Freak out your friends and families by serving this OREO Cheese Ball Rat at your Halloween party.
These sweet cheese ball may look a little gross, but it tastes great. The rat is made using a blend of OREO Cookies and cream cheese and it is delicious!
If you are looking for party food that might at first freak out your squeamish guests but tastes so yummy they won't be able to resist, this is the OREO Cookie Cheese Ball Rat is for you.
This rat is created out of a yummy dough made from Oreo Cookies and Philadelphia Cream Cheese. His long body is rolled in crushed cookies which mimics his hair.
Chocolate chips become eyes and a simple cream cheese frosting is piped on to create his tail, nose, and toes.
Kids will love helping you create this adorable yet disgusting creature and will have even more fun eating it.
I served my chocolate cheese ball rat at our Carnival of the Carnival of the Creepy Crawlers Halloween party along with a Giant Cake Ball Spider.
As gross as all my bug-themed Halloween foods were, my party guests went nuts over them. There wasn't much left at the end of the night.
Are you ready to make a sweet cheese ball rat?
Ingredients
OREO Cookies - You'll need 18 ounces or 40 OREO Cookies to make the cheese ball.
cream cheese, softened and divided
powdered sugar - Use powdered sugar to make a very small amount of cream cheese frosting to make the rat's tail and feet.
pink paste or gel food coloring
chocolate chips - You'll just need 2 chocolate chips for the rat's eyes.
Supplies
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food processor
plastic wrap
Wilton Disposable 12 Inch Decorating Bags
Wilton Round #12 Decorating Tip
Wilton Round #3 Decorating Tip
Pastry Bag Coupler
Instructions
Step 1 - Make the OREO cheese ball.
- Pour cookies into the bowl of a food processor.
- Pulse until the cookies are fine crumbs.
- Remove ⅔ cup crumbs and set aside.
- Add 7 ounces of cream cheese to the food processor and pulse until the mixture is well combined, scraping the bowl as needed.
Step 2 - Shape the OREO cheese ball into a rat.
- Reserve about 3 tablespoons of the cookie/cream cheese dough for the rat's legs and ears.
- Pour the remaining dough onto a piece of plastic wrap.
- Use the plastic wrap to help you form the dough into a long oval. Unwrap.
Step 3 - Roll chocolate cheese ball rat into cookie crumbs.
- Pour reserved cookie crumbs into a long shallow container.
- Roll dough oval into crumbs, shaping the body as you go.
- Place on a serving platter.
Step 4 - Add legs and eyes to the rat.
- Press the two chocolate chips onto either side of the rat's face.
- Pinch off small amounts of the reserved dough and roll them into 2 short skinny front legs and two longer wider back legs.
- Attach to the body.
- Pinch off two small balls of dough and flatten them into ears.
- Attach to the head.
Step 5 - Make pink cream cheese frosting.
- Combine the remaining 1 ounce of cream cheese with the powdered sugar and one very small drop of pink food coloring.
- Stir until well combined.
- Spoon pink cream cheese into a pastry bag fitted with a coupler and # 12 decorating tip.
Step 6 - Pipe tail, nose, and pink ears onto the rat.
- Pipe a long tail onto the back of the rat's body.
- Start by setting the decorating tip at the rat's back end.
- Squeeze and as the frosting comes out of the tip, pull out and around the body tapering off as you go.
- Pipe on a nose and pipe some pink onto each ear.
Step 7 - Pipe on pink toes.
- Remove the #12 decorating tip and replace it with a #3 tip.
- Pipe on the rat's toes.
Storage
- Keep the chocolate cheese ball refrigerated for up to a week.
- Bring to room temperature before serving.
Alternative decorating ideas:
If you don't have any experience piping frosting you can substitute candy pieces for the tail, nose, and toes.
- You could use strawberry Tootsie Rolls to create these parts.
- Just soften the candy in your warm hand and cut and mold it into the desired shape.
- You can also put them in the microwave on defrost for 5 seconds.
- Just be careful as the candy may be very hot when you remove it from the oven.
Variations
You can even make a savory cheese ball rat.
I served a bacon cheddar cheese-ball rat at one of my Halloween parties.
I used the same basic idea to make this savory cheese ball rat but rolled it in cracker crumbs and created the nose, eyes, and ears out of black olives.
Related Recipes
Be sure to check out all the Halloween recipes here on Hungry Happenings.
Recipe
This Halloween recipe was originally published on my Hungry Halloween blog (which now forwards to Hungry Happenings) on August 3, 2010. The recipe is also in my Hungry Happenings Halloween Cookbook.
This rat-shaped chocolate cheese ball is covered in OREO Cookie crumbs and is decorated with pink cream cheese frosting. It will make a creepy Halloween dessert for your party.
- 18 ounces Oreo Cookies, crushed into crumbs
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- pink paste or gel food coloring
- 2 chocolate chips
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Reserve ⅔ cup crumbs and 1 ounce cream cheese.
-
Stir the remaining crumbs and cream cheese together and pinch off about 3 tablespoons and set aside, then shape the rest into a rat shape.
-
Roll into the reserved cookie crumbs.
-
Place on a serving platter.
-
Pinch off small amounts of the reserved dough and roll into 2 short skinny front legs and two longer wider back legs.
-
Pinch off two small balls of dough and flatten them into ears and attach them to the head.
-
Press the two chocolate chips onto either side of the rat's face.
-
Blend the remaining cream cheese, powdered sugar, and pink food coloring together.
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Combine the remaining cream cheese with the powdered sugar and the pink food coloring.
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Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a # 12 decorating tip.
