Cranberry Pecan Cream Cheese Ball

This cranberry pecan cream cheese appetizer ball is an irresistible crowd-pleaser for any gathering. Coated in dried cranberries, crunchy pecans, and fresh herbs, it’s a creamy, festive treat that's as beautiful as it is delicious.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword Condiment

Prep Time 20

Total Time 20

Servings

Calories 382kcal

Ingredients

500 g Cream Cheese (full fat bricks - see notes)
200 g Cheddar cheese (sharp white, shredded)
2 tablespoon Fresh Chives
2 tablespoon Fresh Parsley
10 g Brown sugar (dark or light - optional)
3 g Garlic powder (1 tsp)
1 g Onion Powder (½ tsp)
3 g Black Pepper (1 tsp)
3 g Salt (½ tsp)
120 g Dried Cranberries (finely chopped)
120 g Pecans (roughly chopped)

Instructions

If you haven't already, let your cream cheese sit out for a bit to soften. While this is softening prepare the following:
- Finely chop your cranberries and divide into two portions.
- Roughly chop your pecans and divide into two portions.
- Chop your herbs and divide into two portions.
Now, in the bowl of your stand mixer add all of the cream cheese, sharp white cheddar cheese, brown sugar, garlic and onion powder, black pepper and salt. Add one portion of pecans, cranberries and herbs (leave the other portions for the topping of the ball).
Using your stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the cream cheese together with the flavor additions on speed 6 for around 2 minutes. The cream cheese mixture should be light and fluffy (see notes for using a food processor).
Now, take the mixture out of the bowl and drop it onto a sheet of press and seal or cling wrap and form it into a ball. Place the ball into the fridge for around 10 minutes, just to firm up a little).
When you're ready to serve the ball, mix together the remaining cranberries, pecans and chopped herbs. Place the mixture onto a plate. Remove the cream cheese ball from the fridge and unwrap it. Roll it into the cranberry and pecan mixture until the ball if fully coated.
You can either place the cream cheese ball on a plate ready to serve, or wrap it up and place it in the fridge to serve later. When serving, it's best to let the ball sit out at room temperature for a little bit before you need it so that it's soft enough to dig into with a cracker.

Notes

Stand Mixer or Food Processor - if using a stand mixer to whip the ingredients into the cream cheese, you'll need to chop everything first. If you're using a food processor, you can throw the cranberries, pecans and herbs in whole as the food processor will chop them up as it whips the cream cheese. If using a food processor, the inclusions will be chopped a lot finer - I actually like it like this, but just worth noting if you prefer your inclusions chunkier.

Nutrition