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    Home » Recipes » Halloween

    Day of the Dead Appetizer - Cheese Sugar Skull

    Modified: Sep 27, '23 · Published: Oct 22, '13 · By: Beth Klosterboer · Commission earned on paid or sponsored links.

    Jump to Recipe

    Create a festive appetizer for your Dia de los Muertos celebrations. This colorful Day of the Dead appetizer looks like a sugar skull but tastes like cheese!

    sugar skull made of white cheese and colorful cheese decorations.

    I can't wait to serve this festive appetizer for Dia de Los Muertos. We are hosting a Day of the Dead party this year and our party guests will be decorating their own sugar skulls and eating lots of festive food including cheesecake mousse skulls, pizza skulls, and more.

    The idea to make this sugar skull made out of cheese came to me while I was making all the sugar skulls that my party guests will be decorating.

    Sugar Skulls are so fun to make and this cheese skull is equally fun to create. It does take some time but it will look so cool on any Day of the Dead food table. Just like traditional sugar skulls, you can add your own unique twist by decorating it like you want.

    Have fun!

    Velveet Queson Blanco in a box and cut up into cubes in a bowl with a plastic skull mold.

    Ingredients

    Velveeta Queso Blanco Cheese
    food coloring

    Supplies

    large plastic sugar skull mold
    food handling gloves
    silicone mat
    small plunger cutters or metal cutters
    food coloring markers or paintbrushes

    Items used to create this project that are available on Amazon.com (commission earned for sales)

    Large 3-d Skull Front 1 LB ...Shop on Amazon Make Your Own Sugar Skull- ...Shop on Amazon McCormick Black Food Color,...Shop on AmazonPME Plunger Cutters, Miniat...Shop on AmazonAteco Plain Tear Drop Cutte...Shop on Amazon

    Instructions

    Cut Velveeta Con Queso into small chunks. Melt in the microwave, stirring often. You want the cheese completely melted and smooth.

    Pouring melted Velveeta Queso Blanco into a skull mold.

    Pour melted cheese into sugar skull mold. If you want a full skull, fill both the front and back cavity. Tap the mold down several times to remove air bubbles. Being I only filled the front of my mold, it wouldn't sit level, so I placed a bowl under the skull to hold it flat.

    the front view of a plastic skull mold filled with melted white cheese.

    Carefully lift the filled skull mold up over your head, keeping it perfectly level, to see if there are any big air bubbles. If there are, poke the back end of a skewer or knife into the mold and pop the air bubbles. You can't fix these once the cheese sets.

    Place mold in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

    coloring white melted cheese using green, blue, and pink food coloring

    Meanwhile, use your leftover melted cheese or melt more to make the colorful decorations. I melted way more cheese than I needed for one skull. You'll probably only need about a tablespoon of cheese per color, depending on how many colors you want to use. I ended up with pink, blue, green, and purple.

    Divide the cheese into small bowls. Color with various food colorings. If your cheese is liquid enough, spread it on a non-stick baking mat. If not, just roll it into a ball and flatten it out.

    I set the cheese in between two non-stick mats and rolled it out using a rolling pin. You can also just fold the mat over the cheese and roll it out. A zip-top bag would work in place of the non-stick mat.

    Freeze your colored cheese for about 10 minutes until it's still flexible but not sticky. If it gets too hard, just let it sit at room temperature for a minute or two and it will soften up.

    cheese skull on a cutting board next to a plastic skull mold.

    Remove your sugar skull mold from the freezer, turn it upside down over your work surface, and press down on the plastic mold, releasing the cheese and allowing it to gently fall onto the counter.

    If it won't come out, you can pull away around the edges of the mold to see if that helps. If not, freeze for another 10 minutes and try again.

    painting black food coloring into the eye socket of the skull-shaped cheese.

    Paint black food coloring into the eye and nose sockets.

    decorating the cheese skull with blue cheese flower petals.

    Use small metal cutters and plunger cutters to cut decorations out of the colored cheese. Press the decorations onto the cheese skull. They will stay in place without any "glue."

    pushing blue cheese out of a plunger cutter.

    If you've not ever used a plunger cutter, go out and get some, now! They are the best tool for making small decorations out of fondant, modeling chocolate, or cheese.

    I cut blue stars, pink hearts, green dots, and blue and purple petals out of cheese to decorate my cheese skull.

    drawing black food coloring around the teeth on a cheese skull.

    I decorated another cheese skull using green petals over the eyes and similar decorations. I ended up ruining it, by adding black around the mouth. Just as I was taking this picture I pressed the marker up against the cheese and it bled. I tried to cover it up and made an even bigger mess.

    In the end, I like the new design better, but you can see there are unlimited options for decorating these skulls.

    a decorated sugar skull cheese

    Use black food coloring to put some finishing touches on your cheese sugar skull.

    sugar skull made out of cheese with bright green, pink, and blue cheese decorations.

    Something really cool will happen as the black food coloring seeps into the cheese. The edges will begin to turn pink.

