Chick-shaped cheese balls are an adorable Easter appetizer

This Easter, delight your brunch guests with these little baby chick-shaped cheese balls on crackers.

The cute little chicks get their yellow hue from turmeric, which delivers a lot of color with a mild flavor, and are decorated with dried apricots, almonds, peppercorns and mini pretzels.

Start the cheese ball mix by grating your cheddar. This is really fast in a food processor with a grating attachment but can also be done with a hand grater. Either way, make sure to use the smallest holes.

Use clean and dry hands to mix the cheddar, softened cream cheese, turmeric, garlic and onion powders, salt and pepper.

Roll the cheese into 18 balls about 1-1/2 inches in diameter.

Use a pair of scissors to cut dried apricots into quarters.

Break the ends off a mini pretzel, and poke each end into the base of the cheese ball for feet, then press 2 apricot quarters into the middle of each side for wings.

Poke the round end of a small almond into the front and center for a beak, and press 2 peppercorns above it for eyes.

Place each cheese ball on a round cracker. I used whole-wheat Ritz.

These chicks are incredibly cute, and kids will love them, but make sure to warn them to not eat the peppercorns. Otherwise there will be tears. Yep, that’s experience talking.

Keep the cheese balls refrigerated until an hour before serving. You can make them up to 24 hours in advance, then pull them out as you’re setting up for guests.

Mini chick-shaped cheese balls recipe

These little baby chick-shaped cheese balls are a cheerful yellow and so adorable. Marcona almonds, which are smaller and rounder than other almonds, work best for their beaks, but you can use larger almonds if you can’t find the marcona variety.

Yields 18

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces yellow cheddar, finely grated
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 18 marcona almonds
• 36 peppercorns
• 9 dried apricots
• 18 pretzel sticks
• 18 round crackers

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, use freshly washed and dried hands to mix the cheddar, cream cheese, turmeric, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
2. Roll the cheese mixture into 18 balls about 1-1/2 inches in diameter.
3. Poke an almond into the front and center of each cheese ball.
4. Press 2 peppercorns above each almond for eyes.
5. Use scissors to cut the apricots into quarters.
6. Place an apricot quarter on each side of the mini cheese balls to make wings.
7. Break the ends off each pretzel stick, and then stick 2 ends into the base of each cheese ball for feet.
8. Place each cheese ball on a cracker to serve.

Check out our Easter Pinterest board for more great recipe ideas.

More animal-shaped food

Boiled egg animals
Deviled egg chicks
Bird-shaped whole-wheat rolls