This cheeseball is a classic recipe from The Lion House, which is a famous restaurant in Utah that was the former house of Brigham Young. I have all of their cookbooks because they have great recipes! It is also where we had our wedding luncheon, so it's special to me. My kids devour this cheeseball any time I make it, which is usually at the holidays. I saw this cute idea on Pinterest to turn a cheeseball into a turkey, and voila! We've got a darling appetizer all ready for you to try for Thanksgiving!
Our Favorite Cheeseball - Thanksgiving Style
Serves 8-10
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon dried chives
2 teaspoons dry ranch dressing mix
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Thanksgiving styling:
Pretzel sticks, gluten free
1 cinnamon stick
1 candy corn
2 candy eyeballs
1 brown M&M
Melted chocolate or frosting for glue
In a bowl, stir together the cream cheese, chives, and ranch dressing mix with the back of a wooden spoon, until combined. Add the shredded cheese and stir to incorporate. Form the cream cheese mixture into a ball shape with your hands. Roll in the chopped pecans to cover. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate. To make the turkey head, attach the M&M to the top of the cinnamon stick with melted chocolate. Freeze to solidify. Do the same for the eyes and candy corn. When ready to serve, assemble your turkey cheeseball by poking the cinnamon stick into the top front of the ball, and multiple pretzel sticks along the top back for the feathers. Serve with additional pretzels and your favorite crackers!
Step-by-step tutorial:
Gather your cheeseball ingredients. You will need an 8-oz. cream cheese block, 4 oz. cheddar cheese, dry ranch seasoning mix, dried chives, and chopped pecans. The pretzel sticks are for decorating it for Thanksgiving.
In a mixing bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, 1 tablespoon dried chives, and 2 teaspoons dry ranch mix. Stir with the back of a wooden spoon to get it all creamed together.
Shred about half of an 8-oz. cheddar cheese block to get approximately 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese. Add the cheese to the cream cheese and stir to combine.
It takes some muscle, but it will eventually come together.
With your hands, roll the cheese into a ball shape. Chop the pecans into the size you want them to be. Place them in a shallow dish, then roll the cheeseball in the nuts until covered.
Wrap the cheeseball in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the Thanksgiving style cheeseball, you will need gluten free pretzel sticks, a cinnamon stick, a brown M&M (the larger ones with peanuts or brownie inside), a candy corn, two candy eyeballs, and some frosting or melted chocolate to use as glue.
To assemble the turkey head, stick the M&M on top of the cinnamon stick using the melted chocolate. Put in the freezer to set. Add the eyes and candy corn the same way. Freeze to set the chocolate glue.
When you are ready to serve, insert the turkey head in the top front of the cheeseball. Insert a bunch of pretzels along the top back as the feathers.
Get out your favorite crackers and additional pretzels for eating the cheeseball and enjoy!
Festive, fun, and super delicious!
Recipe Source: Recipe adapted from The Lion House Classics cookbook