Christmas Cranberry Cheese Ball

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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1. JUMP TO THE RECIPE
2. MORE CHRISTMAS PARTY APPETIZER RECIPES

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

Yield: 18-20 Servings

Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth

Prep time: 30 MinInactive time: 4 HourTotal time: 4 H & 30 M

A festive cheese ball recipe with goat cheese or cream cheese, white cheddar, pecans, cranberries and rosemary springs perfect for Christmas parties and entertaining!

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

1. Toast pecans in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant and starting to brown. Remove from skillet to cool.
2. Mix cream cheese, mayo and onion powder with an electric mixer until smooth.
3. Fold in cheddar and pecans then continue mixing until well combined.
4. 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.
5. When ready to serve, arrange rosemary sprigs on a serving plate (I arrange mine like a wreath); set aside.
6. Pour cranberries into a pie plate then separate any that might have stuck together; set aside.
7. 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.
8. Set cheese ball on top of rosemary then serve with assorted crackers.

https://www.southyourmouth.com/2014/12/christmas-cranberry-cheese-ball.html

Images and text © South Your Mouth LLC 2014

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