Recipe Background
If you're feeling a little cheesy this holiday season, you're going to need more than just your tacky Christmas sweater to really live out your festive party dreams! But really... whether the theme is tacky or classy, everyone needs a Holiday Cheeseball at their brilliant winter bash! What would people even dip their crunchy, dry crackers into if there wasn't a beautifully rich, creamy, pomegranate seed-coated sphere of amazingness waiting for them on the snack table?! (This one really is beautifully festive, too, with all of those hints of red!) They'd be so lost without it. Luckily for them, you know what's up! We're positive you'll always want this Holiday Cheeseball at your Christmas party, whether it be a glamorous gala or a ridiculously fun hootenanny!
If you're feeling a little cheesy this holiday season, you're going to need more than just your tacky Christmas sweater to really live out your festive party dreams! But really... whether the theme is tacky or classy, everyone needs a Holiday Cheeseball at their brilliant winter bash! What would people even dip their crunchy, dry crackers into if there wasn't a beautifully rich, creamy, pomegranate seed-coated sphere of amazingness waiting for them on the snack table?! (This one really is beautifully festive, too, with all of those hints of red!) They'd be so lost without it. Luckily for them, you know what's up! We're positive you'll always want this Holiday Cheeseball at your Christmas party, whether it be a glamorous gala or a ridiculously fun hootenanny!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 10 fresh sage leaves
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese softened
- 4 ounces mascarpone cheese softened
- 6 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese freshly grated
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds toasted
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup pomegranate arils
- crackers to taste, of your choice, for serving
Directions
- In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter until it is sizzling.
- Add the sage leaves to the butter and cook, flipping once, until they are crispy, about 1 minute per side.
- Place the sage leaves on a paper towel and let them rest until they are dried and crisp. Set the melted butter from the skillet aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, add the cream cheese, the mascarpone, and the cheddar cheese and beat until it is combined.
- Add the almonds, the crispy sage leaves, the reserved melted butter, the salt, and the pepper to the cheese mixture and mix on low speed, scraping down the sides and the bottom as needed, until it is combined, about 1 minute.
- Take the cheese mixture out of the bowl and form it into a big ball.
- Cover the cheeseball with plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator, about 30 minutes.
- Place the pomegranate arils on a paper towel and pat them completely dry.
- Let the pomegranate arils sit to dry out while the cheeseball is chilling.
- Transfer the cheeseball from the refrigerator and form it into a smoother ball.
- Add the pomegranate arils to a baking sheet and roll the cheeseball through them, using your hands to press and adhere the arils in all of the cracks and crevices.
- Serve the cheeseball with the crackers.
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