Making the Holidays Delicious With Kraft #CookingUpHolidays

This post is sponsored by Lunchbox.

My husband and I tend to host every holiday meal for our family that by the time Christmas Day comes around, I am bored and exhausted. I am bored with the same ole’ same ole’ food and exhausted from cooking huge meals for our big family. A few years ago I decided that Christmas Day would be all about appetizers, at least on my end. My mom brings a ham and my aunt a small roast and I just make appetizers. I am the one with the little ones too so I used to be the one missing out on Christmas morning fun by spending all my time cooking and stressing out.

So with appetizers I like to look for ones that are quick and easy. I like unique as well. Kraft Foods makes it easy for me to find exactly what I am looking for.

Like simple ingredients for starters.

Savory Mini Cheese Balls are simple balls of cream cheese but they are then rolled in yummy goodness. The Savory Mini Cheese Balls can really be rolled in anything if there is something you like more than others.

For example, the recipe calls for Planters Roasted Pecans but my middle child has a nut allergy so I left those out. I also didn’t dice up the herbs as much as I should have but you live you learn right?

I found them to be the perfect appetizer and honestly much easier to serve up than a big ole’ cheese ball. I have made cheese balls before and they are great and all but these really do seem a lot easier for my guests to grab. They can be served with crackers, pretzels or any chips you’d use for a cheese dip.

These balls were so easy to make and I was even able to make them ahead of time, which is a must since I usually have a million things to do the day of.

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese
• 2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seed
• 1 tsp. poppy seed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced, divided
• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup finely chopped dried cranberries
• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped PLANTERS Pecans

MAKE IT:

1. CUT cream cheese into 6 pieces; roll each into a ball.
2. COMBINE sesame seed, poppy seed and half the garlic in small bowl. Mix herbs and remaining garlic in separate small bowl. Mix herbs and remaining garlic in separate small bowl. Combine cranberries and nuts in third bowl.
3. ROLL 2 cheese balls in sesame seed mixture, 2 cheese balls in herb mixture and remaining cheese balls in nut mixture.

Be sure to chop the ingredients finely, I had my husband cut these up for me and he missed that part. The balls still tasted good though, even though they might not be completely picture perfect.

If you are making these for a party you might want to double or even triple the recipe as the recipe above makes only six small cheese balls and honestly I could eat almost all of them myself!

Looking for some holiday recipe inspiration that are perfect whether you are making for your own family or a crowd? Check out Kraft to Make Every Day Delicious.