Olive Cheese Balls

Olive Cheese Balls – Flaky, tender, cheesy dough surrounds a warm and salty-juicy olive. A fun and easy baked appetizer recipe, perfect for entertaining!

Hey, hey, hey! We’re goin’ retro today!

Anybody else grow up with baked Olive Cheese Balls? On Mom’s worn, handwritten recipe card, they’re titled “Olive Surprises”. You just gotta love it. My copies of old church and family cookbooks are full of recipe names like that. Another oldie-but-goodie appetizer from my mom is this Shrimp Dip that uses cream cheese – my family enjoys this every Christmas Eve.

This fun little olives and cheese appetizer is easy to make. Simply wrap pimento-stuffed green olives in a buttery cheddar cheese dough, pop them in the oven, and you are now the hostess with the mostess.

But don’t stop there.

I broke tradition with this recipe, thinking it would be fun to #UnfollowTheRecipe. So I’m also offering you a kicked-up version with the flavors of jalapeno, Parmesan, and ranch. I’m giving you two times the fun with olives and cheese!

*  This is a sponsored post, created in partnership with Crystal Farms® Cheese.

If you’ve ever been to Wisconsin, you know that cheese is a way of life there.

I’ve always loved driving past all the dairy farms (there are over 1.2 million cows in Wisconsin!), through the state’s beautiful rolling countryside. And just east of Madison is the town of Lake Mills (population 5,708), where Crystal Farms is located.

Crystal Farms was born of humble beginnings, the product of two immigrant families dedicated to hard work and quality products. That tradition continues to this day, bringing only the best quality cheese to cheese lovers everywhere.

How to make olive cheese balls

First, you’ll need some shredded sharp cheddar and softened butter. Stir together until combined.

Then add flour and a bit of paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine, and then bring it altogether with your hands to form a dense, moist dough.

The dough should stick together like a ball.

Then portion out the dough (I like to use a small scoop) and roll each portion into smaller balls.

Using your thumb, flatten each round of dough in the palm of your hand, and then rest an olive in the center of the dough.

Mold the dough around the olive, stretching and pinching as needed. And then lightly roll the olive cheese ball between the palms of your hands to finish shaping.

Line those little cuties up on an ungreased baking pan (this 10″ x 15″ pan works perfectly!), let them chill in the refrigerator for an hour, and then bake them. Just 15 minutes in the oven is all they need.

I’ve always been an olive and cheese fan. But this recipe takes that combination to a whole new level.

The cheesy dough bakes up flaky and tender on the outside, while the olive is warm and salty-juicy on the inside. Biting into one of these olive cheese balls is a surprising burst of both flavor and texture.

For even more entertaining fun, offer homemade buttermilk ranch for dipping.

Because nobody ever turns down the opportunity to dip.

Now here’s that jalapeno option I was telling you about earlier. Because you know me. Variety is truly the spice of my life.

In this version, I trade the sharp cheddar for Parmesan, swap out pimento-stuffed olives for those with jalapenos, and add dry ranch seasoning to the dough.

For those who like some heat, this is a marvelous combination.

Holidays, game days, sit-on-the-porch-with-a-glass-of-wine-days, they’re all prime times for a platter of warm olive cheese balls.

Like this appetizer recipe? Save it to Pinterest!

Here are a few more cheesy-wonderful appetizers for you!

• Dill Pickle Dip – with cream cheese, this is a super fun dip with puckery dill pickle flavor!
• Baked Reuben Dip – with Swiss cheese, this tastes like a deconstructed Reuben sandwich.
• Layered Creamy Chili Shrimp Dip – with cream cheese, this festive dip has been one of my family’s Christmas Eve traditions for as long as I can remember.
• Cheesy Stuffed Mushrooms Grilled on a Cedar Plank – with Mozzarella and Gouda cheeses, these stuffed mushrooms are infused with a wonderful woodsy flavor from the grill.

Olive Cheese Balls

Yield: 18 olive cheese balls

prep time: 30 minutes mins

cook time: 15 minutes mins

total time: 45 minutes mins

Flaky, tender, cheesy dough surrounds a warm and salty-juicy olive. A fun and easy baked appetizer recipe, perfect for entertaining!

4.6 Stars (18 Reviews)

Print

Equipment

• Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dips Mix
• 2-Teaspoon Stainless Scoop

Ingredients

• 18 queen olives stuffed with pimento
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, at very soft room temperature (but not melty)
• 4 oz. Crystal Farms® Shredded Sharp Cheddar
• ½ cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

• Drain olives and place them on a paper towel to dry.
• In a small bowl, combine butter and sharp cheddar with a wooden spoon. Add flour, paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper. Mix as well as you can with the wooden spoon, and then finish by combining with your hands. It will turn into a moist, dense dough that can easily be formed into a ball.
• With a small scoop, portion out 18 balls of tightly packed dough. My small scoop holds a little more than 2 teaspoons of dough when tightly packed. Roll each portion into a ball and place it in the palm of one hand. With the thumb of your other hand, press the dough ball to flatten it. Place an olive in the center of the flattened dough and mold the dough up around the olive. Give it a gentle roll between your palms to finish. Place two inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet – this works perfectly. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 400° F. Bake for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Let cool on the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. These are best when eaten while still warm. Serve with homemade buttermilk ranch dip if you like to dip!

Notes

Adapted from my mom’s recipe box, originally from Betty Crocker. Jalapeno Parmesan Ranch version from a farmgirl’s dabbles.

For a fun twist, try my Jalapeno Parmesan Ranch version!

Just make these changes to the original recipe: Substitute 4 ounces of Crystal Farms Shredded Parmesan for the sharp cheddar. Delete the kosher salt. And add in 1-1/2 teaspoons of dry ranch seasoning blend. (Flour and black pepper remain the same.) The texture of the combined dough will be a bit drier than the sharp cheddar mixture, but there will still be plenty of moisture to mold it around the olives. This recipe version does not need to chill before baking. Just bake at 400° F on an ungreased baking sheet for 15 minutes. Serve warm with homemade buttermilk ranch if desired.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1 Calories: 164kcal Carbohydrates: 2g Protein: 5g Fat: 15g Saturated Fat: 9g Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g Cholesterol: 39mg Sodium: 304mg Fiber: 1g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.

Did you make this recipe?Please leave a comment below. And share a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #afarmgirlsdabbles or tag @farmgirlsdabble!

© Brenda | A Farmgirl’s Dabbles

Cuisine: American

Course: Appetizers

For more cheesy goodness, find Crystal Farms on their web site, and on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.