Description
This Cranberry Walnut Cheese Ball is a festive and easy-to-make appetizer perfect for holiday gatherings. It combines toasted walnuts, dried cranberries, and fresh parsley with sharp cheddar and cream cheese, offering a delightful blend of flavors and textures. Serve with crackers, pita chips, or pretzels for a crowd-pleasing snack.
Ingredients
Scale
Cheese Ball
- 8 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)
- 1 cup shredded Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
Coating Mix
- ¾ cup walnuts (chopped)
- ¾ cup dried cranberries (chopped)
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
For Serving
- crackers (pita chips, pretzels, etc.)
Instructions
- Toast Walnuts: Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add walnuts and toast them, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until golden brown and fragrant. Be careful not to burn them.
- Mix Coating Ingredients: In a medium bowl, combine toasted walnuts, chopped dried cranberries, and fresh parsley. Stir until well mixed and set aside.
- Prepare Cheese Mixture: In a large bowl, add cream cheese, shredded cheddar, garlic powder, and half of the walnut-cranberry mixture. Stir until all ingredients are well combined. Using a hand mixer can simplify this step.
- Chill: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight to allow the flavors to meld and the cheese mixture to firm up. Also, cover the remaining walnut-cranberry mixture.
- Shape Cheese Ball: Remove the chilled cheese mixture from the refrigerator. Using wax paper, form the mixture into a ball. Roll the cheese ball in the remaining walnut-cranberry mixture to coat the outside evenly.
- Serve: Arrange the cheese ball on a serving platter and provide crackers, pita chips, or pretzels for dipping and spreading.
Notes
- Toast the walnuts carefully as they can burn quickly; stirring frequently helps prevent this.
- Using a hand mixer for combining cream cheese and cheddar can make mixing easier and more uniform.
- Refrigerating overnight enhances flavor development and makes shaping easier.
- Try substituting pecans or almonds for walnuts if preferred.
- For added flavor, consider adding a teaspoon of honey or a pinch of cayenne pepper to the cheese mixture.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 176 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 122 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 29 mg
