Holiday Tree Cheese Spread | Perfect Christmas Party Recipe!

I woke up to a canceled flight this morning. I was so bummed because we had plans to go on the polar express train ride outside of NYC with our niece this evening. Luckily, we could hop on a later flight, and we’ll still get to spend the weekend with family. Let’s hope this flight doesn’t get canceled!

I didn’t know what to do with the rest of my day because I originally planned on spending my day traveling, so I started cleaning, repacking, and thought, “heck, why not blog since I’ll be leaving my computer behind!” I will get lost in a new book this weekend instead of spending it on screen time. One of my goals for the new year is to start my book club again, but maybe with fewer books each month to keep the expectations reasonable! Hoping this weekend sparks my book club interest back up.
Yesterday, I made one of my mom’s recipes for a fun snacking tray. My parents are staying at our house while we are gone, so I stocked up the fridge with a few of their favorites. Since I was a little girl, my mom has been making this cheeseball recipe. She made it on Christmas Eve, Superbowl, and anytime we had people over for a party. If you’ve been a long-time reader, you’ve probably already seen it on the blog. I usually keep it in a ball shape or form it into a football. I thought it would be fun to reshape it into a tree to keep it festive for the holidays. I was so happy with how cute it turned out! You should make this if you have any holiday parties coming up. It’ takes about 20-minutes, doesn’t have a ton of ingredients, and it’s delicious. People will be begging you for the recipe! During my demonstration speech class my senior year, I made this recipe, and it was a big hit.

I always use red and green bell peppers to make it seasonal in December. The combination of the red and bell pepper adds so much more flavor to the dip. If you’re not a big fan of peppers, you can leave them out or add less. If you want to spice this recipe up, you can add jalapeno peppers or jalapeno powder.

This dip reminds me a lot of the pimento cheese dip you get at the grocery store (but way better.)
 You can use your hands to mix all the ingredients or an electric mixer. Definitely keep the mixer on low if you decide to go that route. Make sure to grab your spoon and give it a taste test. Determine if you need more garlic, onion, orange, lemon, or pepper! I always end up adding more orange or garlic.

If you’re going the low-carb route this Christmas, this cheeseball is deliciously dipped with cucumber, carrots, and celery! If you choose all gluten-free crackers and pretzels, this is a great gluten-free friendly recipe.

Holiday Tree Cheese Spread

Taralynn McNitt

The best recipe to spice up any holiday party this year!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 16 Ounces Plain Cream Cheese
• 2 1/2 Cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 3 Tablespoons Yellow Onion finely chopped
• 1 Medium Green Bell Pepper finely chopped
• 1 Medium Red Bell Pepper finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice freshly squeezed
• 1 Tablespoon Orange Juice freshly squeezed
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
• 1/4 Teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Dill
• 1 1/2 Cups Chopped Walnuts finely chopped

Instructions

 

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, shredded cheese, chopped bell pepper, chopped onion, lemon juice, orange juice, garlic powder, pepper, onion powder, and dill together.

  *you can use your hands or an electric mixer to combine. If you use an electric mixer, keep the speed on low.
• Use a spoon to give your cheese spread a taste test. It may need more citrus, garlic, or other seasonings to get it to your liking.
• Form the cheese mixture into a christmas tree (or any shape!)
• Coat the tree with chopped walnuts.

  You can add tomatoes and bell peppers to make it even more festive.
• Surround the tree with crackers and vegetables for dipping. This cheese spread is also good with carrots.

Keyword cheese, party, dip, charcuterie, appetizer, cheese and crackers, finger food, holiday, christmas

How cute did this tree turn out?! You can shape this into a tree, a heart, a football, or an Easter bunny! I can’t wait to see what you do with this recipe. You’re going to love it!

Cheers to the cheese lovers!

Questions for you!

1. Do you have a recipe you’ve been making since you were a kid?
2. Do you like dips on the sweet side or the savory side?
3. Do you have holiday plans for this weekend?