Description
Three distinct, delicious cheese balls gussied up for a center spot on your holiday party menu.
Ingredients
- 1 stick Unsalted Butter, At Room Temperature
- 24 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, At Room Temperature
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 1-½ teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- ¼ teaspoons Ground Red Pepper
- ½ teaspoons Sea Salt
- ½ teaspoons Freshly Ground White Pepper
- 8 ounces, weight Sharp Cheddar, Finely Grated
- ¾ cups Dried Cranberries, Finely Chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Ginger Apple Chutney (or Other Flavorful Chutney)
- 6 ounces, weight Feta Cheese, Finely Crumbled
- 1 whole Shallot, Finely Chopped (1 Should Yield About 1/4 C)
- 1 cup Finely Chopped Pecans
- 8 ounces, weight Chevre
- ½ cups Green Onions, Finely Chopped (whites & Greens)
- ⅓ cups Parsley, Finely Chopped
- Additional Dried Cranberries, Green Onions, Parsley Leaves, And Pecan Halves To “wrap” Packages
- Assorted Crackers, For Serving
Preparation
Combine butter, cream cheese, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper, salt, and white pepper in a large bowl. Mix well until smooth and 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 that’s large enough to hold three cheese balls and a bunch of 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 cheese ball onto the serving platter. Repeat the process with a new sheet of plastic wrap for both of the other two mixtures, shaping each one slightly different to make your pile of packages more interesting. Refrigerate on the platter of cheese balls for at least one hour.
After an hour, the cheese balls 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. See the photo for examples. Use your creativity! Return the cheese balls to the fridge until 1 hour prior to serving.
Remove one hour prior to serving. Arrange crackers around the cheese balls, providing an additional bowl of crackers on the side.
Adapted from Martha Stewart.
