Christmas Cranberry Cheese Ball

Do you love a good cheese ball??

Spotting a homemade cheese ball at any gathering is one of my favorite things.  I went on the hunt for a festive Christmas cheese ball this year and ended up creating a recipe of my own.  It was so good!  It was popular at our Christmas party and several people asked me to send them the recipe.  Yay!

 

Ingredients:

1 block of Philadelphia cream cheese softened

1t your favorite seasoning (I used Everyday Seasoning Salt from Simply Sons or would have used Montreal steak seasoning)

1 cup freshly shredded sharp white cheddar cheese

2 oz craisins finely chopped

1 cup of pecans chopped

Ritz crackers, Club crackers or pretzels.

Directions:

Stir the cream cheese, seasoning, white cheddar cheese and about 3/4 of the craisins together until well blended.  Lay out a piece of plastic wrap and put the pecans and remaining craisins on it.  Put the cheese ball mixture on top of the pecan mix and then use the plastic wrap to help you cover the whole cheese ball in pecans/craisins.  Refrigerate overnight and serve with your favorite crackers or pretzels.

 

 

This cheese ball checks all the boxes - it's festive, delicious, really simple to make, it travels really well and it's an appetizer that you can make ahead of time.  I know I'll be making it a few more times this holiday season.