3 Adorable Cheese Balls to Make This Holiday Season

Cheese balls are a classic party app and it’s a serious time-saver for hosts as you can make them in advance. HGTV producer Liz Gray has taken the iconic snack and given it three holiday twists for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and winter holidays. Read on for the super-cute and super-easy seasonal how-tos!

Pumpkin-Shaped Cheese Ball

Start with eight ounces of softened cream cheese. If you don’t have time to let the cheese soften to room temperature, just pop it in the microwave for about 15 seconds. In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese with sharp cheddar, ranch seasoning, bell pepper and green onions. It works best to mix with your hands so we recommend using gloves. Once everything is combined, form the mixture into a ball. Let the ball chill for about an hour in the fridge.

While you wait, place about one cup of cheese crackers into a plastic zip bag. Using a rolling pin, crush the crackers into fine crumbs. If you don’t have a rolling pin, you can use a glass or your hands. Pour the fine crumbs into a bowl. Take the chilled ball out of the fridge and roll the ball in the bowl of cracker crumbs until it’s thoroughly coated.

Using the back of a butter knife, create lines and shape the cheese ball into a pumpkin. Once you’ve created the spines of the pumpkin, press your hand down on the top of the ball to create more of a pumpkin shape. Add a cinnamon stick for the pumpkin stem. Optional: Add faux greenery, but make sure your guests know it’s not edible. Surround with crackers and you’re ready to party!

Turkey-Shaped Cheeseball

Start with eight ounces of softened cream cheese. If you don’t have time to let the cheese soften to room temperature, just pop it in the microwave for about 15 seconds. In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, shredded cheese, ranch dressing, Worcestershire sauce and ¼ cup of the bacon. It works best to mix with your hands so we recommend using gloves. Once everything is combined, form the mixture into two balls — one slightly smaller than the other. Roll both balls in the remaining chopped bacon until thoroughly coated. Let the ball chill for about an hour in the fridge.

To decorate the turkey for a party, place the two balls on a large plate with the smaller ball above the big ball. Add layers of sliced cheese and oval crackers to create the turkey’s feathers. Add more cheese pieces to create the turkey’s face. You can use edible ink markers for the eyes, beak and snoods.

Snowman Cheeseball

In a large mixing bowl, add first 11 ingredients. Using your hands, combine the ingredients thoroughly. It works best to mix with your hands so we recommend using gloves. Flatten the mixture to the bottom of the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for two hours.

Once the mixture is chilled, roll into two balls, leaving one slightly smaller than the other. Coat both balls thoroughly in shredded coconut.

To assemble the snowman, stick two lollipop sticks in the center of the larger ball. Then, place the smaller ball on top. The sticks should secure the balls and help the snowman stand upright. Decorate the snowman with peppercorn eyes, a mouth and buttons. Don’t forget the carrot nose! You can also add faux sprigs for stick arms. Just make sure your guests know these aren’t edible.