Spiced Orange, Sage and Macadamia Nut Cheeseball.

It’s macadamia nut cheeseball time! I always love sharing something EASY with you on this Monday before Thanksgiving – but something that you can still make in time for Thursday! Of course, I have lots of uses for leftovers, but I wanted to give you one last creative snack that you can make if you’re […]

The post Spiced Orange, Sage and Macadamia Nut Cheeseball. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

It’s macadamia nut cheeseball time!

This macadamia nut cheeseball is flavored with fresh orange, spices, crispy sage and pecorino cheese. It's the perfect make-ahead snack!

I always love sharing something EASY with you on this Monday before Thanksgiving – but something that you can still make in time for Thursday! Of course, I have lots of uses for leftovers, but I wanted to give you one last creative snack that you can make if you’re in search of something new. It’s dreamy!

And it will complement all of your Thanksgiving table flavors SO well. It’s quite autumnal and seasonal if I do say so myself. 

ready to roll cheese ball

I know that I’ve said it a million times, but cheese balls are a thing in my family. This should come as no surprise consider BOTH (not one, but both) of my cookbooks have a cheeseball recipe inside. And I have countless cheeseballs here on the blog too. It’s slightly embarrassing. 

Much like my long-standing obsession with the blue Manolos that Carrie wears on Sex and the City or the great way I behave during arguments with Eddie:

I JUST CAN’T LET IT GO.

I can’t let the cheeseball go. And I don’t care how 80s or 90s it is. I can’t get over it!

This macadamia nut cheeseball is flavored with fresh orange, spices, crispy sage and pecorino cheese. It's the perfect make-ahead snack!

And here’s why:

First, it’s obviously delicious. A really good cheeseball, like my pomegranate jeweled cheeseball, has become a staple that people use every single year. 

Second, it’s easy. Sure, this one is slightly more high maintenance, but the reality of cheeseballs is that they are easy. Mix everything together, coat it in nuts and serve. YUM.

Finally, you can make them ahead of time and they only taste better as they sit. YEP.

This is obviously the best part of cheeseballs, especially during this hectic holiday season, when you might need to make more than one snack. You can prep the cheese ball two days ahead of time and then the night before (or morning of), coat it in crushed nuts and herbs. 

Of course, this also means that cheeseball leftovers are excellent too. Remember when I shared my first ever cheese board years ago? I show you how to make a few cheese balls in that post and they are huge hits!

Plus more: goat cheese truffles, which are basically mini cheese balls. I LOVE CHEESE.

Oh! And as a post script point: they are fantastically easy to travel with. That earns triple points in my book. 

This macadamia nut cheeseball is flavored with fresh orange, spices, crispy sage and pecorino cheese. It's the perfect make-ahead snack!

Let’s dig into the flavors though! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that I’ve been wacky over spiced orange creations this season. I’ve made a spiced orange spritzer and a spiced orange vinaigrette for salad. Naturally, cheese comes next in my brain.

Obviously.

I’ve wanted to make a macadamia nut crusted cheeseball for years. I’ll be talking more about those little love nuts in the next month, but they are just.so.buttery. They impart such a rich, buttery flavor wherever they are placed, which is one of the things I love about them.

So we have cream cheese, pecorino, some crushed macadamia nuts inside, lots of fresh orange zest, a few herbs and spices. We really took our time and played with these flavors to get just the right ratio of spice to orange that we loved.

This macadamia nut cheeseball is flavored with fresh orange, spices, crispy sage and pecorino cheese. It's the perfect make-ahead snack!

However!

Everyone is different, and I suggest mixing up the concoction below and tasting it for yourself. Before you roll the ball, take a cracker and taste the cheeseball insides. If you want more orange, reach for more zest! If you want more spice, throw in some extra allspice. Remember that we do cover it in crushed macadamia nuts (and a few pecans for color) and herbs, so there will be some extra crunch and flavor on the outside.

This macadamia nut cheeseball is flavored with fresh orange, spices, crispy sage and pecorino cheese. It's the perfect make-ahead snack!

If you can’t tell, I’m nutty over this cheeseball! Pun intended. 

This macadamia nut cheeseball is flavored with fresh orange, spices, crispy sage and pecorino cheese. It's the perfect make-ahead snack!

Macadamia Nut Cheeseball

Spiced Orange, Sage and Macadamia Nut Cheese Ball

This macadamia nut cheeseball is flavored with fresh orange, spices, crispy sage and pecorino cheese. It’s the perfect make-ahead snack!

