Eggnog Cake Bites offers a delightful blend of rich eggnog flavors in every bite-sized morsel. These Christmas treats are perfect for your holiday cookie tray or cookie exchange.
Easy Eggnog Cake Balls
Our easy Eggnog Cake Bites recipe takes all the festive flavors of a traditional holiday beverage and bakes it right into the cake batter.
Eggnog cake balls are so simple to make using a butter pecan cake mix, eggs, eggnog, and oil for baking a tender, soft cake; it’s the perfect crumb for combining with cream cheese to produce a moist middle mixture that’s covered with a hard candy coating.
Decorated with a dusting of nutmeg, drizzled with melted chocolate, or customized in different colors, these portable sweet treats look just as pretty and taste just as delicious as any store-bought cake ball or truffle, and can even be prepared like cake pops with lollipop sticks.
Why We Love Eggnog Cake Bite Recipes
- Quick and easy to make with a cake mix shortcut.
- Uses a handful of simple ingredients.
- Creamy, dairy-based drink baked right into the cake batter
- Fun way to prepare individually portioned finger food and single-serving snacks.
- If you love the flavor of eggnog, but would rather “sip” it in solid form, then these family friendly bites belong on your holiday menu.
- Perfect homemade sweet treat for a seasonal party, cookie exchange, dessert platter, or gift-giving.
Eggnog Cake Bites Ingredients
- Box butter pecan cake mix
- Eggs
- Eggnog: This recipe tastes best with homemade eggnog but can also be made with a store-bought brand.
- Vegetable oil
- Cream cheese spread
- White candy melts
- Nutmeg (optional garnish)
- Sprinkles (optional garnish)
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Additions
- Make With A Different Cake Mix: Instead of a butter pecan cake mix, make your eggnog balls with a white or yellow cake mix and then whisk in 1 teaspoon of nutmeg.
- Swap The Spread: I like using plain cream cheese spread for this recipe, but feel free to substitute a honey or nut-flavored spread that complements the flavors. Alternatively, you can use regular cream cheese (as long as you let it come to room temperature first) or try a homemade cream cheese frosting to combine with the cake crumbs.
- Customize Your Candy: You can use an assortment of colored candy melts for any party theme or holiday. Turn these into Eggnog Grinch Cake Bites or Grinch Christmas Truffles by using green candy melts and drizzling a bit of melted red on top.; bake them into Birthday Cake Balls with a coating of colorful sprinkles or non-pareils; use cookie crumbles or crushed nuts to customize the outer coating.
- Sprinkle On Some Spice: You can use other spices to decorate your desserts, like cinnamon or pumpkin spice instead of the nutmeg.
How to Make Eggnog Cake Bites
- Bake The Cake: Combine the cake mix, eggs, eggnog and oil. Pour the batter into the pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until the cake springs back when tapped, about 28-33 minutes. (Image 1 and 2)
- Cool And Crumble: Allow the cake to cool completely and then crumble it into pieces.
- Make The Middle Mixture: Mix the cream cheese spread into the cake crumbs until the cake sticks together to form a dough. Scoop out cake balls and place them on the baking sheet. (Image 3 and 4)
- Coat In Candy: Microwave the candy melts for 30 seconds, stir, and continue to heat in 10-15 second increments, stirring in between, until completely melted (Image 5). Roll a cake ball in the candy coating, allow the excess to drip off, and place back on the baking sheet.
- Decorate The Desserts: Sprinkle with nutmeg, sprinkles or other garnishes (Image 6). Chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes or until the candy is completely hardened.
- Serve: Enjoy!
How to dip cake Bites in Melted candy
- Drop the cake bites into the melted chocolate.
- Gently flip the ball over in the chocolate until it is completely covered in candy.
- Using a fork, gently scoop the ball from underneath the ball (do not poke the candy ball with the fork, use it like a spoon to scoop it from the bottom).
- Let the excess chocolate drip off the cake ball back into the bowl (you can tap the hand that is holding the fork to help drip the extra chocolate off).
- Using a toothpick, slide the toothpick between the bottom of the cake ball and the fork and gently slide the ball off of the fork and onto a lined cookie sheet.
- Wipe off the chocolate on the fork so the chocolate doesn’t build up too much on the fork.
Tips For Making The Best Eggnog Cake Bites
- For making well-rounded balls, I find using my hands and gently rolling the dough between my palms works the best.
- If the coating becomes too thick, reheat it in the microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring well after each interval until smooth.
How to Store Eggnog Cake Bites
- To Store: Eggnog Cake Bites can be stored at in the refrigerator, in an airtight container or bag for up to a week.
- To Freeze: Eggnog Cake Bites can be frozen in a freezer safe bag or container for 2-3 months.
More Easy Holiday Recipes
Other Easy Christmas Treats
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Eggnog Cake Bites
Serves — 30
Eggnog Cake Bites are filled with festive holiday flavors and make the perfect party truffle treat.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 28 minutes
Chill Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 18 minutes
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounces box butter pecan cake mix
- 2 large eggs
- 1¼ cups eggnog
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup cream cheese spread
- 12 ounces bag white candy melts
- Nutmeg optional garnish
- Sprinkles optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9×13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
- Mix together the cake mix, eggs, eggnog and oil until well combined, about 2-3 minutes.15.25 ounces box butter pecan cake mix, 2 large eggs, 1¼ cups eggnog, ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 28-33 minutes or until the cake springs back when tapped and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool completely, about 1 hour, and then crumble it completely.
- Mix the cream cheese spread into the crumbs until combined and the cake sticks together in a dough fashion.¾ cup cream cheese spread
- Use a 1 ½ Tablespoon cookie scoop to make evenly sized cake balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Pour the candy melts into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds and then stir well.12 ounces bag white candy melts
- Continue to heat in 10-15 second increments, stirring well in between, until the candy is completely melted.
- Roll a cake ball in the candy coating, allow the excess to drip off and then replace on the baking sheet.
- Sprinkle with nutmeg, sprinkles or other garnishes, optional and repeat with each cake ball until all are coated and decorated.Nutmeg, Sprinkles
- Place the decorated cake balls in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or until the candy is completely hardened.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
- To Store: Eggnog Cake Bites can be stored at room temperature, in an airtight container or bag, for 3-4 days, or for about a week in the refrigerator.
- To Freeze: Eggnog Cake Bites can be frozen in a freezer safe bag or container for 2-3 months.
- For making well-rounded balls I find using my hands and gently rolling the dough between my palms works the best.
- If the coating becomes too thick, you can reheat it in the microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring well after each interval until smooth.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 128kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 141mg | Potassium: 30mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 92IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Having made cake balls for years, I’ve never used cream cheese spread- I’ve always used frosting. The cream cheese spread definitely took away from the sweetness of the cake bites so that there wasn’t much eggnog flavor. If I make this again will substitute frosting for the cream cheese.
Not a fan of cake balls texture, but am going to make the cake and frost with cream cheese icing.