No bake Kahlua Balls recipe makes the best boozy cheesecake bites spiked with a splash of coffee Kahlua. A rich and creamy dessert rolled, chilled, and ready to serve in just over an hour.
No Bake Kahlua Cheesecake Balls
Our boozy Kahlua Balls are so easy to make by combining shortbread cookies, powdered sugar, cream cheese, and coffee liqueur (plus instant espresso powder if you prefer a darker, richer flavor) to form the filling and dipping the cookie balls in almond bark before setting them in the fridge.
Moist, creamy, and full of rich flavors, this easy Kahlua cheesecake recipe is as simple as rolling little liquor balls, coating them in melted candy, and decorating them with a drizzle of white chocolate.
These chocolate-coated cookie cheesecake bites are made just like my Baileys cheesecake balls and are spiked with a coffee-flavored liqueur like my Tiramisu cake – this cream cheese and cookie recipe makes it fun to chew your booze by turning a traditional cheesecake truffle into an alcohol-infused bite-sized treat.
Why We Love Easy Kahlua Dessert Recipes
- Quick and easy to make in 20 minutes.
- Uses only 4 ingredients plus melted candy for coating.
- Mini Kahlua cheesecakes lets you have your coffee, cocktail, and cake all in one bite, but it is strictly for adults only because none of the alcohol is baked off.
- Delicious small-sized truffle treats turned into alcohol-infused finger food.
- Single-serving snacks and desserts are pre-portioned, portable, and easy to pop in your mouth.
- Perfect for holiday parties, seasonal celebrations, birthdays, or placing on dessert platters.
Kahlua Balls Ingredients
- Shortbread cookies: I used Lorna Doone brand but feel free to use your favorite.
- Powdered sugar
- Cream cheese
- Kahlua liqueur
- Finely ground instant espresso powder (optional)
- Milk chocolate almond bark
- White chocolate almond bark
Substitutions and Additions
- Create Your Crumbs: You can use any brand of plain (not coated in chocolate) shortbread cookies for this recipe. I used Lorna Doone, but Walkers, Pepperidge Farm, Keebler, and Lotus Biscoff cookies are all great substitutes. You could also swap the shortbread cookies out for crushed Digestive Biscuits, graham crackers, or Nilla wafers.
- Decorate Your Desserts: Feel free to add some colorful sprinkles to the almond bark coating while it is still soft and before it sets. Or use colored sanding sugar, cookie crumbles, or crushed nuts to make them festive for any celebration.
- Change The Chocolate: Feel free to change the chocolate so that the white chocolate is on the outside of the balls and they are drizzled with milk chocolate. You will just flip the quantities of almond bark if you are flipping the coating layers. You can also use dark chocolate or semi sweet chocolate in place of either the white or milk chocolate. I prefer not to use chocolate chips because the chocolate doesn’t turn out as smooth.
How to Make Kahlua Balls
- Make The Cheesecake Mixture: Pulse the shortbread cookies and powdered sugar until you have fine crumbs. Add the cream cheese, Kahlua coffee-flavored liqueur, and instant espresso powder and pulse until you have a smooth mixture.
- Make The Ball Bites: Scoop out balls and place them onto a baking sheet (Image 1). Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour to firm up, remove, and then roll between your palms to smooth them (Image 2).
Pro Tip: You can place your tray of smooth Kahlua balls back into the refrigerator to stay cold while you melt your chocolate (Image 3). - Melt The Milk Chocolate: Microwave the milk chocolate almond bark for 1 minute, stir, then heat in 30-second increments until fully melted.
Pro Tip: Be sure to stir between 30-second bursts and do not overheat, or it can seize up and not melt properly. - Coat In Candy: Dip each ball in the melted candy to fully coat, and place onto the second baking sheet. (Image 4 and 5)
Pro Tip: Place the coated ball on a fork and gently tap to remove any excess coating. You can use a spoon to pour the coating over any bare spots. Use a toothpick to gently push the coated bite onto the baking sheet. - Decorate With A Drizzle: Melt the white chocolate almond bark and drizzle thin ribbons over the chocolate coated Kahlua balls (Image 6). Refrigerate for 15 minutes to allow the chocolate to firm completely.
- Serve: Serve and enjoy!
Tips For Making The Best Kahlua Balls
- The cream cheese must be softened to room temperature before mixing. This will help ensure that there are no cream cheese lumps in your Kahlua cookie balls.
- A 1½-inch (1½ tablespoon) cookie scoop was used for this recipe. If your cookie scoop is slightly smaller or larger, then you will need to note that your total number of Kahlua balls will vary slightly.
- Any brand of shortbread cookies will work for this recipe. This recipe was not tested with a creme-filled cookie (like Oreo cookies or Tim Tam biscuits).
- Do not overheat your chocolate, or you have the risk of it burning or seizing up. If this happens, you will need to start over with new milk chocolate almond bark or melting discs.
- You can swap out the white chocolate drizzle for a dark chocolate drizzle for a richer flavor for your Kahlua balls.
- The microwave used for this recipe is 1000 watts. If your microwave is different, then your heating times may vary. Follow the instructions for your brand of microwave.
- Before your milk chocolate candy coating hardens completely, you can take a toothpick and run it around the bottom edge of your dipped Kahlua balls for a cleaner bottom edge once the chocolate hardens completely.
- These Kahlua balls should be stored in a loosely covered container, in the refrigerator, until ready to serve.
How to Store Kahlua Balls
- To Store: Kahlua cheesecake balls can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
- To Freeze: You can freeze these balls in an airtight container for up to 1 month, but you will need to allow them to thaw in the refrigerator to help avoid the outer coating from cracking.
