[homemade] I make themed CHEESE BALLS for family functions. Here are some of my balls:

Mods deleted my first post. Dear Mods, see the word Cheese Balls in the title?

The cheese balls:
Pumpkin – 2022
Chicken – 2025
Cooked chicken – 2018
Christmas Tree – 2023
Carrot – 2023
Snowman – 2024

My cheese ball recipe: After much experimenting, I have found that a good cheeseball needs to be mixed in the kitchen aid stand mixer on a high speed to ensure a.) all of the ingredients are well distributed and b.) the cream cheese gets an airy fluffiness to it.

All of the ingredients (except the cream cheese) are run through the food processor for about thirty seconds until you have small chunks.

The ingredients I generally use are:

2 blocks of cream cheese

3/4 small bag of pepperoni

1ish cup of sharp cheddar (you can replace with any cheese you like. This year I did Bellavitano.)

Green onion

Little tiny bit of olive oil (you can use an infused olive oil if you are feeling fancy)

(I don’t always salt the cheese ball itself since the wheat thins will have plenty of salt on them)

Secret ingredient: basil pesto that I make with basil from my garden. You can use store bought basil pesto and it works great!

Edit: be stealthy with the pesto, it can overwhelm the flavor, so make sure you only add enough for people to question what the flavor actually is. Otherwise it will be a pesto ball.

The crust can be whatever you want! I usually go for a cashew, pistachio or almond crust. Powder Parmesan cheese is what I use for a white exterior.

I don’t generally use measurements, so feel it with your heart