  • 2 (8-ounce) blocks of cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 cup finely grated pecorino cheese
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts
  • 2 tablespoons freshly chopped chives
  • 2 tablespoons chopped crispy sage ((recipe below))
  • 3 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
  • ½ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
  • Pinch of salt
  • Pinch of freshly cracked black pepper

for the outside coating:

  • ⅔ cup finely chopped macadamia nuts
  • ½ cup finely chopped pecans
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, (like parsley, sage and chives)
  1. To make the crispy sage, heat 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in a skillet. Once melted and bubbling, add 8 to 10 sage leaves into the butter, cooking for 2 to 2 minutes. Remove the sage with kitchen tongs and place it on a paper towel to drain any excess grease.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together the cream cheese, pecorino, nuts, chives, sage, orange zest, allspice, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir until combined and everything is evenly distributed. Taste with a cracker and determine if you would like more spice or orange. I love it just like this!
  3. Place a large piece of plastic wrap on your counter. Form the cheese mixture into somewhat of a ball and place it in the center of the plastic wrap. Wrap it up, forming it more into a ball as your go. Refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, or even overnight. After refrigerating, you can form it into more of a ball with your hands while it’s still wrapped in plastic.
  4. To roll the cheeseball, combine the macadamia nuts, pecans and herbs on a plate, stirring them together. Place the cheeseball on the plate and roll it through, coating the outside.
  5. You can serve the cheeseball immediately or wrap it up and serve a few hours later. You can make this a day or two ahead of time, but I would wait to roll the ball in the nuts, as they will soften over time because of the cream cheese.

This macadamia nut cheeseball is flavored with fresh orange, spices, crispy sage and pecorino cheese. It's the perfect make-ahead snack!

Pita bite crackers are where it’s at.

The post Spiced Orange, Sage and Macadamia Nut Cheeseball. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

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Olive Oil Pumpkin Bread

* This post was created in partnership with California Olive Ranch. We’ve been working together this year to bring you some special recipes that highlight this beautiful olive oil. I’ve been using their olive oil for years now because they produce a high quality oil for an everyday price. Cooking is what grounds me, which… Read more »

* This post was created in partnership with California Olive Ranch. We’ve been working together this year to bring you some special recipes that highlight this beautiful olive oil. I’ve been using their olive oil for years now because they produce a high quality oil for an everyday price. Cooking is what grounds me, which is why I make sure to work with ingredients that offer consistent quality and delicious taste. Olive oil is the basis of so many dishes, sweet and savory, and California Olive Ranch allows my food to shine.

I stare at the computer screen practically paralyzed by the mounting list of to-do’s. Ivy’s half-finished Halloween costume sits dormant in the corner, a few dishes from last night’s dinner linger on the table, and dinner tonight? There are no plans yet. 

In this moment I put the computer down, bound into the kitchen and set the oven to 350°F. The fridge is bare but the pantry provides everything I need to create something out of seemingly nothing. Raw ingredients; those that linger in the cupboard for moments such as this, they are humble, not much on their own but when combined with a few of their pantry neighbors they are comfort and warmth. Delight and joy and honestly, they become therapy.

It’s the process that is the healer. Instantly I’m out of my head with the racing thoughts of “not enoughs”. Not enough time in the day, not good enough, not fast enough, not helpful enough … and I focus on the fragrance of nutmeg as it slips across the microplane leaving behind flecks of spice. I marvel, if just for a moment, at the intricate pattern that’s revealed once the dull exterior is shaved away. Fresh ginger drips down my finger and releases a powerful perfume while it’s whisked into pumpkin purée. And fragrant olive oil, grassy with a bright pepper bite slowly dribbles in before dry goes into wet and then it all goes into the pan before hitting the hot oven. I return to the computer screen having accomplished something. It wasn’t on the to do list but I stepped into the present, into the process just long enough to regain right perspective. 

I created something. Something that scented the house with spice and Fall, something that will wrap the kids in warmth when they walk through the front door and something that pulled me out of myself long to remember that everything will be okay. 

Olive Oil Pumpkin Bread

Adapted from BonAppetit.com

This simple recipe is everything I want in a quick baking, snack cake. I love a loaf cake that uses oil as the fat as it produces and tender crumb and here we use olive oil for texture and it adds a wonderful fragrant flavor as well. It also keeps the bread super moist (better than butter!) and add healthy fats with a world of benefits. 

I’ve added a couple of handfuls of bittersweet chocolate to this loaf which is also lovely. 

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 large eggs

1 15 ounce can of pumpkin pureé

1/2 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup California Olive Ranch Destination Series Everyday olive oil

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly coat a 9×5″ loaf pan with nonstick spray. 

Line bottom of pan with parchment, leaving a generous overhang on both long sides. 

Whisk flour, cinnamon, kosher salt, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg, in a medium bowl. 

Whisk eggs, pumpkin purée, ginger, and 1½ cups sugar in a large bowl. 

Stream in oil, whisking continuously until well combined. 

Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until completely combined, but take care not to overmix. (If you want to add chocolate stir it in now). 

Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan then top with the pumpkin seeds and brown sugar. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean, about 60 – 70 minutes. 

Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes until unmolding and cooling the loaf completely on a wire rack. 

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