This Cranberry and Pecan cheeseball is the perfect addition to your holiday table this year.
Its so easy to make in advance and just pull out of the fridge when you’re ready to serve.
Welcome to recipes by Carina where I share with you how to make classic and simply
delicious recipes, make sure to subscribe or follow my page for a new recipe each week.
To start we want to toast the pecans. This is an optional step that you could skip but
toasting does bring out the best flavour so I would definitely recommend doing this. You’ll
need half a cup of pecans or about 50g. I love pecans in this cheeseball but you can of course
change this up with walnuts or almonds or use a complete mixture, it’s completely up to you.
Tip the pecans out onto a chopping board and using a large knife
give them a rough chop. You want a variety of sizes,
some larger pieces and a few smaller bits that will easily mix into the cheeseball.
Place the pecans onto an oven tray and place in a 200
celsius or 400 Fahrenheit oven for about 5 minutes or a good rule is to take them out
just as you start to smell them, they’ll become incredibly fragrant.
If you would like the full recipe for this cranberry and pecan cheeseball it will be on
my website as well as the full measurements listed in the description box below. In a medium sized
mixing bowl add in your cream cheese, and give it a quick mix to soften. You’ll need 250g or 9oz. ,
you’ll notice I give the recipe amounts in metric and imperial so no matter where you live in the
world you should find this recipe easy enough to follow. Make sure it’s room temperature here
or you’ll have such a hard time trying to mix it and incorporate with the other ingredients.
To the cream cheese you’ll need a 1/4 cup of sour cream. As well as adding a bit of softness to the
cheeseball the sour cream also adds great flavour. Follow that with a cup of grated
cheese. I’m using a cheddar here, you want to go with something that has a bit of flavour. Stay
away from mozzarella but if you have a different favourite type of cheese then definitely use it!
Next up for a bit of flavour add about 1/2 a teaspoon of garlic powder.
I love the garlic flavour here, but again with this recipe you could add in
or leave out so many different ingredients so make sure to make it to your tastes.
You could also add a touch of pepper here but with
sharp cheese flavour it doesn’t really need much seasoning at all.
Using the wooden spoon give the ingredients a
really good mix together until everything is evenly combined.
Cheese balls are a really great addition to any grazing table or board. You can really make them
into whichever kind of flavour you would like but this cranberry and pecan one is just delicious.
So much texture from the pecans but hints of sweetness and flavour from the cranberries,
it just pairs perfectly together.
By this point the pecans should be just about ready so remove them from the oven
and place them into a smaller bowl. They’ll cool down pretty quickly.
To the pecans add a cup of dried cranberries and give it a good mix to combine.
About half of the pecan and cranberry mix is going to be mixed into the cheese ball
and the other half is going to cover the outside.
Take your mixture and pour half of into the bowl with the cheeses. Using your wooden spoon
fold the ingredients together until the pecans and cranberries are evenly distributed through.
We now need to turn this into a ball and the easiest way to do this is with plastic wrap or
baking paper. Place a length on your work top and pour the cheeseball mixture out on top.
Bring up the sides and wrap it up as tightly as you can.
Try to shape it into some what of a ball shape but don’t fret about getting it perfect,
it’s actually much easier to perfect the shape once its chilled.
This is called a cheese ball but there’s nothing to say it needs to be in the shape of a ball.
You can also shape this into a log or more of a flat square type shape.
Whichever way you think will work and look the best.
Place the cheeseball in the fridge for at least four hours to set up
so it doesn’t fall apart in the final steps.
After at least four hours remove your cheeseball from the fridge. Take your pecans and cranberries,
I’ve also added some chives for some greenery here and pour it out onto a plate.
At this point before unwrapping it have a play with the shape
and try to get it into as evenly of a ball as you can.
Place it onto the plate covered with the cranberries and pecans and turn it over,
pressing so the coating sticks. This is a bit of a
messy job but you should get a really nice and even coating.
The cheeseball can be served at this point,
maybe give it another 20 minutes or so it warms up to room temperature from the fridge
or you can also place it back into the fridge for a few hours until you’re ready to serve.
I hope you try this out, it’s perfect for any holiday or just get together.
It’s easy to make and so delicious and there are so many options with flavourings so you can try
something new out every time. Thank you for watching and I will see you in my next video.