My rockstar sister-in-law, Robyn, was here for a visit this week and she made us this absolutely adorable, amazingly delicious appetizer while she was visiting. You know it’s going to be good, I mean what’s not to love? It’s made with three different cheeses, fresh herbs, spices and its shaped like the cutest little pumpkin ever. How stinking cute is that? Plus it’s so, so, very, very easy to make too! Keep reading to find out how to make this adorable appetizer…
The hardest part is remembering to set out the cream cheese so that it gets nice and soft. But guess what? Even if you forget to do that you can just use your mixer to blend everything together instead of stirring it together by hand. Gotta love that!!!
We used pepper Jack cheese with a Mexican themed assortment of spices for this cheeseball but you can easily change it up. For a sweeter flavor profile, try it with dried cranberries, chopped walnuts and a dash of cinnamon and serve with apple slices. Or flavor the cream cheese with a packet of ranch seasoning, shredded cheddar cheese, some chopped sun dried tomatoes, and roll it in bacon bits for a completely different flavor profile. The combination of seasonings and ingredients is endless. You are only limited by your imagination!
All right, let’s make this already!!! Start by placing the softened cream cheese and hot sauce in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Add the spices.
Combine on medium speed until cream cheese is soft, creamy, and combined with all the seasonings.
Add the shredded Pepper Jack cheese, diced jalapeño, and fresh chives. Mix on low speed until well combined.
Place about a 2 foot long piece of plastic wrap onto a smooth work surface.
Place the shredded cheddar cheese onto the plastic wrap and spread it out into an even layer.
Scoop out the cream cheese mixture from the mixing bowl and place it onto the plastic wrap with the cheddar cheese.
Pull up the ends of the plastic wrap and gently press the cream cheese into a ball shape, pressing the cheddar cheese onto the outside of the ball to completely cover it with the shredded cheddar cheese.
Once the cream cheese is shaped into a large ball and covered with the grated cheddar cheese, wrap the entire ball with the plastic wrap.
Cut about a 2 foot length of twine and wrap it around the cheeseball 3-4 times, spacing it apart equally. Tighten the twine to create indentations in the cheeseball to resemble a pumpkin.
Remove the twine and unwrap the cheese ball to expose the top. Press the stem from a bell pepper into the top and press it into the cheeseball to secure it in place.
TIP: Be sure to place the stem into the cheeseball before you cover and refrigerate it so that it says in place. Once the cheeseball is refrigerated it will be difficult to press the stem into place.
Rewrap the cheeseball with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow all the flavors to combine.
To serve, remove cheeseball from the refrigerator and allow it to sit, covered in the plastic wrap, for about 30-45 minutes.
Unwrap the cheeseball. Discard the plastic wrap. Place cheeseball on a serving platter or cutting board. Serve with your favorite crackers or slices of French bread.
What a fun and festive appetizer to serve up to your guests this holiday season. It’s so easy to make and with a bit of twine, you can turn an ordinary cheeseball into something special and oh so fun to eat!!! This will look oh so pretty on your holiday table too! Thank you Robyn for this wonderful recipe!!! It was a HUGE hit and I will be trying various ingredients to change it up in the future!!
Herbed Pumpkin Cheeseball
Equipment
- plastic wrap
- Twine
Ingredients
- (2) 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp pepper
- dash hot sauce
- 3 tbsp chives, chopped
- ½ Jalapeño, seeded and finely diced
- 1½ cup Pepper Jack cheese, shredded
- 1½ cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- bell pepper stem
- crackers
Instructions
- Place softened cream cheese, spices and hot sauce in the bowl of a stand mixer. Combine until cream cheese is soft and combined with all the seasonings.
- Add shredded Pepper Jack cheese, diced jalapeño, and chives.
- Mix on low speed until combined.
- Place a 2 foot long piece of plastic wrap onto a smooth work surface.
- Place cheddar cheese onto the plastic wrap. Spread cheese out into an even layer.
- Scoop out cream cheese mixture from mixing bowl and place the cheese mixture onto the plastic wrap with the cheddar cheese.
- Pull up the ends of the plastic wrap and gently press the cream cheese into a ball shape, pressing the cheddar cheese onto the outside of the ball to completely cover it with the shredded cheddar cheese.
- Once the cream cheese is shaped into a large ball and covered with the grated cheddar cheese, wrap the entire ball with the plastic wrap.
- Cut about a 2 foot length of twine and wrap it around the cheeseball 3 times, spacing it apart equally. Tighten the twine to create indentations in the cheeseball to resemble a pumpkin.
- Remove the twine and unwrap the cheese ball to expose the top.
- Press the stem from a bell pepper into the top and press it into the cheeseball to secure it in place.
- Rewrap the cheeseball with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow all the flavors to combine.
To serve:
- Remove cheeseball from the refrigerator and allow it to sit, covered in the plastic wrap, for 30-45 minutes.
- Unwrap thee cheeseball. Discard plastic wrap. Place cheeseball on a serving platter or cutting board.
- Allow guests to spread cheeseball onto crackers.
Did You Make This?
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John 6:35
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