Cheese balls are the ultimate, make-ahead party appetizer. In some instances and cultures (and in my family), they can be a meal in and of themselves. It depends on the cracker quality and the size of the corresponding cocktail.
It’s fun to get creative with the cheese balls by decorating them with herbs, dried berries, fruits, and nuts. You can go wild with fun themes and titles. They can be large or small. But it’s important to remember that high-quality ingredients make a high-quality cheese ball.
You can prepare and roll the cheese balls up to two days in advance. In recipes that include nuts, apply the nuts one hour before serving.
Cheese balls must be presented with decorative cheese knives and/or toothpicks, depending on the size of the ball. Serve with holiday-themed cocktail napkins and small plates.
Here are my top three favorites (with one variation) from holidays past. All recipes require a food processor.
Granny Butler’s Forest Cheese Ball (inspired by the Poland Municipal Forest)
(Note: I took liberties with the name. It’s my homage to Granny Butler.)
Aside from passing down the legacy of the holiday cheese ball to four generations of Butler women, Grace Butler is best remembered for her philanthropy with the Poland Municipal Forest. In 1939, Grace gave 150 acres of untouched, forested land to Poland Village. Nearly a century later the Poland Woods is one of the best loved recreational destinations in the Mahoning Valley. The land has been forever protected from all development, drilling, hunting, and/or commercial pursuits.
Granny Butler enjoyed many hobbies which included listening to the Saturday matinee broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera Hour, rolling spools of twine, padding her savings accounts, monogramming things, taking naps, writing checks, hosting Sunday tea at the Butler Institute of American Art, summering in Maine, and performing her many civic duties.
Granny Butler’s Forest Cheese Ball
INGREDIENTS
2 (8 oz.) blocks cream cheese (room temperature)
8 slices hickory-smoked bacon (cooked and crumbled)
¼ cup finely chopped sweet onion
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
5 cups (16 oz.) shredded white cheddar cheese
1 large pretzel rod
½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
Small pretzel sticks (about 40 pieces)
Mini butter crackers (about 40 pieces)
Sliced almonds
Fresh pomegranate seeds
Parmesan cheese (grated)
PREPARATION
- Place the cream cheese, chopped bacon, chopped sweet onion, Worcestershire sauce and shredded cheddar cheese in the bowl of a food processor or stand mixer (fitted with a paddle attachment).
- Pulse and mix until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides with a silicone spatula as needed.
Cheese ball tree assembly
- Mound ¼ cup of the cheese ball mixture on a serving platter and insert the pretzel rod vertically in the center of the cheese base.
- Using your hands, press the cheese base firmly around the pretzel rod to create a firm base.
- Using your hands, add remaining cheese ball mixture, forming it around the pretzel rod and into a cone shape about 6 inches wide and 10 inches tall. Place in refrigerator and let chill for 1 hour.
- Remove from refrigerator and carefully press the chopped parsley onto the surface of the cheese ball tree to make it green, trying to cover the entire surface. Return to refrigerator until firm, about 30 more minutes.
- Remove from the fridge, and insert the small pretzel sticks, mini butter crackers and slivered almonds alternately into the tree, angle downwards to create branches. You may find it helpful to break the pretzel sticks in half so that they are proportional to the size of your tree.
- Insert several almond slices at the top of the tree to make a star and sporadically place fresh pomegranate seeds on top of tree branches to look like ornaments.
- From the top, sprinkle the tree branch edges with finely chopped fresh parsley and dust with finely grated Parmesan cheese “snow.”
- Cover entire cheese ball tree lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serve with assorted butter crackers and pretzel sticks.
Yield: 8-10 servings.
Aunt Lucy’s Cheese Ball No. 1 – A North Side-Style Cheese Ball
My grandmother’s sister, Aunt Lucy Dennison, was a stylish North Sider and busy career woman with an Arts and Crafts style apartment on the corner of Elm Street and Upland Avenue. She lived there for the greater part of the 20th century as a busy journalist, teacher, and artist. I visited her at Thanksgiving when I was about as young as I can remember in the early 1980s. She had one of those candlestick rotary phones, and her built-in dry bar was impressively stocked with ancient crystal decanters that bounced rays of light onto her dusty, Victorian wallpaper. Aunt Lucy didn’t have much time for the kitchen, but she made a memorable cheeseball, for sure.
INGREDIENTS
9 ounces Youngstown Club Cheese
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Quality bacon bits
Sun-dried tomatoes
Fresh flat leaf parsley
1 finely diced scallion
PREPARATION
- Start with a stiff drink. Suggestion: chilled Beefeater Gin, neat, in a heavy tumbler.
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth; mix in the remaining ingredients.
- Form the cheese ball, use a spatula and your hands to shape the mixture into a ball.
- Keep chilled in the fridge for at least one hour before serving.
Serve with classic Ritz Crackers, generic green pimento olives, and Youngstown Club Roasted Peanuts. Accoutrements: A sterling cheese knife from Colonial times and/or 20-year old toothpicks with decorative frills (depending on cheese ball size).
Aunt Lucy’s Cheese Ball No. 2 – A North Side-Style Cheese Ball
INGREDIENTS
- 9 ounces Youngstown Club Cheese
- Shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1 bag of pecans or walnuts, finely chopped.
- Quality bacon bits
- Green onions, finely chopped.
PREPARATION
-
Again, start with a stiff drink.
-
Combine the cheeses until smooth. Add the bacon bits and green onions. Mix well.
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Use a spatula and your hands to form the mixture into a ball.
-
Coat in nuts one hour before serving; keep chilled in the fridge for that hour.
Serve with classic Ritz Crackers, Gherkins, and Youngstown Club Roasted Peanuts.
The “Mutiny on the Bounty” Cheese Ball
I concocted this recipe to dedicate to my Uncle Josh, a seafaring man of letters with great personal style. Most men in our family descend from a line of skilled sailors and yachtsmen. We have a long-standing tradition of enjoying all things nautical and boat-related. One of my favorite childhood memories was watching the classic film and masterpiece, “Mutiny on the Bounty,” with my uncle and mother. It was an experience I will never forget. Uncle Josh (“U.J.”) is a disciplined pescatarian and an exercise enthusiast. He usually follows a strict diet. However, I know that he has a penchant for delicious hors d’oeuvres from the fruits of the ocean. I’m hoping to tempt him over for a holiday visit with this delicious cheese ball!
INGREDIENTS
16 ounces smoked salmon (canned salmon works, too)
8 ounces cream cheese
8 ounces sour cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Fresh chopped dill
2 tablespoons capers
1 cucumber sliced and diced
Fresh green onions
¼ teaspoon salt
Chives
PREPARATION
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth; incorporate the salmon, sour cream, lemon juice, capers, cucumber, dill, green onions and salt. Reserve the chives.
- Use a spatula and your hands to form the mixture into a ball shape.
- Roll the cheese ball in chives one hour before serving; keep chilled in the fridge for that hour.
Serve with caviar (salmon) and plain water crackers. Accompany with Lord Horatio Nelson’s Orange and Mandarin Iced Tea (prepared with boiled simple syrup). Serve in a tall rocks glass and garnish with fresh mint. Optional: Use cheese knives with the Flags of the Seven Seas, if you have them.
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