It’s almost that time of year again where the little ones are perfectly fine believing a giant bunny visits them while they sleep to leave chocolate eggs for all the children.
Sounds a little bit creepy if you think about it, no? 😉
But what is NOT creepy is all the cute crafts and nibbles that are all over Pinterest lately. There are lots of things to keep the little ones busy but what about us big people?
A few years ago, I taught a cooking class and it was two days before Easter and about a week before Passover and I wanted to make a cute appetizer that would suit everyone. I thought about Easter/Passover/Spring and the thing that popped into my mind was …
CARROTS!!
I found some random pieces of cheese left over from a mac and cheese class and a package of cream cheese plus some parsley aaaand, voila!!!
These (below) carrot cheese balls were created! Everyone loved them and served with crackers, they kept all of my guests satisfied while I cooked!
It’s easy to throw this together if you adopt my “no waste” mentality and save all of your bits and bobs of cheese when you cook (or even leftovers from a charcuterie board). I usually have a freezer bag in the freezer and I just throw in the pieces as I get them. When I was making these carrots, I just defrosted the bag and threw the pieces in my food processor along with the cheddar and cream cheese (obviously this will make the mixture less orange…that’s why I added the shredded cheddar on the outside).
How cute are these?? These are a bit less yellow (as I said above…since I added a bit of cheese that wasn’t orange) so I rolled them in more grated cheddar!
I even made a cute hummus bunny with cracker ears for fun…let your imagination run wild!!
Give it a shot and let me know what your guests think!!
Springtime Carrot-Shaped Cheeseball
Ingredients
- 2 8-oz. blocks cream cheese, softened
- 3 cups shredded cheddar, divided
- 4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled optional
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 tbsp hot sauce
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
- crackers and other items for serving
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, 2 cups cheddar, bacon (if using), oregano, salt, and Worcestershire. Beat until evenly mixed and light in texture.
- Transfer cheese mixture to a plastic-lined baking sheet and form mixture into balls and then into a carrot shape. Press the remaining cup of cheddar on the top and sides of carrot cheese ball. If the mixture is too loose, refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until it keeps it shape. Stick a bunch of parsley on the top of the carrot so it looks like its stems.
- Serve with crackers.
