It’s almost traditional to serve a charcuterie board on New Year’s Eve, but why not switch things up a tad? Why not serve charcuterie balls? Yeah, balls of tangy, sharp cheese with crunchy pecans and succulent bacon coating each bite! And we could call it something snappy like New Year Balls! That would surely impress everyone at the party! Bacon and cheese tend to make everyone happy, and New Year Balls absolutely will as well!
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon
- 1 1/2 (8-ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- kosher salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/3 cup chives, chopped
- 1/3 cup pecans, finely chopped
- 18 pretzel sticks
Directions
Step 1 –Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2 –In a large nonstick skillet, cook the bacon until crispy, about 8 minutes.
Step 3 –Drain the cooked bacon on a paper-towel-lined plate.
Step 4 –Finely chop the cooked bacon.
Step 5 –While the bacon is cooking, in a large bowl, stir the cream cheese, the cheddar cheese, the garlic powder, the paprika, the salt, and the pepper together.
Step 6 –Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to form the cream cheese mixture into 18 small balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
Step 7 –Refrigerate the balls until firm, about 1 hour and up to overnight.
Step 8 –In a shallow bowl, stir the cooked bacon, the chives, and the pecans together.
Step 9 –Roll the chilled balls in the bacon mixture and insert a pretzel stick into the center.
Step 10 –Allow the balls to sit to come to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
Step 11 –Serve.