Ingredients

Scale

For the cheese mixture:

3 – 4 slices lean bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 8-oz. package Greek cream cheese (or Neufchatel), softened
2 – 4 Tablespoons crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1/2 cup shredded Italian blend of cheeses
1 – 2 Tablespoons snipped chives

For the crunchy coating:

1/2 cup pecans, chopped and toasted
1/4 cup parsley, chives, or green onions (or a mix of these), chopped

For the surprise inside:

1 – 2 crisp apples, peeled, cored and chopped into chunks (I used honeycrisp)

Instructions

Cook up the bacon and chop it into crumbles.
Put the softened cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the cheeses, then half the bacon and the chives. (Reserve the rest of the bacon for the crunchy topping.) Set the cheese mixture in the fridge to cool a bit.
Chop and toast the pecans, then put them in a small bowl with the rest of the bacon and the chopped parsley.
Now peel and core an apple and cut into 3/4-inch chunks. Dip each apple chunk in the cheese mixture, using a spoon and/or your fingers to pat some cheese all around the apple chunk. The cheese won’t stick to the apple, so just do your best to encase the apple in cheese.
Clean your fingers and roll the little cheese ball in the nut mixture and set on a clean plate. If you still have cheese left, repeat with the 2nd apple. Continue until the apples or the cheese is gone.
Chill the mini cheese balls completely in the fridge before serving (at least 30 minutes). Serve cold.

Notes

The “Cook time” noted above is really cooling time. You don’t actually “cook” anything except the bacon.

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

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