Penguin and Igloo Cheese Ball
If you are like me, December doesn’t end the celebrations and this cute little Penguin and Igloo Cheese Ball is fun for the January Birthday party festivities.
Supplies
Your choice of cheese ball recipe (enough to fill a one quart bowl)
Snow for Igloo
8 oz. cream cheese
1 Tablespoon milk
Penguins
Cream cheese, room temperature
Jumbo ripe olives
Small (round) ripe olives
Carrot(s) - about 1 inch in diameter
Frilled toothpick(s)
Garnish
Rosemary sprigs
Red pepper pieces to form holly berries
Instructions
For the inside of the igloo choose a cheese spread recipe that firms up when chilled (i.e. not a dip).
Line a 1 quart bowl with plastic wrap. Process the cheese spread ingredients; pack tightly into the lined bowl.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for six hours or up to two days.
Invert onto serving tray and remove plastic.
Scoop out an oval shape for the doorway about a ½ inch deep and 2 ½ inches high.
Cut two 3/8 inch slices from an 8-oz. block of cream cheese and reserve.
Process the rest with 1 T. milk to make the snow.
Spread cream cheese "snow" over the igloo and the serving tray. Use a toothpick to outline the igloo's bricks.
Cut the reserved cream cheese chunks into six or eight blocks and use them to form the doorframe.
Making the Penguins
Each penguin requires one jumbo ripe olive, one small (round) ripe olive, cream cheese to fill the chest and form the tuxedo, one carrot coin for the feet and beak, and a frilled toothpick to hold it all together.
Have cream cheese at room temperature. If it's too hard, it will tend to break the olive; too soft and it won't push out the chest to form a nice plump penguin.
Slice a jumbo olive down the front. Place softened cream cheese in a quart-size Ziploc bag and cut a small hole in one corner.
Pipe the cream cheese into the olive until the "chest" puffs out.
Cut a wedge from a carrot coin.
Use a small sharp knife to cut a little slit in the small olive and insert the carrot "beak".
Place the stuffed olive on the carrot "feet"; top with stuffed jumbo olive, then small round olive with beak facing front and secure all the parts with a frilled toothpick.
Garnish your display as desired.
This project is reprinted courtesy of TheArtfulCrafter.com.
Contributor
After spending years as first a teacher and then as a VP of Finance for a major corporation, I took early retirement to devote time to my true passion, crafting. I own a small craft store, do custom orders and run The Artful Crafter website.