• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Petite Cook™ logo

  • Recipes
  • Italian Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Cookbooks
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Cookbooks
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Press
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • About
    • Cookbooks
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Press
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Appetizer Recipes

    Christmas Pine Cone Cranberry Cheese Balls

    Published: Dec 1, 2014 · Modified: Nov 18, 2019 by Andrea

    Jump to Recipe

    These Christmas Pine Cone Cranberry Cheese Balls are the most simple and fun appetizer to celebrate the upcoming holidays.

    Ready in just 5 mins, to make these cute cheese balls you only need a few simple ingredients: dried chopped cranberries, soft goat cheese or even better if you have ricotta ( just add a little almond meal to thicken it up), and of course whole toasted almonds and few sprigs of fresh rosemary.

    All you have to do is combine the cheese with cranberries and decorate with almonds and fresh rosemary, it couldn't get easier than that. It's so fun to make, you can actually ask the kids to help you out, they will love to make these little cuties and eat them too.

    You can customize this easy recipe to meet your own taste. Add hot paprika for a spicy note, swap goat cheese with a dairy-free alternative or throw in different dried fruits like apricots or mango.

    These Pine cone Cranberry Cheese Balls are completely vegetarian, but if you want them all-meaty, just add some smoked bacon bits for serious flavor.

    Make the pine cone cheese balls  in advance and refrigerate until ready to serve. Give them a try, they're sure to impress your guests at your next winter party.

    Recipe

    Christmas pine cone cranberry cheese balls by the petite cook
    Print SaveSaved!
    5 from 1 vote

    Christmas Pine cone Cranberry Cheese Balls

    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Prep Time10 minutes mins
    Cook Time2 minutes mins
    Total Time12 minutes mins
    Course: Appetizer, Snack
    Cuisine: International
    Serving: 4
    Author: Andrea Soranidis

    Ingredients

    • 8 oz/200gr whole unpeeled almonds
    • 8 oz / 200gr soft goat cheese or ricotta, well drained
    • ½ cup soft, dried cranberries
    • 2 sprigs of rosemary
    • zest of ½ lime
    • 8 oz/ 200gr whole organic almonds
    • Salt & pepper to taste
    • Crackers or crostini, to serve

    Instructions

    • To toast the almonds, heat a pan until medium hot. Add almonds and sautee' for 2 mins, until crisp and hot.
    • Transfer into a plate and set aside until needed.
    • In a large bowl mix together the cheese and cranberries, season with freshly cracked salt and red pepper. Add lime zest and mix until just combined.
    • Transfer the cheese mixture in the freezer for 5 min, then shape into 4 little pine cones or 2 large ones.
    • Beginning at the narrow end of each shape, arrange almonds in overlapping rows. Garnish with small sprigs of rosemary and serve with your favorite crackers or crostini. Enjoy!
    Did you try this recipe? Tag @thepetitecook or use the hashtag #thepetitecook - Looking at your pictures makes my day!

    The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

     

     

    More Appetizer Recipes

    • Italian taralli.
      Taralli or Tarallini Pugliesi
    • sweetcorn fritters with yogurt dip.
      Sweetcorn Fritters with Yogurt dip
    • baked purple sweet potatoes served with butter and chive.
      Baked Purple Sweet Potatoes
    • mozzarella in carrozza aka italian fried mozzarella sandwich.
      Mozzarella in Carrozza (Fried Mozzarella Sandwich)
    879 shares
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Yummly

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. San Espey says

      December 22, 2018 at 5:01 am

      Please post your recipe for Lemon Granita. Visited Sicily in 2017 where I fell in love with Lemon & Strawberry Granita. Enjoying your blog!

      Reply
    2. Susan Bussone says

      November 27, 2017 at 8:07 pm

      Sounds like just what I'm looking for.....The Christmas Pine Cone Cranberry Chees Balls. Do you just chop up fresh cranberries or can you use Craisins?

      Reply
      • Andrea says

        November 28, 2017 at 8:02 am

        Hi Susan! I've used soft dried cranberries (just amended the recipe to make sure it states dried cranberries), you just need to chop them into bits and mix them with the other ingredients 🙂 Hope you like these fun cheeseballs!

        Reply
    3. Tonya Dieterlen says

      December 26, 2016 at 12:05 am

      SO great! Yummy, easy, and delicious! Thank you!

      Reply
      • Andrea says

        December 30, 2016 at 8:52 am

        So glad you like it Tonya, hope you give these fun pine cones a try 🙂

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    About Andrea

    Andrea Soranidis, founder of The Petite Cook.


    Welcome to my kitchen!
    I’m Andrea, I'm Italian, and I absolutely LOVE cooking.
    Grab a fork and join me!
    READ MORE ABOUT ME…

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Follow us

    • facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    The Petite Cook™

    Quick and Easy Italian Recipes Anyone Can Cook


    About Andrea

    Privacy Policy

    Work with us

    Terms

    Press

    Nutrition Disclaimer

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 The Petite Cook. The Petite Cook® is a registered trademark.