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Mini Pumpkin Cheese Balls

Mini Pumpkin Cheese Balls

Author: Julia
Mini pumpkin cheese balls can be served at your Halloween party or Thanksgiving dinner. These bite-size cheese appetizers are easy to make and only take minutes to put together.
4.58 from 42 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Servings 12
Calories 87 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 8 ounces cream cheese (chilled)
  • 2 tablespoons red pesto
  • 1.5 teaspoons paprika
  • 12 crackers (i used Ritz crackers)
  • 6 pretzel sticks (ends only)
  • chives (optional, see note 4)

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, red pesto and paprika. Mix well.
  • Take a plate or chopping board and line it with aluminum foil or baking parchment.
  • Take a small amount of the cream cheese mixture and roll it into a bite-size ball. It will be sticky but that’s OK. Place the ball onto the plate/chopping board and repeat until you have used all the cream cheese mixture. You should get 12 balls.
  • Refrigerate for 3 hours. After 3 hours, take them out and place each cheese ball onto a Ritz cracker. Using your finger press down each ball so that they look more like pumpkins. Now, insert a little piece of a pretzel stick into each ball and decorate it with chives (I took a chive stem and split it in half (lengthwise) and again in half. It naturally curled up so I cut it smaller and stuck in the ball).
  • Best served right away.

Notes

  1. You should get about 12 balls out of this recipe. Because they are bite-size appetizers I recommend rolling them small – to fit the Ritz crackers. About the size of a large cherry.
  2. The cream cheese mixture should not be too runny. If this is the case, add more cream cheese.
  3. If the pesto you bought contains a lot of oil, make sure to drain it (if possible – usually it stays on top of the jar) before you scoop out the amount you need for this recipe.
  4. The balls can be kept in the fridge for longer than 3 hours. Just make sure to add the pretzel sticks as well as the chives right before serving.
  5. Chives – you can use fresh flat-leaf parsley instead of chives.

Nutrition

Calories: 87kcal (4%)Carbohydrates: 4g (1%)Protein: 2g (4%)Fat: 7g (11%)Saturated Fat: 4g (25%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 19mg (6%)Sodium: 112mg (5%)Potassium: 35mg (1%)Fiber: 0.2g (1%)Sugar: 1g (1%)Vitamin A: 393IU (8%)Vitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 26mg (3%)Iron: 0.2mg (1%)
Keyword bite-sized appetizers, Halloween Appetizers, Thanksgiving appetizers
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