If you are looking for some easy-peasy recipes that your kids can make this Thanksgiving, you need to try this quirky turkey cheese ball recipe. It comes together in a matter of minutes and your munchkins get to decorate the cheese ball in a fun turkey shape (or another festive shape of their choice) with all of their favorite things. We can guarantee your children will stay busy for quite some time with this recipe.
Ingredients
For cheese ball
- 2 packs of cream cheese, softened
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- 170 grams goat cheese
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅓ cup chives, freshly chopped
- ¾ cup parsley, freshly chopped
- 1 sprig thyme, stemmed (and more for serving)
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
For decorating and serving
- 1 ¼ cups pecan halves, toasted and divided
- Red bell peppers
- Yellow bell peppers
- Orange carrots, julienned
- White carrots, julienned
- Pretzels
- Crackers
Preparation
- To make the turkey cheese ball recipe, you must first blend cream cheese, butter, goat cheese, and garlic powder in a food processor until it is nice and smooth.
- Then, add the chives, parsley, and thyme leaves and pulse until it all comes together beautifully. Now, season the mixture with salt and pepper (to taste). Once everything is well combined, form a large ball out of the mix. Set aside.
- Now, you can start working on the turkey body. For this, you have to pulse ¾ cup of pecans in a food processor until they are finely chopped. Remove them and place them in a bowl.
- Then, roll your cheese ball in the pecan crumbs. Chill the cheese ball for an hour or two to set it up completely.
- Now comes the fun part for your kiddos. It’s time to decorate the cheese ball! To make the turkey’s tail, stick pretzels, pretzel sticks, and julienned carrots (of both colors) to the tail end of the turkey.
- Then, make turkey feet with sliced carrots.
- Following this, cut the red bell pepper into a large triangle to make the face of the turkey and stick the face on the cheese ball with a toothpick. Alternatively, you can press it into the cheese ball as well.
- For the beak, slice a smaller triangle from the yellow bell pepper and attach it on top of the red triangle. You will need to use a toothpick for this one.
- Then, to make the turkey eyes, slice a thin carrot crosswise to get two rounds, and stick it onto the red triangle with toothpicks.
- Lastly, make wings by sticking pecan halves to the sides of the turkey cheese ball, overlapping each other to make a cute wing shape.
Voila, your turkey cheese ball recipe is done and this quirky dish is now ready to be served! Serve them on a platter, along with crackers, for a fun meal for the little ones. Your kids will love showcasing their creativity with this recipe. So, get the ingredients, gather your kiddos, and get started with this simple yet fun turkey cheese ball recipe that is perfect for Thanksgiving. Also, do let us know how it turned out in the comment section below!
