Painted Pie Crust Leaves and a Pumpkin Cheese Ball
Celebrate fall with a festive appetizer and this pumpkin-shaped cheeseball. You’ll also find a fun technique to embellish your sweet or savory recipes using ready-to-bake pie crusts, pastry cutters and food coloring.
Servings: 64 servings
Equipment
- spring loaded leaf cookie cutters
- food safe brushes
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cheese Ball
- 16 oz. Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese blend, shredded
- 8 oz. cream cheese with chives, softened
- 2 4 oz. goat cheese logs, softened
- Additional chopped chives
- Cheddar cheese for ribs of pumpkin
- Pretzel rod for stem
Painted Piecrust Leaves
- 1 15 oz. pkg. refrigerated piecrusts
- 2 large eggs
- food coloring
- food safe brushes
- spring-loaded fall leaf pastry cutters
Instructions
To make cheese ball:
- Stir together cheeses and chives. Shape mixture into a ball to resemble a pumpkin.
- Smooth pumpkin's surface with metal spatula or table knife. Make vertical grooves in cheese ball, using your fingertips. Apply Cheddar cheese in grooves to resemble pumpkin ribs and smooth.
- Press pretzel into top of cheese ball to resemble a pumpkin stem. Embellish will painted pie crust leaves and serve.
Painted Piecrust Leaves:
- Unfold piecrusts on a lightly floured surface, then cut your shapes and leaves using your cutters. make the tinted egg wash, whisk together 2 large eggs and 2 tablespoons water, then divide the egg wash among small cups, tinting each with a few drops of food coloring; orange, red, green and yellow.
- For easy cleanup and to prevent the excess egg wash from burning on the baking sheet, paint the cut outs on a piece of wax paper before transferring them to a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Brush leaves evenly with egg wash, beginning with lighter colors first, then adding areas of darker color.
- Bake your leaves at 400° for 6 to 8 minutes or until golden. Cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack 10 minutes. Gently remove leaves, and cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
- To give your leaves a more natural shape and dimension, place them on crumpled aluminum foil sprayed with nonstick spray before baking.
- One (15-ounce) package of refrigerated piecrusts will make about 24 (2- to 3-inch) leaves.