A festive cheese appetizer with cream cheese, sharp white cheddar, pecans, cranberries and rosemary springs perfect for Christmas parties and entertaining!
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Cheese balls were all the rage from the 1960's through the 80's - or as my kids would say, in the late nineteen hundreds. Brats. The lot of them.
Then cheese balls became a little au passé in the early 2000's (which I will always think of as 10 years ago no matter what year it is).
And now, thank the cheese gods, they're back on the table. I think everybody decided to bring them back sometime during the charcuterie board craze.
I look forward to making this at Christmas all year long! It's delicious, of course, but what I love best is the gorgeous presentation (and that it's not fussy or hard to pull off).
I trim rosemary from our giant, ancient, meandering bush that looks like something you'd see a fairy fly out of. Husband threatens to chop it down every year but I secretly think he's scared doing so might unleash a curse - ha! Y'all this thing is equal parts enchanting and scary. And I love it!
I also like to substitute the cream cheese with goat cheese because I love punchy cheese. The twangy cheese mixture goes perfectly with the sweet cranberries and woody pecans.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR CHRISTMAS CRANBERRY CHEESEBALL
- Cream cheese
- White cheddar cheese
- Dried cranberries
- Chopped pecans
- Fresh rosemary
- Mayonnaise
- Onion powder
MORE CHRISTMAS PARTY APPETIZER RECIPES
- Party Shrimp – Super easy shrimp appetizer recipe with just a few ingredients that cooks up quick in the oven.
- Monte Cristo Party Sliders – Party sandwiches made with ham, turkey and cheese baked in a rich buttery topping dusted with powdered sugar.
- Crispy Baked Jalapeno Popper Dip – Creamy, gooey cheese and jalapeno peppers baked under an extra crispy breadcrumb coating that crunches just like the famous fried appetizer.
- Original Sausage Balls – The original recipe for sausage balls using Bisquick, cheddar cheese and sausage.
- Cajun Crab Dip – Kick your party up a notch with this simple Cajun seafood dip recipe made with crab meat - serve hot or cold!
- Parmesan Spinach Balls – An easy, crowd-pleasing appetizer recipe using spinach, parmesan cheese and herb stuffing.
Recipe for Christmas Cranberry Cheese Ball
Christmas Cranberry Cheese Ball
Ingredients
- 8-oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 8-oz sharp white cheddar, shredded
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 5-oz. bag dried cranberries (about a cup and a half)
- Rosemary springs for garnish
Instructions
- Toast pecans in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant and starting to brown. Remove from skillet to cool.
- Mix cream cheese, mayo and onion powder with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Fold in cheddar and pecans then continue mixing until well combined.
- Line a small round bowl with plastic wrap then spoon cheese mixture into bowl. Bring plastic up and over the top of cheese then gather/twist to shape cheese into a rough ball. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- When ready to serve, arrange rosemary sprigs on a serving plate (I arrange mine like a wreath); set aside.
- Pour cranberries into a pie plate then separate any that might have stuck together; set aside.
- Remove wrapped cheese ball from the bowl. Keeping cheese wrapped in the plastic, use hands to shape into a ball. When the cheese ball is perfectly round, remove plastic then roll in cranberries. All of the cranberries won’t stick when you roll the cheese ball in them. That’s OK. Just piece them on until the cheese ball is nicely covered.
- Set cheese ball on top of rosemary then serve with assorted crackers.
To add more green, you could use pistachios instead of pecans too :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! :)
DeleteNice touch
DeleteLooks lovely anf I think I will try this for our get togethers this Christmas. P.S. wish I was one of your Canadians! :)
ReplyDelete:o)
DeleteYuummmmm!!
ReplyDeletelooks so yummy! Thank you
ReplyDeleteThank you! This was so easy and so delicious!
ReplyDeleteLooks fabulous cannot wait to make it.
ReplyDeleteSo I have bought everything to make this for Christmas Day....Lets hope it is a success!! I am doing the cream cheese to be safe tho...lol Thank you for the recipe !!
ReplyDeleteYou could add some cinnamon into the mix & also with the craisins on outside. My favorite big box store ( Co...o) has something similar with goat cheese & it's divine.
ReplyDeleteI make my own chucky fresh cranberry sauce with nuts. I'm going top my cheese ball with my sauce.
ReplyDeleteI bought my ingredients today. I'm going to mix 4oz cream cheese with 4 oz of goat cheese. I love the twang of Goat cheese, but want to balance it out a bit. Looking forward to having this for Christmas day!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea!
DeleteThink I can skip the cheddar cheese?
ReplyDeleteSure! It might not hold its shape as well though.
DeleteI am going to make this Sunday for my family Christmas with my daughter and her family. We always have our Christmas the Saturday or Sunday before Christmas. I am sure it will be a hit.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun cheese ball. I love the cranberry coating, it makes it so pretty for Christmas!
ReplyDelete