Cheese Ball Christmas Wreath

Have you even had Christmas if you haven’t had cheese ball?  For our family it’s a given and always enjoyed by all.  Cheese Ball recipes tend to be flexible so you can easily tweak things to fit your tastes. I’ll give you the basic recipe and a few ideas if you want to change it up.

Basic Cheese Ball Recipe

1 lb cheese

1 1/2 lb cream cheese

Grate your cheese and add into a mixer with softened cream cheese.  Mix until well combined.

Add any flavorings and mix in well.  You have a few options from here.  You can just shape it into one big ball or you could make it into small little appetizer balls.  Those are a lot of fun.  Today I made mine into a wreath.  I used a bundt pan, lined it with saran wrap and then pressed my cheeseball mixture into it.  Chill in the fridge for about an hour before serving to help it firm up.  Once you are ready to serve invert it unto a plate and remove the saran wrap. Lastly garnish your wreath with your favorite toppings and place some crackers in the center.  It can be a cute little centerpiece for your holiday entertaining!

Optional Flavorings

• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp paprika (this will give your cheese ball a warm orange/red color and adds a bit of smokiness)
•  A few drops of liquid smoke flavoring
• Chopped up dried meats can be mixed in as well and make a delicious addition.

For the wreath I have pictured here I used Smoked Bacon Cheddar so that gives it a lot of nice flavor without any additions.

That would be true of a lot of our flavored cheeses.  If you use them the flavor is already mixed in the cheese!

Optional Toppings

• Chives
• Parsley
• Bacon Bits
• Tomatoes
• Minced Garlic or Onion
• Olives
• Chopped nuts of any kind.
• Cranberries or other dried fruits

The options really are endless so have fun with it and try them all 🙂