Antipasto Cheese Ball Christmas Tree

"This cheeseball full of sun dried tomatoes, red bell peppers, chives and seasonings on the inside, the OUTSIDE is where it gets antipasto serious! Serve it on a platter with cold meats such as salami and prosciutto, PLUS crackers!. Found on the blog Café Delights and couldn't just copy on the site, what a show stopper for those special Holiday get togethers"
 
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photo by Bonnie G #2 photo by Bonnie G #2
photo by Bonnie G #2
photo by karlawynn photo by karlawynn
photo by karlawynn photo by karlawynn
photo by karlawynn photo by karlawynn
Ready In:
1hr
Ingredients:
16
Yields:
1 Tree
Serves:
14
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ingredients

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directions

  • In a bowl combine all the ingredients for the dip and mix until the ingredients are well combined.
  • Place a piece of non-stick plastic wrap on a clean bench top or work surface. Scoop the cream cheese mixture out onto the plastic wrap and completely cover with another piece of wrap (you may need two pieces to cover it).
  • Use your hands to mould the cream cheese into a tree shape. Then, carefully pick up the tree with one hand and peel off the plastic wrap on the bottom of the tree with your other hand. Place the tree straight onto a serving plate.
  • Use a cake spatula to smooth the edges. Decorate with olives, sun-dried tomatoes and rosemary leaves/sprigs, lightly pressing each element into the cream cheese to ensure they stay on. Brush with some sun dried tomato oil from the jar (optional but adds even more flavour)!
  • Top with a star cut out of a yellow or orange bell pepper OR a thick slice of cheese.
  • Serve with crackers of your choice, salami and prosciutto slices rolled up!
  • Recipe Notes.
  • The cream cheese is more stable in a wider tree shape rather than a tall, thin tree. The taller tree folds over and collapses.
  • If you find your cream cheese has softened too much and won't hold its shape, refrigerate it until it thickens again (about 20 minutes).
  • Pat dry each olive and sun dried tomato on a sheet of paper towel before decorating your tree to make sure they stay on, or they may slide off if covered in oil from the jar.

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Reviews

  1. Great recipe! I made this and took it to work to share. It got great reviews! I actually forgot to buy the chives, unfortunately, but it was fantastic anyway! I split it into 2 trees (the other is for my family gathering), so the full recipe would be a much larger tree than pictured here. So fun! And delicious!
     
    • Review photo by karlawynn
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>As of 6-14-2013 DH will be completing his tour in Trinidad, which has been a wonderful adventure; and returning home to Dayton, WA.&nbsp; We'll miss all our friends and time there, but looking forward to enjoying home life on the ranch for awhile, while we see what the next adventure might bring.</p> 8726453"
 
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