Grandma’s Cheese Ball Recipe and Holiday Memories

This post was sponsored by Heluva Good!® Cheese as part of an Influence Central campaign and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Grandma’s Cheese Ball

We are entering the holiday season, and you know what that means…snack season! Okay, maybe all year long we enjoy snacks, but it seems like from mid-November until the beginning of January, snack food is something we buy more of and enjoy more of! I have to admit, I am one of those people who associate certain foods with good memories. I’d love to share my grandma’s cheese ball recipe with you along with my good memories of spending time (and holidays) with her.

Snacking with Grandma

Forgive me if I start a little off track, but one of my most vivid memories of Grandma’s house is of her skinny cupboard by the stove. That’s where the “good” crackers were. You know. Ones that weren’t soda crackers. She kept them in original Tupperware. When I visited, I always went to that cupboard for some good crackers.

Another memory I have of Grandma is going with her to Johnnie’s Bakery anytime I spent the night. Or anytime I was sick, she’d bring me a cream stick from Johnnie’s. Sweets and treats were Grandma’s way of making things better. Of making you feel loved.

As I got older, I still spent a lot of time with Grandma. I remember one particular New Year’s Eve that Grandma came over to our house for a New Year’s Eve party and to spend the night. Of course, we had snacks! We played games, ate lots of snacks and rang in the New Year with Dick Clark. One of our snacks was Grandma’s Cheese Ball.

It wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve without Grandma’s Cheese Ball. I have no idea where she got the recipe, but it is one I copied from her cards when I got engaged. I knew I had to have the recipe to make for my own New Year’s Eve parties. Now I make it not only for New Year’s Eve, but also for Christmas Eve or anytime I need to feel that special Grandma love. This recipe always brings back floods of good memories of Grandma.

Grandma’s Cheese Ball

I love cheese. I am pretty sure anyone who doesn’t like cheese hasn’t really given it a chance. Come on. It’s cheese! Grandma’s Cheese Ball uses cream cheese and extra sharp cheddar cheese or colby jack or white mild cheddar or whatever your fancy. You can find Heluva Good! Cheese blocks in the dairy aisle of many local Walmart stores. I like shopping for it at Walmart because I know the mouthwatering flavors they carry are ones I love. It’s easy to find too!

I used Colby Jack Heluva Good! Cheese because it’s my favorite flavor of cheese. Anytime I’ve taken this cheese ball to parties, everyone has loved it, and I hope you do too. Sure, you can always just have cheese and crackers, and I do often, but get a little adventurous this holiday season and try Grandma’s Cheese Ball.

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Grandma’s Cheese Ball Recipe

Ingredients

• 2-8 oz. blocks of cream cheese
• 8 oz. Heluva Good! Cheese Block your flavor preference
• 2 t. grated onion
• 2 t. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 t. lemon juice
• 1 t. dry mustard
• 1/2 t. paprika
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 can deviled ham
• 1/3-2/3 c. chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Allow cream cheese to soften
2. Add onion, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, dry mustard, paprika and salt
3. Mix
4. Add deviled ham
5. Mix
6. Grate the 8 oz. block of cheese with a cheese grater
7. Mix cheese in with the rest of the ingredients
8. Refrigerate until chilled
9. Roll into a ball and roll the cheese ball in the chopped pecans
10. You can separate it into 2 parts and roll only half in the pecans for anyone who doesn't like nuts

Tips

Soften the cream cheese fully and mix the herbs, sauce, juice in before you add the deviled ham and Heluva Good! Cheese to incorporate all the flavors.

I love using Heluva Good! Cheese blocks and grating it by hand rather than shredded cheese because it is so much fresher and more flavorful.

If you’re taking this to a party, only roll half the cheese ball in pecans in case anyone is allergic or just doesn’t like nuts!

Don’t serve this with soft crackers! They’ll break and crumble. You need a crunchy cracker.

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