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Penguin & Igloo Cheese Ball Recipe

Crafty Winter Hors D’Oeuvre
March of the Penguins Cheese Ball

Delight your guests with this darling holiday cheese ball display. The penguins are a bit time-consuming but you can make do with fewer or even make them ahead.

Ingredients

Your choice of cheese ball recipe (enough to fill a one quart bowl)

Snow for Igloo

8 oz. cream cheese
1 Tablespoon milk

Penguins

• Cream cheese, room temperature
• Jumbo ripe olives
• Small (round) ripe olives
• Carrot(s) – about 1 inch in diameter
• Frilled toothpick(s)

Garnish

Rosemary sprigs
Red pepper pieces to form holly berries

Instructions

Making the Igloo

For the inside of the igloo choose a cheese spread recipe that firms up when chilled (i.e. not a dip).

Line a 1 quart bowl with plastic wrap. Process the cheese spread ingredients; pack tightly into the lined bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for six hours or up to two days.

Invert onto serving tray and remove plastic.

Scoop out an oval shape for the doorway about a ½ inch deep and 2 ½ inches high.

Cut two 3/8 inch slices from an 8-oz. block of cream cheese and reserve.

Process the rest with 1 T. milk to make the snow.

Spread cream cheese “snow” over the igloo and the serving tray. Use a toothpick to outline the igloo’s bricks.

Cut the reserved cream cheese chunks into six or eight blocks and use them to form the doorframe.

Making the Penguins

Each penguin requires one jumbo ripe olive, one small (round) ripe olive, cream cheese to fill the chest and form the tuxedo, one carrot coin for the feet and beak, and a frilled toothpick to hold it all together.

Have cream cheese at room temperature. If it’s too hard, it will tend to break the olive; too soft and it won’t push out the chest to form a nice plump penguin.

Slice a jumbo olive down the front. Place softened cream cheese in a quart-size Ziploc bag and cut a small hole in one corner.

Pipe the cream cheese into the olive until the “chest” puffs out.

Cut a wedge from a carrot coin.

Use a small sharp knife to cut a little slit in the small olive and insert the carrot “beak”.

Place the stuffed olive on the carrot “feet”; top with stuffed jumbo olive, then small round olive with beak facing front and secure all the parts with a frilled toothpick.

Garnish your display as desired.

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