Recipe: Holiday Tree-Shaped Cheese Ball

HOLIDAY TREE-SHAPED CHEESE BALL

An easy, eye-catching way to serve a holiday cheese ball, and the best news is, you can make it up to a month in advance!

3 packages (8 ounces each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
4 cups shredded Kraft Cheddar cheese (16 ounces)
2 tablespoons basil pesto
1 tablespoon grated onion
1/4 teaspoon mustard
2 or 3 drops red pepper sauce
TO SERVE:
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley or cilantro
1/4 cup pine nuts or sliced almonds
2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper
Piece of lemon peel, if desired
Assorted crackers, if desired

Stir together cream cheese and Cheddar cheese; divide in half. Stir pesto into 1 half; stir onion, mustard and pepper sauce into other half. Cover each half; refrigerate about 4 hours or until firm enough to shape.

WHEN READY TO SHAPE:
Place cheese mixtures on cookie sheet. Shape each half into cone shape to look like a pine tree.

TO FREEZE AHEAD:
If desired, wrap each tree, label and freeze up to 1 month. Twelve hours before serving, remove trees from freezer. Thaw in wrapper in refrigerator.

TO SERVE:
Just before serving, roll trees in parsley, pressing it evenly onto trees. Press pine nuts onto trees in string form for garland. Press bell pepper pieces onto trees for ornaments. Top each tree with star shape cut from lemon peel. Serve with crackers.

Makes about 7 cups spread
Source: Betty Crocker, 1997