATING IS STILL TACKY. Set white chocolate is smooth and nothing sticks to it, so this is done a few balls at a time rather than dipping all 24 and then decorating.
+30 minutes, and after
Nothing. Chilled at least 30 minutes until firm, and kept refrigerated until serving
The second chill sets the coating; staying cold afterwards is a food-safety instruction, not a serving preference.
Success Tips
- Chill the balls properly before dipping; a soft ball loses its shape in warm coating.
- Work in small batches at the dipping stage so nothing sets before it is decorated.
- Keep them in the fridge until they are served.
Serving Ideas
Twenty-four white-chocolate-coated balls on a white plate, each with its pastel drizzle, sprinkles and dark cookie crumbs, brought out of the fridge to serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there raw egg in this?
No. There is no egg and no raw flour in the recipe at all — the mixture is cookie crumbs and cream cheese, and step 2 says so.
Do they have to be refrigerated?
Yes. They contain cream cheese and there is no cooking step, so they are kept cold until they are served.
My sprinkles fell off. Why?
The coating had already set. Decorations go on while it is still tacky, which is a short window — dip and decorate a few at a time.
