Cranberry & Pecan Cheese Ball Recipe
By This Cranberry and Pecan Cheese Ball is the perfect addition to your holiday table this year. It’s so easy to make and you can also try it at home easily. Just pull it out of the fridge when you are ready to serve it.
Cheese balls are a really great addition to any grazing table or board. You can really make them into whichever kind of flavor, you would like but this cranberry and pecan one is just delicious. So much texture from the pecans but hints of sweetness and flavor from the cranberries, it just pairs perfectly together.
EQUIPMENT FOR THIS RECIPE
- Chopping Board
- Chefs Knife
- Mixing Bowl
- Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup / 50g Pecans
- 9 oz / 250g Cream Cheese
- 1/4 Cup / 60g Sour Cream
- 1 Cup / 85g Cheddar Cheese
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Cup / 120g Dried Cranberries
- 2 Tbsp Chives chopped
Instructions
1. To start toast the pecans. You’ll need half a cup of pecans or about 50g. I love pecans in this cheeseball but you can of course change this up with walnuts or almonds or use a complete mixture, it’s completely up to you. Tip the pecans out onto a chopping board and using a large knife give them a rough chop. You want a variety of sizes, some larger pieces and a few smaller bits that will easily mix into the cheeseball.
2. Place the pecans onto an oven tray and place in a 200 celsius or 400 Fahrenheit oven for about 5 In a medium-sized, The mixing bowl adds in your cream cheese and gives it a quick mix to soften. You’ll need 250g or 9oz.
3. To the cream cheese you’ll need a 1/4 cup of sour cream. As well as adding a bit of softness to the cheeseball the sour cream also adds great flavor. Follow that with a cup of grated cheese.
4. Next up for a bit of flavor add about 1/2 a teaspoon of garlic powder. Using the wooden spoon give the ingredients a really good mix together until everything is evenly combined. By this point, the pecans should be just about ready to remove them from the oven and place them into a smaller bowl. They’ll cool down pretty quickly.
5. To the pecans add a cup of dried cranberries and give it a good mix to combine. About half of the pecan and cranberry mix is going to be mixed into the cheese ball and the other half is going to cover the outside. Take your mixture and pour half into the bowl with the cheeses. Using your wooden spoon fold the ingredients together until the pecans and cranberries are evenly distributed through.
6. You now need to turn this into a ball and the easiest way to do this is with plastic wrap or baking paper. Place a length on your worktop and pour the cheeseball mixture out on top. Bring up the sides and wrap it up as tightly as you can. Try to shape it into somewhat of a ball shape but don’t fret about getting it perfect, it’s actually much easier to perfect the shape once it’s chilled.
7. Place the cheeseball in the fridge for at least four hours to set it up so it doesn’t fall apart in the final steps. After at least four hours remove your cheeseball from the fridge. Take your pecans and cranberries. At this point before unwrapping it have a play with the shape and try to get it into as evenly of a ball as you can.
8. Place it onto the plate covered with the cranberries and pecans and turn it over, pressing so the coating sticks. This is a bit of a messy job but you should get a really nice and even coating. The cheese ball can be served at this point, maybe give it another 20 minutes or so it warms up to room temperature from the fridge or you can also place it back into the fridge for a few hours until you’re ready to serve.
Nutrient Information
Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 192.5kcal | Carbohydrates: 18.1g | Protein: 2.5g | Fat: 12.9g | Saturated Fat: 7.7g | Cholesterol: 41.5mg | Sodium: 122mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 1.1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 510IU | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 0.3mg
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
