Creamy Goat Cheese Ornaments

Total Time: 3 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 6 ounces soft fresh goat cheese (chevre) or 6 ounces crumbled feta cheese
• 24 pickled jalapeno peppers, slices well drained or 24 small pimento stuffed olives, well drained
• 1/2 cup dried sweet red pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup snipped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup chopped pumpkin seeds, toasted

Recipe

• 1 1. in med. bowl stir together the cream cheese and goat cheese until smooth. cover and chill for an hour.
• 2 2. using a rounded tablespoon of cheese mixture, form it around a jalapeno slice or green olive, completely enclosing the jalapeno or olive.* (mixture will be sticky; moisten hands as necessary. chill mixture if it becomes too soft to handle). place shaped balls in a shallow pan. cover and chill for 1 hour.
• 3 3. roll one-third of the balls in the red sweet pepper, one third in the cilantro, and one third in the pumpkin seeds to coat, leaving some of the showing. cover and chill at least another hour or up to 6 hours. serve with picks.
• 4 *note: for smaller balls, use a rounded teaspoon of cheese mixture and omit the jalapeno slices or green olives. shape into balls.
• 5 i'm sure you can also use some of the flavored cheeses in this.