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Festive Cheese Rounds

December 11, 2011 19 Comments

The holidays are all about spending time with friends and family, and that means that means one thing — tons of dinner parties with guests galore. And, of course, feasting.

My parents always throw two parties this time of year; one on Christmas Eve, another on Christmas itself. Each day, they get up at 7am to start cooking, the guests start trickling in around 4ish, and in no time at all the dining table is loaded down with 20+ delicious dishes, and our house is packed to the gills with people (adults karaoke-ing on the first floor, screaming kids in the basement, and teenagers holed away upstairs). It’s an exhausting but amazingly fun time.

But you know, the problem with dinner parties is that I always get hungry before dinner and fill up on appetizers. I know from the start that I’m going to wish I’d saved room in my stomach for other stuff, but it’s really hard to resist the siren call of chips/dip, baby sandwiches, crackers & cheese, and mini quiches. As far as I’m concerned, appetizers are pretty much the best part of any meal.

So, in honor of my favorite course, on the fourth day of Christmas my kitchen gives to you…Festive Cheese Rounds. They’re fun, they’re tasty, and they’re sure to be a hit at your next holiday party!

Festive Cheese Rounds (Slight adapted from Amy Sedaris’s Heavyset Cheese Ball recipe)
** The jalapenos and pepper jack cheese add a bit of kick, which Dan and I love. If you’re not into that though, just leave them out and substitute with chopped green onion + cheese of choice.

Ingredients:
– 1-1/4 cups whole, plain almonds
– 8 oz cream cheese
– 1/3 cup pepperoni, chopped (Bacon would be good too…I just didn’t have any.)
– 1 jalapeno, diced
– 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese, grated
– 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
– Salt and pepper
– Sprigs of rosemary, for garnish

Steps:
(1) Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread almonds out on a baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes.
** I actually forgot this step, but my cheese rounds turned out fine. I imagine toasted almonds would taste better, but I honestly didn’t miss them.
(2) In a large bowl, soften the cream cheese with a spoon/spatula. Add the pepperoni, diced jalapeno, and grated cheese. Season with salt/pepper to taste. Chill overnight.
(3) On a serving platter, divide cheese mixture into 2 portions and shape each like a pine cone.
** I used my hands to roll each portion into balls, then gently squeezed and pressed one end to a create a more narrow point.
(4) Press the almonds at a slight angle into the cheese, starting at the narrow end of the pine cone shape.
(5) Do this in rows, continuing to overlap rows until all the cheese is covered.
(6) Garnish with fake sprigs, or real ones, or with rosemary.
(7) Serve at room temperature with crackers or toasted crostini.

You may also like:

  • OREO Cookie Ball Snowmen
  • Scallion Pancakes
  • Smoked Salmon and Mozzarella Crostini

Filed Under: Appetizers, Autumn, Gluten-free, Holiday, Semi-Homemade Tagged With: appetizer, Christmas, fun for kids

Comments

  1. Leslie says

    December 11, 2011 at 11:46 pm

    adorbs.

    Reply
    • justputzing says

      December 12, 2011 at 9:41 am

      <3

      Reply
  2. Kaś says

    December 12, 2011 at 11:16 am

    simply amazing!

    Reply
    • justputzing says

      December 12, 2011 at 11:46 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  3. kirbie says

    December 12, 2011 at 8:47 pm

    These are gorgeous and so clever. Definitely the most creative holiday themed recipe I’ve come across so far!

    Reply
    • justputzing says

      December 12, 2011 at 11:59 pm

      Thanks! They were fun to make 🙂

      Reply
  4. Amanda says

    December 13, 2011 at 2:27 pm

    Too awesome! I absolutely love the creating plating idea, great job!!

    Reply
    • justputzing says

      December 13, 2011 at 2:32 pm

      Thank you! I didn’t know where to buy sprigs, but rosemary turned out to be a good substitute. And now I have plenty of fresh herbs for other dishes 🙂

      Reply
  5. Carrie says

    December 14, 2011 at 10:29 pm

    How creative are these? I love them!

    Reply
    • justputzing says

      December 14, 2011 at 10:35 pm

      Thanks 🙂

      Reply
  6. Polly Motzko says

    December 16, 2011 at 3:39 am

    You are soooo clever as I told my new friend Lee Allison, who shared this post!

    I would love you to join my cooking site called “Cooking Up a Storm All Over The World!”

    http://www.CookingUpaStorminCa.ning.com

    You would wake up the 156 members and have them start writing and posting and asking you how you did these!

    You are very creative indeed!

    You should “putz round the kitchen” more often!

    Polly Motzko

    Reply
    • justputzing says

      December 16, 2011 at 11:13 am

      Thank you, that’s so nice! I will definitely check out your cooking site 🙂

      Reply
  7. Rebecca says

    December 23, 2011 at 9:33 pm

    I just made these… and they actually turned out like the picture! I love them 😀

    Reply
    • justputzing says

      December 23, 2011 at 11:04 pm

      Awesome! I actually still have one stored in the fridge – it’s too cute to eat!

      Reply
  8. Madame Fromage says

    December 31, 2011 at 9:48 am

    Oh, wow, these are stunning! You have my respect, mademoiselle.

    Reply
    • justputzing says

      December 31, 2011 at 10:17 am

      Why, thank you 🙂

      Reply
  9. Jill says

    December 31, 2011 at 2:57 pm

    These look amazing! We’re sponsoring a cheese ball invitational on our blog and would love for you to join in. Just add a link to your post using the tool on this page: http://cheeseandchampagne.com/2011/12/01/announcing-the-2011-cheese-ball-invitational/

    Reply
  10. Susan says

    November 17, 2016 at 10:18 pm

    Yummy !!!

    Reply
    • justputzing says

      December 4, 2016 at 5:43 pm

      🙂

      Reply

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Hi! I'm Tina - D.C. based attorney, lover of reality and food-related television, stress-eater, and unabashed fantasy/sci-fi dork. Read More…

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