Maggie Monday: Christmas Eve Cheese Ball

Happy Holidays to you all. For those who celebrate it, it is Christmas Eve and that is the one family event that we always host. We generally don’t put out a standard main dish as much as a collection of foods that everyone can sample and graze. I’m glad Maggie sent this one, as I will add it tonight. Here’s Maggie…

This is a recipe from my mom. I remember her making this when I was very young, and always looked forward to when one of the “card parties” was hosted at our house. That meant we got to have this cheese ball, and home-made Chex Mix.

When boxes of Triscuits, Club Crackers, and Wheat Thins made their way in the house, we knew a Cheese Ball was not far behind.

The last time I made this, son #3 took the whole container and box of crackers to the basement family room. That was the end of it.

This is another easy-make-ahead-and-take-later dish. If you want to just use it as a spread, you can whip it together right before your event, and just serve it in a chip and dip platter with a little knife for spreading. It is very soft.

If you choose to make it into a traditional ball, refrigerate overnight, then roll in the “topping” of your choice right before you go. I like to roll it in toasted pecans, but you could also roll it in a blend of dried herbs of your choice as well.

Cheese Ball

What you need:

1 8 oz block of cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

1 jar of Kraft Old English cheese spread, room temp

1 tsp garlic salt

¾ cup chopped pecans, toasted

What you do:

Mix first four ingredients with a hand mixer until well blended and smooth. Place into a container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

After the cheese mixture is well chilled and firm, remove from container and with clean hands form into a ball. Roll in toasted pecans, or dried herb mixture.

Place on platter and serve with crackers.