Almond Pinecone Cheese Ball
There are a lot of almond pinecone cheeseball recipe on the Internet. Their popularity stems from the fact that they, because they look like a pinecone, are the perfect fall party appetizer.
The ingredients used to make the cheese ball differ greatly. The recipe on the left below is flavored with bacon, green onion and dill weed. The one on the right is made with blue cheese, green onion, and pimento cheese.
Almond Pinecone Cheese Ball
from Blue Diamond Almonds
1 1/4 cups almonds, whole
1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
5 each bacon slices, crisply cooked
1 tablespoon green onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Spread almonds in single layer in shallow pan. Bake at 300 degrees, 15 minutes, stirring often, until almonds just begin to turn color.
Combine softened cream cheese and mayonnaise; mix well. Add bacon, onion, dill and pepper; mix well. Cover; chill overnight.
Form cheese mixture into pinecone shape on serving platter. Beginning at narrow end, press almonds at slight angle into cheese mixture in rows.
Continue overlapping rows until all cheese is covered. Garnish with rosemary sprigs or artificial pine sprigs. Serve with crackers.
Almond Cheese Pinecone
This makes a very large pinecone. You may want to cut the recipe back by 1/3 to 1/2.
Crackers
Pine sprigs for garnish
2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 cup minced green onions
2 pound crumbled blue cheese
2 cans Blanched whole almonds, toasted
3 8-ounce packages softened cream cheese
2 5-ounce packages Pasturized processed cheese
with pimento
In a large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese, cheese spread with pimento and blue cheese until smooth. With spoon, stir in green onions and worcestershire sauce. Cover and refrigerate about one hour.
On work surface, with hands, shape cheese mixture into shape of large pine cone. Arrange on wooden board. Beginning at narrow end of cone, carefully press almonds about 4" deep into cheese mixture in rows, making sure that pointed end of each almond extends at a slight angle. Continue pressing almonds into cheese mixture in rows, with rows slightly overlapping, until all cheese is covered. Garnish pinecone with pine sprigs. Serve with crackers.
10 Servings
