Name: Cheddar Gouda Craisin Cheeseball
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 16 oz cream cheese, softened; 12 oz cheddar cheese, grated; 4 oz Gouda, grated; 1 cup Craisins; 1 tbsp onion powder; 1 tbsp garlic powder; 1 tsp cayenne pepper; 1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped; ¼ cup almonds, chopped; garnish with slivered almonds, parsley, Craisins, cherry tomatoes, Marcona almonds, and rosemary sprigs

A few nights ago I hosted an ornament exchange party with a few of my girlfriends. Most of us have been getting together for about 15 years for this party, birthdays, and random dinners and it is just so wonderful. Every year we all bring a dish, have a few cocktails and steal each other’s ornaments. It’s a ton of fun.

This year one of the appetizers that I made was this super cute Christmas Tree Cheeseball. I wish that I could take credit for the ideas of turning my cheeseball into a Christmas tree–but, I actually saw one on the internet a few days ago and I knew I had to make one soon. The one that I saw was covered in olives and sun-dried tomatoes which looked amazing. However, I really wanted to make a cheeseball with a little bit of sweetness so I decided to go with one of my favorite recipes. The beauty of this ideas is that you could use any cheeseball recipe and turn it into a Christmas tree–even a store-bought cheeseball.

Authorloulousucre

DifficultyBeginner

Yields1 Serving

Prep Time15 minsTotal Time15 mins

16 oz cream cheese, softened

12 oz cheddar cheese, grated

4 oz Gouda, grated

1 cup Craisins

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

¼ cup almonds, chopped

garnish with slivered almonds, parsley, Craisins, cherry tomatoes, Marcona almonds, and rosemary sprigs

In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, gouda, Craisins, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, parsley, and chopped almonds. Mix to combine.

Once the mixture is combined, form into a log with one end wider than the other on a piece of plastic wrap. Continue to shape with your hands until the log resembles a tree.

Once the tree is formed, place upright on a serving plate and begin to garnish with the parsley, slivered almonds, Craisins, cherry tomatoes, Marcona almonds, and rosemary sprigs.

Ingredients

16 oz cream cheese, softened

12 oz cheddar cheese, grated

4 oz Gouda, grated

1 cup Craisins

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

¼ cup almonds, chopped

garnish with slivered almonds, parsley, Craisins, cherry tomatoes, Marcona almonds, and rosemary sprigs

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, gouda, Craisins, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, parsley, and chopped almonds. Mix to combine.

Once the mixture is combined, form into a log with one end wider than the other on a piece of plastic wrap. Continue to shape with your hands until the log resembles a tree.

Once the tree is formed, place upright on a serving plate and begin to garnish with the parsley, slivered almonds, Craisins, cherry tomatoes, Marcona almonds, and rosemary sprigs.

Cheddar Gouda Craisin Cheeseball

Ingredients Directions

In addition to this cheeseball, we had some amazing food for this party. We munched Baked Marinara Meatballs, Stuffed Mushrooms, Sausage Balls, French Nachos, Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip, Marinated Crab Claws, and a Spicy Crab Log. For dessert, we had a fabulous Chocolate Pie and a Berry Chantilly Cake. Everything was so delicious. We also enjoyed some Jingle Juice Spritzers and Candy Cane Cranberry Juleps.

The food and cocktails were wonderful, but the ornament exchange is definitely the best part. There’s just nothing better than down and dirty stealing of beautiful Christmas ornaments from some of your best friends (just kidding-it was all in good fun)!