Cheeseball Shapes

Cheeseballs are popular holiday and special occasion appetizers. Because their shape is maleable, cooks have come up with creative shapes to reflect the spirit of the party.

Super Bowl Cheeseballs

There are many variations on this football theme.

 

This football shaped cheeseball is rolled in crisp-cooked bacon and decorated with red pepper strips.

My cheeseball mixture of choice would be Cheddar Horseradish Cheese Ball.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This football shaped cheeseball is rolled in crushed pretzels and decorated with cheese strips.

The Cheddar & Ale Cheese Ball mixture would go well with the pretzels.

Halloween Cheeseball

 

Fall and Thanksgiving Cheeseballs

 

Holiday Wreath Cheeseball

Bring your outdoor holiday wreath inside with this festive and easy cheeseball. Use a small Bundt pan to form a wreath shape

Special equipment: a small (6-cup) Bundt pan Line the inside of a 6-cup Bundt pan with plastic wrap.

Make the cheeseball mixture. Spoon the cheese mixture into the prepared Bundt pan; pack it in, spread into an even layer and cover. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour up to 2 days.

Uncover and invert the cheese mold onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with the chives and parsley to completely coat the wreath, and garnish with 2 tablespoons red peppers.

Christmas Present Cheeseballs
from http://www.30poundsofapples.com

Presents Cheeseballs
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes three package-shaped cheeseballs

Note: If you don’t need three cheeseballs, you can easily make just one or two of the flavors at one time. Simply cut the first section ingredients to the needed proportions, and then omit the mix-ins that you are not planning to use. Options are lovely, aren’t they?

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
24 oz (3 packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
2 T lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground white pepper

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated
3/4 c dried cranberries, finely chopped
2 T ginger apple chutney (or other flavorful chutney)
6-8 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1 shallot, finely chopped (should yield about 1/4 c)
1 c finely chopped pecans
8 oz chèvre
1/2 c green onions, finely chopped (whites & greens)
1/3 c fresh parsley, finely chopped
additional dried cranberries, green onions, parsley leaves, and pecan halves to “wrap” packages
various crackers for serving

Combine butter, cream cheese, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper, salt, and white pepper in a large bowl. Mix well until smooth & creamy. Divide the mixture evenly into three separate bowls, using the original mixing bowl for one third. To the first bowl, add the cheddar, cranberries, and chutney and mix well. To the second bowl, add the feta, shallot, and pecans and mix well. To the third bowl, add the chèvre, green onions, and parsley and mix well.

Find a serving platter large enough to hold three cheeseballs and crackers and set aside. Stretch out a piece of plastic wrap to about 2 feet long. Scoop the contents of one bowl onto the plastic wrap and fold the wrap around the cheese. Mold the cheese to the desired shape using your hands. Gently pull the plastic wrap away from the cheese and carefully place the cheeseball onto the serving platter. Repeat with new plastic wrap for the other two mixtures, shaping each one slightly differently to make your pile of packages more interesting. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

After an hour, the cheeseballs should be fairly firm. “Wrap” your packages by arranging the additional cranberries, green onions, parsley leaves, and pecan halves (each to their respective flavor) as you would ribbons and bows. Use your creativity! Return the cheeseballs to the fridge until 1 hour prior to serving.

Remove one hour prior to serving. Arrange crackers around the cheeseballs, providing an additional bowl of crackers on the side.

This Christmas Tree Cheeseball is from Betty Crocker's web site.

The cheese mixture is basically cream cheese and cheddar cheese with a little pesto, onion, yellow mustard and a hint of red pepper sauce.

The tree is decorated this way:

Shape cheese mixture into cone shape to look like a pine tree.

Wrap tree and refrigerate for several hours.

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley or cilantro
1/4 cup pine nuts or sliced almonds
2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper
Piece of lemon peel, if desired

Just before serving, roll trees in parsley, pressing it evenly onto tree. Press pine nuts or sliced almonds onto tree in string form for garland. Press bell pepper pieces onto tree for ornaments. Top tree with star shape cut from lemon peel. Serve with crackers.

 

Snowman Cheeseballs

This snowman is frosted with soften cream cheese. It is from Betty Crocker's web site and uses the same cheese mixture they use for their tree, a mixture of cream cheese and cheddar cheese with a little pesto, onion, yellow mustard and a hint of red pepper sauce.

For the cream cheese "frosting," whip a little milk or cream with cream cheese until soft enough to spread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This snowman cheese ball is from http://fiestafriday.net/. The cheeseball is rolled in shredded white cheddar cheese. The arms are made from rosemary sprigs, the nose from carrot, and the eyes, mouth and buttons are black peppercorns (peppercorns may not be the best idea).