    I had wrapped up my skull and stored it in the refrigerator overnight. When I pulled it out to show my friend, I noticed the pink glow around the black. I love it.

    Day of the Dead appetizer cheese sugar skulls served with crackers.

    Storage

    I wrapped the skull in plastic wrap and stored it in the freezer for our party. I'll thaw it in the refrigerator a day before our event. If you don't need to freeze it, just store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about a week. Serve with crackers.

    Related Recipes

    sugar skulls

    Sugar Skull Recipe

    Mexican Hot Chocolate Sugar Skulls

    Mexican Hot Chocolate Skulls

    Sugar Skull Brownies for a Day of the Dead Party or Halloween Party

    Brownie Sugar Skulls

    If you are looking for more festive Halloween food ideas, be sure to check out my Halloween category page. You'll find over 100 fun and festive recipes for the holiday.

    Recipe

    Print
    Day of the Dead Appetizer - Cheese Sugar Skull
    Prep Time
    45 mins
    Total Time
    45 mins
     
    Cheese ball decorated to look like a Day of the Dead skull
    Course: Appetizer
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: cheese ball appetizer, cheese ball skull, day of the dead food
    Servings: 12
    Author: Beth Klosterboer
    Ingredients
    • Velveeta Queso Blanco
    • Large sugar skull mold or chocolate mold
    • neon food coloring
    • non-stick baking mat like a Silpat or some large zip top bags
    • optional: rolling pin
    • black food coloring
    • food use only paint brushes 1 fine tip, 1 medium tip
    • small metal fondant cutters and/or plunger cutters
    Instructions
    1. Cut Velveeta Con Queso into small chunks.
    2. Melt in the microwave, stirring often.
    3. Pour melted cheese into sugar skull mold.
    4. Tap the mold down several times to remove air bubbles.
    5. Place mold in freezer for about 30 minutes.
    6. Use your left over melted cheese or melt more to make the colorful decorations.
    7. Divide the cheese into small bowls.
    8. Color with various food colorings.
    9. Set the cheese in between two non-stick mats and rolled it out using a rolling pin.
    10. Freeze your colored cheese for about 10 minutes until it's still flexible but not sticky.
    11. Remove your sugar skull mold from freezer, turn it upside down over your work surface, press down on the plastic mold, releasing the cheese and allowing it to gently fall onto the counter.
    12. Paint black food coloring into the eye and nose sockets.
    13. Use small metal cutters and plunger cutters to cut decorations out of the colored cheese.
    14. Press the decorations onto the cheese skull.
    15. Cut blue stars, pink hearts, green dots, and blue and purple petals out of cheese to decorate your cheese skull.
    16. Use black food coloring to put some finishing touches on your cheese sugar skull.
    17. Serve with crackers.

    SaveSave

    • Author
    • Recent Posts
    Beth Klosterboer
    Beth Klosterboer
    Hi, I'm Beth Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com
    Beth Klosterboer
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    1. Karen says

      October 23, 2017 at 3:02 pm

      This is a great idea! Thanks so much for posting this!

      Reply
    2. thedunhamz says

      February 28, 2014 at 5:38 am

      Did you freeze this already decorated? How long can it be frozen?

      Reply
      • beth says

        February 28, 2014 at 4:18 pm

        I did actually freeze this after I had decorated it. I defrosted it in the refrigerator the day before our party and then served it. It was in the freezer for 2 weeks, but I think you could freeze it up to a month.

        Reply
    3. Michelle | Creative Food says

      October 30, 2013 at 5:54 pm

      This really is brilliant. The skull looks amazing!

      Reply
    4. The Partiologist says

      October 24, 2013 at 11:26 am

      Wow, Beth - I really love how this turned out. Now I Want to have a PARTY featuring this SKULL!

      Reply
    5. Heather - Chickabug says

      October 23, 2013 at 3:25 pm

      I'd agree that it is beautiful - but a little spooky too. Either way, I really love it! : )

      Reply
    6. Sarah says

      October 23, 2013 at 2:51 pm

      This is SO great! How creative, too. And you can't go wrong with crockpots full of delicious food. I need to find some occasion to give this cool cheese mold a try!

      Reply
    7. Lynn@Happier Than a Pig in Mud says

      October 22, 2013 at 1:56 pm

      Is it ok to say this is beautiful??? You know, in a spooky way:@) Have fun at the party!

      Reply
      • beth says

        October 23, 2013 at 1:05 am

        I think it's quite beautiful too! Thanks, I'm hoping our party is a lot of fun this year.

        Reply
    8. Anonymous says

      October 22, 2013 at 1:55 pm

      Wow, that is so great! I wish we had that kind of cheese where I'm from

      Reply
    Beth Jackson Klosterboer

    Welcome to Hungry Happenings!

    I'm Beth. I've been a professional chocolatier & baker for over 30 years, have written 5 cookbooks, and love creating fun food for holidays and special occasions.

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