A platter with a large cheese ball is a pretty common appetizer but Iris found this cute personal sized appetizer. She used feta cheese instead of blue cheese that the recipe originally called for and the result was a tangy and sweet bite. The original recipe had a thin pretzel rod to pick up the cheese mound but two trips to different grocery stores later Iris settled for the thicker rods. Tip you can make these mini balls well in advance but do not add the pretzels until you are ready to serve to prevent sogginess.
Ingredients:
8 oz of cream cheese
3/4 cup blue cheese crumbles, Iris used feta cheese crumbles (about 3 oz)
3/4 cup chopped dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups of pecans
pretzel sticks
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl beat together the cream cheese, feta and dried cranberries until evenly mixed.
2. Dampen your hands and form 24 even tablespoon sized balls.
3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to firm up.
4. Preheat the oven to 350.
5. Spread out the pecans on to a cookie sheet. Bake for 7-10 minutes until the nuts are lightly toasted and fragrant.
6. Finely chop the toasted nuts.
7. Roll the chilled cheese balls in the chopped toasted nuts, you may need to press the nuts into the cheese balls to get the nuts to adhere.
8. Keep the cheese balls refrigerated until you are ready to serve.
Pinluck Project 