Pinecone Holiday Cheese Balls
Pinecone holiday cheese balls are a fun and festive appetizer made with a cream cheese base, savory seasonings, and and artfully arranged almonds. They’re easy to put together and make a fun addition to a Christmas party, holiday dinner, or any festive gathering.
Do you love a holiday appetizer that looks like you spent way more time making it than you actually did?
These little pinecone cheese balls definitely fit the bill.
They’re made with a creamy, savory cheese mixture that’s packed with flavor, then shaped and covered with sliced almonds to give them that cute pinecone look.
Despite looking gorgeous, they are easy to make.
This means you can have something festive and fun sitting on your appetizer table without spending your whole afternoon in the kitchen.
Set them out with plenty of crackers, toasted bread, pretzels, or fresh vegetables for scooping, and don’t be surprised when everyone keeps coming back for just one more bite.
Ingredients
To make these you’ll need:
- Cream cheese– Softened to room temperature.
- Mayonnaise– Real full, fat mayonnaise and not Miracle Whip or mayonnaise style dressing.
- Cheese– Shredded white cheddar cheese and grated Parmesan.
- Worcestershire sauce
- Green onion– Finely diced.
- Fresh rosemary– Both chopped and whole sprigs.
- Seasonings– Dried thyme, dried dill weed, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper
- Almonds– Sliced.
How to Make
Making pinecone holiday cheese balls are pretty easy.
Just beat the cream cheese and mayonnaise together in a mixing bowl using a hand mixer until they are smooth and creamy.
Then beat in all the remaining ingredients, except for the almonds, and blend everything together until the mixture is evenly combined.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the mixture chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
After 4 hours, shape the cheese mixture into two ovals.
Then transfer them to a serving board where they’re positioned next to each other.
Starting at the bottom of the cheese balls, push the almonds into the cheese base at a slight angle working upwards.
Keep doing this until both cheeseballs are completely covered and resemble pinecones.
Add a sprig of rosemary to the top center of each for a ‘stem’.
Serve with assorted dippers and enjoy!
Dipping Options
Serve these cheese balls with sturdy dippers like:
- assorted crackers
- toasted baguette slices
- pretzel sticks
- vegetables like cucumber slices and carrot or celery sticks
Storing Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Let the leftovers soften on the counter for a few minutes prior to serving.
Tips and Tricks
- Do not skip letting the cream cheese soften to room temperature on the counter.
- Let the almonds overlap a little and arrange them in rows to best emulate a pinecone.
- You can make these a day ahead of time and store them in the fridge in an airtight container. Just let them soften a little on the counter prior to serving.
- Use a large enough platter to give them room for dippers.
Other Holiday Cheese Balls
Pinecone holiday cheese balls are a tasty and impressive looking appetizer for the festive season.
Make them and enjoy!
Looking for other holiday cheese balls?
Try these:
- Snowman Dessert Cheese Ball
- Crab Rangoon Cheese Ball
- Christmas Ornament Cheese Balls
- Everything Bagel Cheese Ball
- Santa Hat Cranberry Cheddar Cheese Ball
If you’ve tried these PINECONE HOLIDAY CHEESE BALLS or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Pinecone Holiday Cheese Balls
Ingredients
- 2 8 oz blocks cream cheese softened
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 green onions finely diced
- 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried dill weed
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/3 cups sliced almonds
- sprigs of rosemary for garnish
Instructions
- Add the cream cheese and mayonnaise to a mixing bowl and, using a hand mixer, blend them together until smooth & creamy.2 8 oz blocks cream cheese, 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- Add the remaining ingredients, except for the almonds, and blend together until everything's evenly combined.1/2 cup shredded white cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 green onions, 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp dried dill weed, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
- Shape the cheese mixture into two ovals, then transfer them to a serving board where they're positioned next to each other.
- Starting at the bottom of the cheese balls, add the almonds at a slight angle working upwards until both are completely covered and resemble pinecones.1 1/3 cups sliced almonds
- Add a sprig of rosemary to the top center of each for a 'stem'.sprigs of rosemary
- Serve with assorted crackers and enjoy!
Notes
- Do not skip letting the cream cheese soften to room temperature on the counter.
- Let the almonds overlap a little and arrange them in rows to best emulate a pinecone.
- You can make these a day ahead of time and store them in the fridge in an airtight container. Just let them soften a little on the counter prior to serving.
- Use a large enough platter to give them room for dippers.
Nutrition
