Cheese Truffles (Mini Cheese Balls)
These mini cheese balls are cute and a nice change up from the usual giant cheese balls you see. You don't have to worry about the giant cheese ball becoming a mess when people get stuck into it because each ball is a single serving and you get to use different coatings to make a kaleidoscope of colours! I've provided 3 different fillings so you can choose which one you want to make (or make all three!). In the photo you see, I made all 3 but you can't tell in the photo because the filling of all 3 look pretty much the same.
Servings: 18
Calories: 90cal
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Filling (makes 18)
- 8 oz / 250g cream cheese , softened
- 1 cup grated cheese (tasty, cheddar or any other cheese with flavour)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
- Salt to taste
Goats Cheese Filling (makes 18)
- 10 oz / 300g goats cheese
Feta Cheese Filling (makes 18)
- 10 oz / 300g Danish feta (Note 1)
- 1 cup grated cheese (tasty, cheddar or any other cheese with flavour)
- 1 tbsp sour cream (or approximately 2 tsp of milk or water)
Coatings - to coat 18 balls in total (Note 2)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley and dill)
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese , finely shredded or grated
- 1/3 cup walnuts , finely chopped
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries , finely chopped
Instructions
- Cream Cheese Filling - place ingredients in a bowl and mix well until combined. Adjust salt to taste.
- Feta Cheese Filling - place ingredients in a bowl and mix well until combined.
- Make the balls - measure out 1 tbsp of filling and use a teaspoon to scoop the filling out of the tablespoon and place onto a tray or cutting board. Once you have scooped out all the filling, use your hands to roll into balls. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.
- Place the Coatings into small bowls.
- Roll the cheese balls in the Coatings.
- Refrigerate the cheese balls until ready to serve.
- Take them out of the fridge around 15 minutes before serving (so they are spreadable).
- Serve with crackers or pieces of toasted bread.
Notes
1. Danish feta is creamy, almost spreadable, which is very different from Greek feta which is crumbly. For those in Australia, it is readily available at large supermarkets either at the deli counter or in the refrigerator section. It costs the same as Greek feta.
2. Each coating is enough to coat 4 to 5 cheese balls (to coat approximately 18 balls in total)
3. Here are some other coating suggestions (mix and match!):
- Any other nuts and dried fruit
- Any fresh herbs
- Dried herbs (coat lightly as dried herbs are stronger in flavour than fresh)
- Paprika, sumac, dukkah and other spices
- Finely chopped cooked bacon
- Sesame seeds (black and/or white)
- Coconut and finely chopped apricots (this goes great with the cream cheese one) 4. Nutrition per truffle.
- Any other nuts and dried fruit
- Any fresh herbs
- Dried herbs (coat lightly as dried herbs are stronger in flavour than fresh)
- Paprika, sumac, dukkah and other spices
- Finely chopped cooked bacon
- Sesame seeds (black and/or white)
- Coconut and finely chopped apricots (this goes great with the cream cheese one) 4. Nutrition per truffle.
Nutrition
Serving: 25g | Calories: 90cal | Carbohydrates: 1.3g | Protein: 3.3g | Fat: 8.3g | Saturated Fat: 4.5g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 82mg | Potassium: 53mg | Vitamin A: 300IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 0.5mg