Cheeseballs are almost always at our extended family gatherings around the holidays. While I love a classic cheeseball made with traditional ingredients, I also like to mix things up occasionally.
The inspiration for this cheeseball was another favorite recipe, bacon wrapped and cheese stuffed dates. The combination of dates, bacon, and manchego results in a balance of sweet and salty, with a little extra flavor and spice from the paprika and cayenne.
Bacon, Date, and Manchego Cheese Ball
Prep time
Total time
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
- 3 dates, pitted
- 5 strips applewood smoked bacon, cooked, cooled, and roughly chopped
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup freshly grated manchego cheese
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Pinch of cayenne pepper (to taste)
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- ½ cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
Instructions
- In a food processor, add bacon and dates and process briefly until finely chopped (dates will be sticky and paste-like, but you want bacon to be finely chopped).
- In a mixing bowl, stir or beat together softened cream cheese, manchego, and smoked paprika. Add bacon and date mixture, mixing until well combined. Form mixture into a ball (if you don't want to get your hands messy, you can do this by adding mixture to cling wrap and wrapping cling wrap around it, forming and rolling into a ball, then chilling for about 15 minutes before unwrapping and moving on to the next step).
- Add pecans to a plate, then roll formed cheeseball around and pressing gently to coat the outside evenly. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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