Party Cheeseball

12 Days of Christmas Bake Along, Day 3

We are going to switch gears to a savory note today.  It just wouldnt be the holidays without this essential holiday staple. My aunt gave a variation of this recipe to my mother decades ago.  I think she received it from a friend before that.  My family has enjoyed this cheeseball during the holiday season every single year of my life, or pretty close to it.

I’ve tweaked the family recipe to my own family’s liking.  With notes of green onion, lemon juice, garlic, and more, you’ll find it has a wonderful balance between tangy and salty, smoothness and crunch.  I can’t imagine a Christmas or a New Years Eve without this gorgeous cheeseball in the party spread.  Serve it with a classic Ritz Crackers or Wheat Thins and you wont be disappointed.

All of these measurements are for 2 good sized cheeseballs: one for Christmas and one for New Years Eve, although it is doubtful that the second one will last that long.  (We always end up making multiple batches of this throughout the month of December.  It makes wonderful gifts, too!)

Easy Party Cheeseball

2 8oz. boxes of full fat cream cheese

1 large bunch of scallions (green onions)

4-6 ounces corned beef sandwich slices (such as Buddig)

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

1-2 teaspoons minced garlic

1-2 cups toasted pecan pieces

Toast the pecan pieces and lightly chop, then set aside to cool.  Take the corned beef and slice into small confetti pieces.  In the warm pan, quickly warm the minced garlic and corned beef.  Put room temperature cream cheese into a medium mixing bowl.  Wash the scallions and remove the roots.  Slice them lengthwise first, and then finely slice into little pieces.  Use at least 2 thirds of the scallions so that you get some of the delicious green into it.  Toss it on top of the cream cheese.  (Don’t discard the rest of the scallion tops! Put them into a baggie into your fridge for tomorrow’s wonderful recipe.)  Add the corned beef and garlic, mayonnaise, and lemon juice.

Here comes my favorite part– with super clean hands, get in there and squish it all together  for.a couple minutes until it is evenly combined.  Taste it and see if it needs anymore lemon juice or garlic powder.  Once it is to your liking, form it into two balls and roll them in the toasted chopped pecan pieces (or leave plain if you don’t care for nuts).  Grab a kitchen buddy and have them help you wrap these in plastic wrap.  Chill in the fridge overnight so that the flavors intensify.
Be sure to come back here and tell me how you like this recipe. And tune in tomorrow for the next installment of the 12 Days of Christmas Bake Along.