Bacon Cheddar Chive Mini-Cheeseballs

I am in party mode this week, my friends, preparing for our semi-annual event that I do with my artist friends. We have a grand time drinking wine and talking with all the people to come look at/purchase art and home furnishings … and eating grand food.

This is one of the items I plan to feature on our Cheese & fresh Fruit Plate this year, along with marinated feta and Dubliner cheeses and a couple other cheese balls I have planned. It’s a simple combination that is a crowd pleaser, easy to put together. You can make this as one large cheese ball, served with crackers or little toasts or even cucumber slices … or make them as mini-cheese balls and let guests munch on them as they please.

I’ve seen pretzel sticks stuck into mini-cheese balls like this to make them easy to pick up and munch on at a party and I think that’s a brilliant idea.

Bacon Cheddar Chive Cheeseballs

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: About 24 mini cheeseballs or 1 large cheeseball 1x

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Ingredients

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• 1 8-oz. package Greek cream cheese (or Neufchatel), softened
• 1 clove garlic, peeled & chopped fine
• 1/4 cup snipped chives
• 1/4 cup cooked, chopped lean bacon
• 1 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• A pinch of red pepper flakes

For rolling:

• Chopped nuts, chives, parsley and some extra shredded cheese

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Instructions

1. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the cream cheese, garlic, chives, bacon, cheddar cheese and red pepper until well mixed. Set the bowl in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes or until the cheese mixture starts to firm up.
2. Meanwhile, mix together your “topping” in a small bowl and cover a baking sheet with waxed paper or a nonstick silicone baking bat.
3. When the cheese mixture is cooled and hardened, remove from fridge. Working quickly, spray your hands with cooking spray and, taking spoonfuls of the mixture, roll each spoonful into a ball about 1 inch in diameter, then roll in the topping.
4. Serve with crackers and/or little toasts or cucumber slices … or just as little bites to enjoy on their own!

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Notes

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

© Copyright 2015, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.

This recipe was shared at Munching Monday, Tuesday’s Table, Treasure Box Tuesday, Gluten Free Friday and Hearth & Soul Bloghop.