Cheese Balls

Cheese Balls

One of the best things about the South is that cheese is King. We will literally put it in anything. In fact most places you go for a meat and 3 will include mac and cheese as a veggie! One of my favorite things with cheese is a cheese ball! This past weekend we had some friends over to grill and I wanted a dessert and appetizer that I could make ahead and didn't have to fuss over. These two cheese balls really fit the bill, and they were a big hit with our guest as well! As you can tell from the pics we really dug right in!

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

This recipe came to me via my mom who received it from an old family friend. Apparently, it's making it's way around the baby shower circuit! I've made this before for a FRG ( Family Readiness Group for those who don't live the Army lifestyle) and it was a huge success!





 

Ingredients

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter softened (no substitutes)
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
2 TB brown sugar
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips; 1/4 cup reserved
3/4 cup pecans, chopped
Graham crackers or vanilla wafers

Directions

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add sugars, beat until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover and
refrigerate for 2 hours. Place cream cheese mixture on a large piece of plastic wrap: shape. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Before serving, roll cheese
ball in pecans and reserved chocolate chips. Serve with Graham crackers or vanilla wafers.

 Ranch Cheese Ball

This recipe comes from my tried and true Trisha Yearwood cookbook, "Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen". I love it served with either Ritz crackers or those Townhouse Toppers. They seems to give the best cheese to cracker ratio! This recipe makes two large cheese balls, so I usually cut it in half.

Ingredients

1 4oz package Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup buttermilk, well shaken

16 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated, room temperature

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup pecans, finely chopped

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the dressing mix, mayo, buttermilk, Cheddar, and cream cheese until thoroughly blended. Divide the mixture into two equal portions in two separate bowls. Cover the bowls and place them in the freezer for 30 minutes. When each portion is firm, use your hands to shape it into a ball. Place the nuts in a shallow bowl ( I use a cake pan) or on a piece of waxed paper. Roll each ball in the nuts to coat it on all sides.

 Last week my family said goodbye to a wonderful man, my Grandpa. Be on the look out for a blog about him and Church Lady Fried Chicken and Iced Italian Cream Cake! My mom recently purchased a new Southern Living cookbook for me and last night we tried the Tuna Noodle Casserole from it. That post is coming up as well!