Thanksgiving Turkey Cheese Ball

Is this the CUTEST cheese ball you have ever seen? Angela from Handmade in the Heartland made this darling (and tasty) cheese ball and it's so cute I had to make one. I used a simple cheese ball recipe that I have made for years but if you'd like something a little spicier and more interesting, hop over to Angela's blog. Her recipe looks pretty awesome. She even has pineapple in her cheese ball. I'm definitely tempted to make one with her recipe next time.

It was really fun to look in the fridge and have something this cute looking out at me. I couldn't take pictures until the next day so I kept opening the door to the fridge to see how cute he is. CUTE.

Turkey Cheese Ball Recipe:

1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar (I shredded a chunk of cheddar cheese)
About 1/2 cup of chopped up mixed nuts
2 candy eyes (bought these at Stop and Shop
1 Slim Jim
pretzel sticks
1 round chocolate candy as in Whopper or Chocolate Pom poms for the head
1 candy corn
a few teaspoons of melted chocolate melts to adhere the eyes and "beak".

Soften cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Cream the cream cheese and add in the shredded cheddar. I do this all my hand but if you have a food processor it would probably go faster. I stir and "cream" until both cheeses are thoroughly mixed together. Then I pop this mixture into a piece of plastic wrap and form it into a ball. At this point it goes into the refrigerator for a few hours to firm it up.

Take it out of the fridge and roll in chopped nuts being careful to keep the nice round shape.

Place pretzels as in picture to make the nice full tail of the turkey. A bit of chocolate melt to glue the round chocolate candy to about a 4 or 5 inch piece of Slim Jim. It was a bit tricky to get this to stay in place and eventually I placed it in the freezer in order to harden it up faster. I glued on the eyes and "beak" candy corn and placed in the freezer for a few minutes. After inserting the "neck" Slim Jim into the cheese ball, I placed the entire thing on a plate and into the refrigerator for overnight.

I've never made this fun and cute turkey cheese ball before but both my daughters thought it was really sweet. Can't wait to see the reaction of the rest of the family on Thanksgiving. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a big hit!

He looks like he's sitting on a nest of crackers. This will definitely be fun to serve at the Thanksgiving table. I'm thankful!

Are you having Thanksgiving dinner? My daughter is working (she's a nurse) so that leaves me to cook the turkey.

Best wishes for a happy Fall.