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+ servings
A cheese ball that looks like a turkey with a colorful background.

Turkey Cheese Ball

Course Appetizer, Dessert
Cuisine American
This Turkey Cheese Ball is an exciting way to serve your company a finger-licking Thanksgiving appetizer or dessert. 
Prep Time 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 1/4 cup butter softened
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans separated
  • 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips separated
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 candy corn
  • 2 candy eyes
  • 1 plain red M&M
  • Candy Melts in Red, Orange and Yellow about 1/2 cup of wafers prior to melting, of each color
  • 1 - 2 tablespoons chocolate chips to be melted and attached the turkey's face

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, cream together softened cream cheese and softened butter. Next, beat in brown sugar, vanilla and ½ a cup of chopped pecans along with ½ a cup of semi-sweet chocolates until just combined. Do not overbeat.
  • Using a spatula, scrape the cheese ball mixture into a mound onto a large piece of plastic wrap and shape into a ball. Place the cheese ball into the refrigerator for at least two hours, or overnight if preparing the day before.
  • While the cheese ball is chilling, make the candy melt feathers. Melt orange, red and yellow candy melt wafers in separate bowls according to the package instructions.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and add a small dollop of melted chocolate and form a leaf shape using a spoon. I recommend making as many as will fit on your baking sheet (but at least 12-15). Place the feathers on the baking sheet in the refrigerator to harden.
  • Once the cheese ball has completely set, take it out of the refrigerator and mix together the remaining cup of semi-sweet chocolates and pecans and pour them out on a tray or plate. Then carefully roll the cheese ball in the chocolates/ pecans and cover all over. You might need to use your hands to pack extra on and fill in the sparse areas.
  • Now press in the feathers to the back third of the cheese ball to look like turkey feathers.
  • Melt a few semi-sweet chocolates in the microwave to attach the nose, eyes and gobbler to the front of the cheese ball to create a face! I recommend that you use kitchen tweezers to dip the facial pieces into the melted chocolate and to attach them to the cheese ball since they are so small!

Notes

Please read entire post above for all tips, substitutions and advice.
If you are planning to make this ahead of time, just make the covered cheese ball and keep it in plastic wrap separate from the feathers, eyes, nose and gobbler and assemble an hour before serving! 
Make sure to keep the dessert cheese ball refrigerated until you serve it because it can begin to sweat a bit if left out very long.

Nutrition

Calories: 446kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 157mg | Potassium: 247mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 653IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 2mg
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