Pecan and Date Cheese Ball AKA Party Magnet
Cheese balls have made a resurgence during the last few years. Good news for me because I’ve always been a sucker for them.
This one especially excites the taste buds with sweet, salty, crunchy, and creamy. It boasts blue cheese, goat cheese, roasted pecans, and dates. It’s so good Vivian Howard dubbed it “The Party Magnet”.
The recipe is from Deep Run Roots by Vivian Howard. I’ve quadrupled the recipe because it’s a fair bit of effort to make one cheese ball, people are always looking for more, cheese quantities seem to work out better, and it freezes perfectly. She suggests serving it with curried peach preserves – I don’t think it makes the ball any tastier so I forgo that step. She also says to eat these with plain ole crackers and I agree, but will also add celery pairs amazingly well with it.
See my notes at the end of the recipe.
Ingredients
5 ounces blue cheese
1 1/3 c + 1.5 Tbl unsalted butter
5 ounces goat cheese
12 oz cream cheese
1 1/3 c raw pecans
2 Tbl hot sauce
1 c chopped dates
½ c chopped green onions (green and white parts)
½ c chopped flat-leaf parsley (for garnish)
Directions
Take the cheeses and butter out of the refrigerator to soften – about 30 minutes.
Heat oven to 250, place a sheet pan or Pyrex in the oven to heat. Once the pan is hot, add 1.5 Tbl of butter and let it melt. Stir in the pecans and place in the oven. After about 10 minutes, you should be able to smell the pecans, they should be darker in color, and have a good snap when bitten. Allow to cool.
In a stand mixer with paddle attachment (can use a regular mixer), mix the cheeses, remaining butter, and hot sauce. Once fully incorporated, add the dates and green onions and mix evenly.
Pop the bowl into the fridge for about 15 minutes.
After it’s chilled, divide the cheese into 4 equal parts (or as many balls as you like), and shape it into a ball. Wrap each ball with Saran wrap. Freeze the balls you won’t eat during the next couple of days and refrigerate the ones you will eat soon.
About 30 minutes before you eat the ball, remove the ball from the fridge and plate it. Right before serving, sprinkle the parsley on top and lightly pat the parsley into the ball so it sticks.
Notes
Use whole dried dates that are often found in the produce section and are in clear bags or containers. The packaged dates with brand names taste like cardboard – Viv taught me this is and she is 100% right.
Blue cheese is not all equal. If you aren’t a fan, choose a mild blue or sub in another crumbly soft cheese.
I struggle eating goat cheese and a milk one is good in this recipe even for this anti-goat cheese girl. If you’re a little gun shy, swap in feta for it.
When I roast the pecans for a cheese ball, I don’t salt them and use unsalted butter. Cheese can be very salty and can always add salt later if needed.
