Mini turkey-shaped cheese balls bring adorable to your table

These individual-sized cheese balls, disguised as turkeys, make a great snack or even an appetizer for your Thanksgiving meal.

They’re also pretty quick to make and take only a few ingredients. You can make the cheese ball mixture up to three days in advance, but just make sure to wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge. Let it soften a bit to room temperature before forming your mini cheese balls.

When buying the almonds, try looking in the bulk bin section of your grocery store. You can save money by buying them in bulk and only get the amount you need. That’s how I buy the golden raisins as well.

Mini turkey cheese balls recipe

You won’t use the entire amount of almonds listed in the ingredients, but having more than you need will come in handy, since these thin pieces of nut break easily. If you aren’t serving these within an hour, then make sure to keep them under plastic wrap in the fridge.

Yields 12

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 teaspoon Spanish paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 12 round crackers
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 12 golden raisins
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, paprika, lemon juice, onion powder and pepper until everything is well combined.
2. Divide the cheese mixture into 12 even portions, and roll them each into a ball.
3. Place 1 ball on each cracker.
4. Poke a slivered almond into a raisin for the neck and head of the turkey, and poke a slivered almond half into the other end of the raisin for a beak.
5. Place the neck into 1 end of a cheese ball.
6. Use sliced almonds to create a tail on the other end of the cheese ball.
7. Repeat steps 4 to 6 for the remaining cheese balls.

More creative Thanksgiving recipes

Whole-wheat pumpkin muffin turkeys
Edible cornucopia name cards
Caramel turkey legs