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Harvest Cheese Ball - made with goat cheese and craisins inside.

Are you gearing up for a football party? This is a great party snack on game day. Who doesn't love cheese, nuts and football? They just go together like macaroni & cheese!

This Harvest Cheese Ball is jeweled with the gorgeous colors of the Fall/Winter seasons and inside has the surprise of craisins mixed with the cheese that gives it a pop of color. I love cheese balls because they are so versatile. Pick your favorite cheese, fruits and nuts and the combinations are endless. I could create a new cheese ball recipe every week for the next 5 years and never run out of ideas.

Here is a money saving tip: Instead of buying your favorite nuts and fruit separately find a trail mix blend that has all the nuts and fruit you love. With this cheese ball I found a harvest blend trail mix and picked out the almonds and raisins and added pistachios and craisins.

The trick to getting that gorgeous nut coating is after you chop or food process the nuts and dried fruit, place a bowl under a colander and pour the chopped coating into the colander. Stir around the coating mixture and all the small crumbs will fall through the colander leaving the fuller size pieces for you to use for your cheese ball coating.

Harvest Cheese Ball

Ingredients
4 oz goat cheese, room temperature
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 tbs sour cream
1/4 cup craisins
1 cup equal parts of pistachios, roasted pumpkins seeds, pecans, and sunflower seeds
1 tbs of chopped dried apricots

Directions
In a mixing bowl cream together the goat cheese, cream cheese and sour cream.
In a food processor chop craisins.
Mix craisins into cheese mixture.
Place cheese mixture onto plastic wrap and use the wrap to form into a ball.
Secure wrap around the mixture and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Pour nut mixture and dried apricots into a food processor and chop.
Pour nut mixture into a colander and stir. This will get rid of the small crumbs.
Pour remaining mixture into a shallow bowl.
Roll cheese ball into the nut mixture and using your hands press nut mixture gently into the ball.
Serve with crackers and pretzels.

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