Christmas tree cheese ball is sharp Cheddar and cream cheese blended with cayenne, Worcestershire and lemon. It gets shaped into a cone and rolled in parsley and dill, with pomegranate seeds for ornaments. Nothing is cooked and it feeds nine from one board.
Grate the Cheddar off a block rather than reaching for a bag. Pre shredded cheese is dusted with starch to stop it clumping, and that starch keeps it grainy however long you run the processor.
The card lists fifteen minutes as cook time on a recipe where nothing is cooked, and gives no prep time at all. The forty five minutes is really fifteen of work and thirty in the freezer.
Christmas Tree Cheese Ball
Course: AppetizerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes300
kcalTwo cheeses pulsed smooth with scallion, lemon and a hit of cayenne, then firmed in the freezer. Pressed into a cone, coated in chopped green herbs and dotted with pomegranate seeds.
Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
8 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated from a block
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 to 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
3 scallions, sliced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup very finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
Buttery crackers, such as Ritz, for serving
Directions
- Blend the cheese: Put the cream cheese, Cheddar, cayenne, Worcestershire, scallions, lemon juice and some salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse until almost smooth, leaving a few bits of cheese in there.
- Chill it: Scrape the mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap with a rubber spatula, wrap it up and put it in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Shape the tree: Using the plastic wrap to hold it together, shape the cheese with your hands into a Christmas tree cone.
- Coat in herbs: Mix the chopped parsley and dill together on a plate, then roll the cone in them until it is covered all over.
- Decorate: Move the tree to the center of a platter, dot it with pomegranate seeds as ornaments and serve with buttery crackers.
FAQs
How far ahead can I make it?
Blend and shape the cone up to two days early, wrap it tight and keep it in the fridge. Hold the herbs back until an hour before serving, because chopped parsley and dill go dark against cold cheese. The pomegranate seeds go on last of all.
What do I use for the star on top?
The recipe never gives you one, which is the obvious miss on a tree. Cut a small star from a yellow bell pepper with a knife or a tiny cutter. A single pomegranate seed or a rosemary sprig at the tip works too.
Why did my tree slump?
Warm hands are usually the reason, since thirty minutes in the freezer only firms the outside. Shape it through the plastic wrap rather than touching the cheese directly. If it softens, put it back in the freezer for ten minutes before coating.
What else goes on the table with it?
Something you do not spread, because the crackers already cover that job. A bite with a base of its own balances the board. These polenta and chicken tartlets sit well next to it.
How is this different from the cheese ball wreath?
The mixture is close, but the wreath is a ring you set cranberries into while this is a cone covered in herbs. A tree stands up on the board and reads from across the room. For the flat version, try this christmas cheese ball wreath.