-
Pipe a pink cream cheese frosting tail, nose, and ears onto the cheese ball rat.
-
Change the tip to a #3 and pipe on toes.
- Keep refrigerated for up to a week.
- Bring to room temperature before serving.
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Betsy says
This fast, easy, and looks good! However I’m a lazy person and used a plastic baggie instead of a pastry bag. Mixed the sugar, cream cheese, and dye in a snack size baggie. Then I cut a tiny hole in the corner, pipped out the toes, then cut hole a tad bigger and did the tail, ears, and nose. Added a couple pieces of coconut as whiskers.
Beth says
I love the idea of mixing the sugar, cream cheese, and food coloring in the snack bag. Brilliant!
I hope you enjoy your cheese ball rat. Happy Halloween
Bonnie Snow says
I LOVED this idea!! My nephew was promoted to sergeant at Middletown,Ohio police recently. We wanted to get together after the pinning in front of city council. I did a regular congrats cake ,however,his nickname since college was Rat (It's a VMI thing). I found this idea and just knew I HAD to make it for him.He absolutely loved it and so did everyone else. I even had one of my co-workers ask if I could make one twice the size for her church fall gathering. Thanks again for having the perfect idea and easy directions.
Beth says
Hi Bonnie,
I'm so happy to hear your nephew and all the party guests enjoyed this fun dessert. I think it is hilarious that your coworker wants a rat for her church gathering. I'd love to know what she plans to do with it.
Sandy says
Love this idea! But wondering, does it need to be refrigerated or can it sit out for a few hours? I plan on making it for a work party
Beth says
You can let it sit out for a few hours without any problem. I served it at my Halloween party and it sat out through dinner then got cut into for dessert.
Beverly says
About how big is this rat? I'm trying to decide what size serving platter I need. I'm thinking about bringing it to our office party this year since my home was most recently invaded by rats. However, I want to change it up a bit and buy a plastic rat trap, clean it thoroughly, make it look like the rat got caught, and use red jell icing for fake blood.
Also, any other ideas about what to serve with it except graham crackers or tortilla chips?
Beth says
I love that idea!!! This is about the size of a real rat. I'd say it was about 8 inches long plus the tail. Of course, you can shape it and make it any size you want so that it fits on your platter.
You could serve it with cinnamon sugar pita chips.
Cindy says
Is that 18 oz. of oreo cookies when they are crushed or is that the whole package?
Beth says
Crush the entire 18 ounce package of Oreo Cookies then remove 2/3 cup crumbs and set aside. That 2/3 of a cup of crumbs will be used to coat the cheese ball. The rest will get mixed with the cream cheese.
Tania says
Amazing idea ! How come it has to be refrigerated for a week?
Beth says
It can be refrigerated for up to a week or served the day it's made.
Tania says
Amazing idea ! Just why leave it in the fridge for a week?
Danielle says
I use this base to make oreo truffles (just roll them into balls and dip in chocolate) but this is so much easier and Halloween-appropriate. I had a tough time sticking the ears to the head so i just connected them to each other and they kind of sit on top of the head. I had to add a splash of milk to the pink frosting to be able to pipe it. Thanks so much for this cute idea! Everyone at my work Halloween party loves it!
beth says
I'm so happy to hear that you and your coworkers loved your rat. I realize looking at the picture of the ingredients that I used 1/3 less fat Cream Cheese and recently I discovered that it is more wet than regular. I was making a cheesecake and used it instead and it really changed the recipe. So, adding some milk to the pink frosting was a good idea. If you used regular cream cheese, it was probably a bit thicker. Glad it all worked in the end. If you snapped any pictures, I'd love to see them. Send them to beth@hungryhappenings.com
Happy Halloween!
Suzanne Singleton says
I love it! Just finished mine up and he is ready for the party!
beth says
I'd love to share a picture in my Reader's Gallery of your rat. Have a great party!
Anonymous says
Do we take the cream out of the center of the cookies for this? or just put the cookies in whole to make the crumbs?
beth says
You need to use whole cookies to make the crumbs.
weebaby says
This is the entry that led me to your site (via Mental Floss, I think?) and I LOVE it! I had to subscribe to your RSS feed.
Thanks for sharing all of your creative ideas with us!
beth says
Thanks for stopping by. Thanks for subscribing. I hope you continue to enjoy my projects.
Anonymous says
I think I will serve graham crackers with it. It will taste like oreo balls without the coating.
beth says
It will taste great with graham crackers. You can even cut them into cats using a cookie cutter if you want.
Kayce Arnold says
how would u make cat shaped fried tortilla chips
beth says
What a fun idea! I would use a cat shaped cookie cutter to cut out flour tortilla, then I'd fry them and sprinkle on some cinnamon sugar. You could even add some cocoa powder to add some dark color to your cats. Have fun. I'd love to share a photo if you make them!
Kayce Arnold says
how would u make cat shaped fried tortilla chips
Bennett Schneider says
Oh i wish I had seen this on the weekend! My coworker HATES mice and rats but love cakes and I would have loved to have brought this into work.... next year! mwahahahaha!
Erin says
This is soooo cool!!! Can't wait to make it and freak everyone out! Thanks!!!
Scratching at the Window says
Wow, thank you Beth for posting this ratty! He's adorable and your directions are really clear. I will certainly be trying it out this Halloween season!
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
Hi Noelle,
I just slice it and eat it as it has a crumb like crust. You could make cat shaped fried tortilla chips and serve them on the side. Then your guests could scoop out the rat with a cat! That would be pretty funny.
Noelle says
Do you just slice "him" up and eat it, or use it as a spread on something else?