Two quick holiday cheese appetizers made with Boursin and Laughing Cow ~ colorful, fun, and ready for your next holiday party!
If you’re looking for easy holiday cheese appetizers that still feel special, these two are my go-tos. Mini Boursin Cheese Balls and Laughing Cow Cheese Trees come together in about 15 minutes, require no cooking, and always look festive on the table ~ colorful, fun, and genuinely easy to pull off. You’ll find both recipes at the bottom of the post.
easy holiday cheese appetizer #1: Mini Boursin cheese balls
Who knew you could improve on everyone’s favorite luxe cheese? Scoop small balls of Boursin, roll them in colorful herbs, spices, seeds, or nuts, and you’ve got instant “ornament” gems for your holiday board. One package makes 12 mini Boursin cheese balls ~ just add crackers and a spreading knife.
- I scoop little balls of Boursin cheese, roll them in dried herbs or just the right spices and seeds to make delicious ornament style gems for your holiday cheese board.
- One package of Boursin makes 12 mini cheese balls, just add crackers and a spreading knife and you’ve got a cute appetizer that tastes good too.
- It’s perfect for those little tree shaped platters. (If you don’t have one you can just arrange the balls in a triangular tree shape like I did with my Mini Cheese Ball Holiday Platter.)
how to make Boursin mini cheese balls
- Use a small scoop to portion the cheese, then roll into small 1″ balls.
- They are meant to be served on a single cracker, so don’t be tempted to make them larger.
- Keep them mini ~ they should sit neatly on a single cracker.
- Roll in your chosen coating (lightly or fully coated, your choice).
- Chill up to 1 hour before serving.
- Serve with plain crackers so the Boursin flavor shines.
- Plain crackers are best so they don’t interfere with the strong flavors in the cheese. I like water crackers.
best coatings
Good choices: dried herbs (dill, parsley, tarragon, chives, za’atar), smoked or mild paprika, poppy or sesame seeds, finely chopped nuts, black pepper.
Skip: strong spices (curry, turmeric, cumin), hot peppers, or salty blends.
make-ahead
Scoop and roll the cheese balls in the morning; keep chilled.
Roll in coatings up to an hour before serving.
easy holiday cheese appetizer #2: Laughing Cow Cheese Trees
A forest of adorably delicious appetizer cheese trees with pretzel trunks make our holiday cocktail hour super merry and bright.
how to make cheese trees
- Spread out your dried herbs on a flat plate.
- Unwrap your cheese wedges and carefully insert a small pretzel stick ‘trunk’ in the bottom. Do this super gently so the cheese doesn’t split.
- Pat one side of the cheese into the herb and spice mixture. It will adhere to the naturally sticky cheese. You can coat one or both sides of the cheese depending on how much flavor you want to add to your Laughing Cow cheese trees.
- Pop on a few mild and fruity pink peppercorns for holiday flair.
- Allergy note: Pink peppercorns are related to cashews, so they can trigger reactions in those with tree nut allergies. When in doubt, skip them.
- Serve with crackers and a spreading knife.
Best cheese to use for mini cheese trees?
Look for small individually wrapped processed cheese wedges. Most large grocery stores carry Laughing Cow, a 100 year old French company that also makes Boursin. Processed cheese works well because it’s soft and spreadable and the surface is moist so the herb coating sticks to it easily. Any similar processed wedge cheese will work.
Here are the two recipes (scroll down for the cheese trees.) Enjoy ~ and Happy Holidays!
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Mini Boursin Cheese Balls
Equipment
- small 1" scoop
Ingredients
- 5.2 ounce package of Boursin Cheese, any flavor you like.
coating ideas*
- dried dill
- dried tarragon
- dried fine herbes
- dried parsley
- sweet or smoked paprika
- za'atar or sumac
- granulated garlic or onion
- poppy seeds
- black or white sesame seeds
- finely chopped pistachios, walnuts, or pecans
Instructions
- Scoop out small balls of Boursin cheese (I use my 1" cookie scoop which holds about 2 teaspoons) and roll gently into a ball. Boursin is creamy but also a bit crumbly, so use gentle pressure to bring it together into a ball.
- Roll each ball into the coatings of your choice. You can coat them lightly or more thickly, it's up to you. I like to do a combination of greens and red for the holidays.
- Serve the little cheese balls with plain crackers and cheese spreaders.
- Mini Boursin Cheese Balls are best served right after you make them, but they can be refrigerated for a couple of hours ahead of time.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe 2: Laughing Cow Cheese Trees ↓
Laughing Cow Cheese Trees
Ingredients
- 1 package Laughing Cow cheese wedges (8), any flavor you like.
- small thin pretzel sticks
coating ideas*
- dried tarragon, parsley, dill, fines herbes, etc., crushed between your fingers to refresh
- fresh 'woody' herbs like thyme and rosemary, very finely minced or they will not adhere
- pink peppercorns**
Instructions
- Unwrap your cheese wedges and use a skewer to poke a hole into the bottom edges to make space to insert a pretzel stick 'trunk'.
- Snap your pretzel sticks into shorter 1 1/2 " lengths and gently insert into the cheese. Don't try to insert them too far or the cheese can split.
- Sprinkle your coating lightly onto a plate. Press one side of the cheese into the coatings. You want a light sparse coating, not super thick. Add a few pink peppercorns on for holiday color.
- Serve right away, or refrigerate covered in plastic for up to 2 hours ahead.
