Turkey Dessert Cheese Ball

This creamy and delicious chocolate chip cheese ball is dressed up for the holiday! It’s easy to make this adorable Turkey Cheese Ball Dessert with just a handful of ingredients and a little bit of creativity.

Dessert cheese balls are such a fun way to enjoy dessert with friends! Just like savory cheese balls, the dessert versions are made with softened cream cheese and other tasty add-ins, then shaped into a ball and rolled in nuts.

But unlike a bacon ranch cheese ball, this dessert turkey cheese ball is filled with chocolate chips and brown sugar, rather than salt and spices.

This fantastic blend of brown sugar, butter, cream cheese, and vanilla is like a mix between raw chocolate chip cookie dough and cheesecake, and it’s irresistible spread on a Nilla Wafer or graham cracker.

While you could just make a chocolate chip cheese ball and call it a day, we’re taking it up a notch for Thanksgiving by decorating this sweet cheese ball with handmade edible tailfeathers and a candy turkey face.

If you think this turkey dessert is cute, you will love my adorable Turkey Cupcakes too!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

1. No Baking or Cooking – Some of the best desserts are made in the refrigerator, this turkey cheese ball included.
2. Delicious Dessert Dip – A dessert cheese ball is just a thick dessert dip that’s been shaped into a ball! Everyone will love spreading this tasty chocolate chip dip onto cookies.
3. A Thanksgiving Dessert – Many desserts are acceptable to eat at thanksgiving, but there are only a few that are themed and decorated especially for the occasion. Turkey desserts are so fun and cute.

Ingredients In Turkey Cheese Ball Dessert

Here’s what you need to make this dessert dip ball with chocolate chips:

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

• Cream Cheese and Butter: Soften the cream cheese and butter so that they’ll blend together seamlessly to create the cheese ball base.
• Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar sweetens the cream cheese, and thickens it so that it will hold together into a ball.
• Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar is mostly here for its flavor. It gives the cream cheese a cookie dough-like sweetness.
• Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract please, not the kind is labeled as “artificial”.
• Chocolate Chips: I am using regular semi-sweet chocolate chips. Miniature chocolate chips could also be used, or dark chocolate chips.
• Chopped Pecans: Chop the nuts coarsely so that there are variations in the sizes.
• Colored Candy Melts: Red, orange, and yellow candy melts are used to make colorful tail feathers for this turkey dessert.
• Candy: To make a turkey face I used a full-sized Reese’s peanut butter cup, two candy eyes, half of a red gummy worm, and half of a single Reese’s pieces of candy. You can get creative to make your turkey, but I found that these things worked best for me.

How To Make a Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball Turkey

1. Blend: In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with butter and vanilla extract until smooth. Add powdered sugar and brown sugar and beat again until combined. Don’t overmix.
2. Add Mix-ins: Stir in half of the chocolate chips and half of the chopped pecans. Cover the bowl and chill in the fridge for at least two hours.
3. Shape: Shape the mixture into a ball, wrap it with plastic wrap, and chill for 1 more hour.
4. Roll: After it’s chilled, unwrap and carefully roll the cheese ball in the remaining chocolate chips and pecans, then place the cheese ball on a serving plate.

1. While the cheese ball is chilling you can make the decorations. Start by lining a sheet pan with parchment paper, and melting the three different colors of candy melts, one color at a time.
2. Make Feathers: Drop about a teaspoon of melted candy on the parchment paper, and spread to make feather shapes. Chill the feathers in the fridge to harden them.
3. Arrange a Tail: Press the pretzels and the candy feathers into one side of the dessert cheese ball to create the tail feathers. I made a row of pretzels on either side of the row of feathers to keep them secure.
4. Make the Turkey’s Face: Use a small amount of melted chocolate chips to attach candy eyes, Reese’s pieces, and a piece of a gummy worm to the top of the Reese’s peanut butter cup to make the turkey’s face. Carefully place the face on the front of the cheeseball.

Recipe Tips

• Avoid overmixing the cream cheese dip. Too much air in the mixture will make it hard to form into a solid cheese ball. If you’ve already over-softened the cheese, mix in an additional ¼ cup of powdered sugar to firm it up. 
• The handmade candy feathers are delicate! Use a small knife to make a space to insert them so that you don’t have to force them into the cream cheese.
• Make it Simple: Skip the decorations if you want to. This dessert cheese ball is a delicious treat served plain!
• To Make Ahead: I suggest making the cheese ball ahead, but adding the decorations just before serving. You can store this dessert well wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. 
• To make this dessert nut-free, use more chocolate chips in place of the pecans. For the turkey’s face, use a cookie or cracker in place of the peanut-butter cup, and an orange M&M for the beak.
• You can also swap out the pecans for your favorite nuts. Walnuts or cashews would be delicious. Add in some chopped toffee pieces if you like too!
• Serve this turkey cheeseball with Nilla Wafers, graham crackers, Ritz Crackers or Pretzels. It’s fun to have some sweet and some salty dippers for people to choose from.

Storing Tips

This dessert cheese ball will stay fresh for up to 5 days if wrapped well and kept in the fridge.

If you’re making it ahead of time, I suggest making only the cheese ball, and adding the turkey decorations just before serving.

Freeze this dessert cream cheese ball, wrapped well with plastic wrap, for up to 2 months. Allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge before decorating and serving.

More Thanksgiving Dessert Table Ideas

I have more recipes for dessert dips! If you like this one, check out Funfetti Cake Batter Dip or Canoli Dip next. For a Christmas treat, try this fluffy Christmas Tree Cake Dip.

Other easy no-bake desserts you’ll find here include a decadent Pumpkin Lush, No Bake Pumpkin Pie, and Oreo Icebox Cake.

If it’s thanksgiving, there must be pie! My favorites on Thanksgiving are old fashioned Custard Pie, and of course, Pumpkin Pie.

FAQs

This Turkey Cheese Ball Dessert is going to be a hit at your holiday party! Not only is it delicious, but it’s perfectly festive too. Pin this recipe so you don’t lose it!