More Cheesecake Balls Recipes
More Bite-Sized Desserts
- Rum Balls Recipe
- Chocolate Covered Cherry Brownie Bombs
- Chocolate Coconut Balls
- Skrewball Whiskey Balls
- No Bake Peanut Butter Balls
- Surprise Inside Cheesecake Bites
- Butterfinger Balls
- Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Balls
- Kahlua Fudge
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Kahlua Balls
Serves — 25
Boozy Kahlua Balls Balls are quick and easy small-sized treats. The best bite of cheesecake that you don't have to cook.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 10 ounces package of shortbread cookies Lorna Doone brand
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 8 ounce block of cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup Kahlua coffee-flavored liqueur
- ¼ teaspoon finely ground instant espresso powder optional – see tips
- 16 ounces milk chocolate almond bark broken into smaller chunks
- 4 ounces white chocolate almond bark broken into smaller chunks
Instructions
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mat, and set aside.
- In the container of a food processor, add the shortbread cookies and powdered sugar. Pulse for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until you have fine crumbs.10 ounces package of shortbread cookies, ¾ cup powdered sugar
- Add the softened cream cheese, Kahlua coffee-flavored liqueur, and instant espresso powder to the food processor and pulse for an additional 20-30 seconds or until the mixture is smooth and all the cream cheese has been fully incorporated.8 ounce block of cream cheese, ¼ cup Kahlua coffee-flavored liqueur, ¼ teaspoon finely ground instant espresso powder
- Using a 1½-inch (1½ tablespoon) cookie scoop, scoop out a level scoop of the Kahlua ball mixture and place it onto one of the prepared baking sheets. Repeat until all the cream cheese mixture has been scooped.
- Place the baking tray into the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour to allow the Kahlua balls to firm up enough to be rolled and dipped into chocolate.
- Once the Kahlua balls have firmed up, roll each ball in the palm of your hand to make smooth balls for dipping. *You can place your tray of smooth Kahlua balls back into the refrigerator to stay cold while you melt your chocolate.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, add the milk chocolate almond bark and microwave on high for 1 minute, stir, then melt in 30-second intervals until the chocolate is fully melted. Be sure to stir the chocolate between each time in the microwave. Do not overheat your chocolate. Stir until smooth. Allow the melted chocolate to cool slightly before dipping your Kahlua balls into it.16 ounces milk chocolate almond bark
- Place a Kahlua ball onto a fork and dip the ball into the melted chocolate. Once the ball is fully coated with chocolate, lift the fork out of the chocolate and tap it onto the edge of the bowl to allow any excess melted chocolate to drip off the bottom of the chocolate-coated Kahlua ball.
- Using a toothpick, or separate fork, gently slide the coated Kahlua ball off the fork and onto the second parchment-lined baking tray. Repeat until all the balls are coated in the milk chocolate.
- To make the white chocolate drizzle, add the white chocolate almond bark to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute, stir, then heat again in 30-second intervals until fully melted. Stir until smooth.4 ounces white chocolate almond bark
- Transfer the melted white chocolate to a piping bag with a small piece of the tip cut off, then add a decorative drizzle of the white chocolate to the tops of each of the chocolate-coated Kahlua balls. You can use a spoon, or fork, to add the decorative drizzle instead of the piping bag if desired.
- Place the tray of chocolate-coated Kahlua balls back into the refrigerator for 15 minutes to allow the chocolate coating to firm up before serving.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
- To Store: Kahlua cheesecake balls can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
- To Freeze: You can freeze these balls in an airtight container for up to 1 month, but you will need to allow them to thaw in the refrigerator to help avoid the outer coating from cracking.
- A 1½-inch (1½ tablespoon) cookie scoop was used for this recipe. If your cookie scoop is slightly smaller or larger, then you will need to note that your total number of Kahlua balls will vary slightly.
- Any brand of shortbread cookies will work for this recipe. This recipe was not tested with a creme-filled cookie.
- If you are using instant espresso powder in your Kahlua ball mixture, you will want to make sure that it is very finely ground. If not, then you can add it to your Kahlua and stir it until it dissolves, then you can add it to your Kahlua to the cream cheese mixture. Do not add any additional liquid espresso to your cream cheese mixture, as this will alter the final texture of the Kahlua balls.
- You can use chocolate melting discs in place of the almond bark. I like to use the Ghirardelli brand melting discs for their flavor and ease of use. You will follow the instructions on the package for the brand of almond bark, or melting discs, you are using. These Kahlua balls should be stored in a loosely covered container, in the refrigerator, until ready to serve.
- Do not overheat your chocolate, or you have the risk of it burning or seizing up. If this happens, you will need to start over with new milk chocolate almond bark or melting discs.
- You can swap out the white chocolate drizzle for a dark chocolate drizzle for a richer flavor for your Kahlua balls. Before your milk chocolate candy coating hardens completely, you can take a toothpick and run it around the bottom edge of your dipped Kahlua balls for a cleaner bottom edge once the chocolate hardens completely.
- The microwave used for this recipe is 1000 watts. If your microwave is different, then your heating times may vary. Follow the instructions for your brand of microwave.
- Before your milk chocolate candy coating hardens completely, you can take a toothpick and run it around the bottom edge of your dipped Kahlua balls for a cleaner bottom edge once the chocolate hardens completely.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 218kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 113mg | Potassium: 49mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 16IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 0.4mg
the recipe is so easy to follow, and the cheesecake center is so creamy! I used a melon baller, so they are bite-sized, and didn’t do the white chocolate drizzle. I will definitely use this recipe again.
Heading to an adult Halloween party, and this will be my special treat 😊
Unfortunately I found these to have zero Kahlua flavor. Took them to a party and the vote was the same. Mostly taste like the cookies. People did like the texture.