Ingredients

• 16 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 ½ cups sugar cookie mix (dry and heat treated*)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup sugar cookies, crushed
• Festive sprinkles for decorating

Method

1. Beat together the softened cream cheese and the softened butter until fully incorporated
2. Add the cookie mix, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract and beat until well combined
3. Fold in the sugar cookie pieces, and mix until combined
4. Lay out a piece of cling wrap and scoop the cream cheese mixture onto it
5. Form a ball, then wrap up the ball in the cling wrap. Use an extra layer of cling wrap to help it keep its shape. (I find a small soup ball helps to act as a mould here)
6. Freeze for about 2 hours minimum, but preferably overnight
7. Place the sprinkles in a low shallow baking dish
8. Take the ball out of the freezer and unwrap. At this point you can use the heat from your hands to smooth out and geta more regular “ball” shape if needed
9. Roll the ball in the sprinkles making sure you cover as much of it as you can
10. Place the cheesecake ball on your serving plate and place in the fridge for between 30 minutes to an hour
11. Serve with additional cookies or graham crackers for scooping
12. If not serving that day, wrap in new cling wrap and place back in the freezer and then take out an hour before serving to come up to room temperature

*Heat treating the cookie mix

To heat treat the cookie mix, place it in a microwavable bowl and heat in 20 second bursts, stirring well between, until an internal temperature of 165F. Make sure that you stir between bursts to distribute the heat and avoid the mix catching to burn. Allow to cool before using