These homemade cheese ball bats are so easy to make and are a perfect appetizer for Halloween entertaining. I used my favorite cheese ball recipe for these but you can use your own recipe if you prefer.
Because I make these when I entertain, I make a big batch which can feed up to 20 people as an appetizer. You can make one big “bat” or make a medium-sized one and a bunch of little ones…whatever fits your need.
(You can easily sub sharp cheddar for more of a bite, or add more salsa or jalapeno if you like spicier flavors.)
Batty Cheese Balls – 719woman.com
BATTY CHEESE BALLS
Prep Time: about 20 minutes Chill Time: 2 hours Serves: approx. 20
Ingredients:
16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
3 tablespoons minced onion
2 tablespoons salsa
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon minced jalapeno
Black sesame seeds (toasted)
Green olives (sliced)
Black construction paper or green tortillas*
Directions:
With mixer, blend cream cheese, cheddar cheese, minced onion, salsa, cumin, and jalapeno.
Put mixture on plastic wrap and shape into ball, using the wrap to help form it. You can make one large ball or lots of small or medium ones. Chill 2 hours.
Unwrap and roll balls in black sesame seeds. Add two sliced olives for eyes.
*You can use black construction paper to make bat wings or cut tortillas into bat-shaped wings and bake on a baking sheet at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. (Until they are dry and crisp but not browned.) In my picture I use black paper and corn tortillas – cause I can’t eat the green tortillas which have wheat in them.
Another shape that’s fun to make for fall/Halloween is a pumpkin. I roll it in crushed nacho-cheese tortilla chips and add the stem from a green bell pepper as the pumpkin stem. Here’s the recipe for that and directions.
https://www.719woman.com/food/nacho-cheese-ball-a-perfect-party-appetizer/