RecipeMaster

Turkey Cheese Ball for Thanksgiving

Any cheese ball recipe can be turned into the shape of a turkey for a festive appetizer at your Thanksgiving dinner. All you need is some creativity!

Submitted by Allrecipes

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time:

Total Time: 2 hrs 20 mins

Servings: 32

Ingredients

  • *2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
  • *3 ½ cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
  • *1 (1 ounce) package Ranch-style dressing mix
  • *2 cups chopped pecans
  • *1 cup whole pecans
  • *7 whole-wheat crackers
  • *¼ red bell pepper
  • *1 black olive
  • *½ teaspoon cream cheese, softened
  • *1 slice yellow zucchini

Directions

Step 1

In a spacious mixing bowl, combine the Cheddar, cream cheese, and dressing packet. Shape the mixture into a single large sphere. Cover the exterior by rolling it in the crushed pecans. Let it chill in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours, though overnight is ideal.

Step 2

Construct the turkey: Position a fan of whole-wheat crackers behind the cheese sphere to serve as the tail feathers. Insert pecans throughout the cheese ball to represent the turkey's body.

Step 3

Prepare two long pieces of red pepper to serve as the head and neck. Use a tiny pastry nozzle to create circular "eyes" from a black olive. Apply two dabs of cream cheese onto one of the pepper segments to act as the turkey's face, pressing the olive circles into place as pupils. Fashion a small triangle from yellow zucchini to act as the beak and attach it to the pepper strip using a bit of cream cheese. Insert the plain red pepper strip into the front of the cheese ball, then place the finished head piece onto the top of the cheese ball.