A Festive Christmas Tree Cheese Ball
How gorgeous is this Christmas tree cheese ball? It looks complicated, but I promise, it's actually so easy to make! All you need is boursin, Monterey Jack cheese, parsley, rosemary sprigs, dried fruit, and pine nuts for decoration. It's a stunner at holiday parties and Christmas dinners!
Ingredients
- 12 dried apricots
- 8 ounce brick of Monterey Jack cheese, divided (226 grams)
- 2 batches homemade boursin - see notes for store-bought alternative
- 1 bunch curly parsley, very finely chopped
- 1/3 cup pine nuts (45 grams)
- 1/4 cup pomegranate arils (35 grams)
- 3-4 rosemary sprigs
- Crackers, for serving
Equipment
- Plastic wrap
- Small star cookie cutter
Instructions
- If you want to make apricot "ornaments", use a large round piping tip to cut circles out of the dried apricots. This is totally optional, you can also just cut them into squares! Set the apricots aside for later.
- Slice 1-2 slices of cheese off of the brick of Monterey Jack. Use a small, star-shaped cookie cutter to make a star topper. Then, grate the rest of the cheese. Reserve 6 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups/170 grams) and save the rest of the cheese for another recipe.
- In a large bowl, combine the boursin and shredded Monterey Jack cheese with a rubber spatula or hand mixer. Then, spoon the mixture onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Use the plastic wrap to shape the cheese mixture into a tall (but sturdy) tree shape. Wrap the cheese ball well and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until the cheese ball is firm.
- Once the cheese ball is chilled and holding its shape, unwrap and tree and place it on a serving tray. Press the chopped parsley onto the sides of the tree. Gently brush any extra parsley off of the serving tray.
- Press the pine nuts in rows around the tree to create "garland". You can use your hands, but kitchen tweezers are super helpful for this step!
- Then, press pomegranate arils and the dried apricot "ornaments" in-between the pine nut garland. Fill in gaps with small sprigs of rosemary to make branches.
- Use a toothpick to secure the cheese star topper to the top of the Christmas tree. Enjoy with crackers!
Notes
If you want to use store-bought boursin, you will need four 5.3 ounce wheels. (My homemade version makes about 10 ounces per batch.)
To make things a little easier, you can decorate the cheese ball however you like! Feel free to skip the garland step and add the pine nuts in random areas instead. Sliced almonds work great here too! You can really make this as easy or as elaborate as you like.
Try swapping the pomegranate arils and dried apricots with other dried fruits, veggies, etc. Rainbow carrot slices would be super pretty here!
While you're decorating the cheese ball, it may lose it's shape a bit. Don't stress, just gently press it back into shape as needed.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 112kcal, Carbohydrates: 3.2g, Protein: 3.9g, Fat: 9.9g, Saturated Fat: 5.2g, Cholesterol: 27mg, Sodium: 131mg, Potassium: 73mg, Fiber: 0.5g, Sugar: 1.7g, Calcium: 75mg, Iron: 1mg
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