Turn an ordinary cheese ball into a funny appetizer for your spa party. This delicious spa party food looks like a woman getting a facial. Your guests will love it!
A few years ago, my friend celebrated her 50th birthday. I thought it would be nice to throw her a spa party where she could relax and be pampered for an evening. We got massages, manicures, and pedicures, and ate lots of delicious appetizers and desserts. The party was a huge hit!
As I was dreaming up ideas for my spa-themed birthday party, an image of a woman enjoying a facial came to my mind.
I knew I could use a plastic face mask as a mold to shape food into a face. I had done it years earlier with mashed potatoes when I made an Open Face Sandwich for our Halloween party.
For the spa party, I decided to transform a cheese ball into a woman's face. Creating the face was super easy.
To make it look like a woman getting a facial, I added a guacamole mask, wrapped her head in a mozzarella cheese towel, put cucumbers over her eyes, and gave her bright red pepper lips.
It took me less than 30 minutes to create this fun appetizer. My friends thought it was hilarious and delicious too!
Let's make a spa party appetizer using a taco-flavored cheese ball.
Ingredients
Cheese Ball:
cream cheese
sharp cheddar cheese
Monterrey Jack cheese
taco seasoning
Decorations:
1 fresh mozzarella cheese roll - I used BelGioioso Unwrap and Roll Fresh Mozzarella. If you can't find that, you can use white cheese slices. Soft processed cheese like Velvetta Queso Blanco cut into slices will work best.
½ cup guacamole or sour cream tinted green - If you are using store-bought or fresh guacamole, strain it through a fine mesh strainer to remove all of the chunky bits.
2 slices cucumber
1 roasted red pepper
Supplies
food handling gloves, optional
Instructions
Line mask with plastic wrap.
Wash the face mask with warm soapy water. Dry. Line it with a piece of plastic wrap.
Fill the mask with the cheese ball.
In a bowl combine cream cheese, cheddar cheese, Monterrey Jack cheese, and taco seasoning. Stir well to combine. I like to put on some food-handling gloves and just mash it all together using my hands.
Press the cheese mixture into the face mask. Smooth out the top surface then fold the plastic wrap up over the cheese and smooth out even more.
You can, if you want, refrigerate the cheese ball for up to a week. You want to decorate it close to the time you serve it.
Unmold the cheese ball.
If you want to decorate it now, just un-mold it and set it on a serving platter.
The woman's skin will be very wrinkled. I smoothed out the wrinkles but realized it wasn't really necessary being it was going to be covered by the guacamole face mask.
Make the mozzarella cheese head wrap (towel).
Unroll the mozzarella cheese roll onto a cutting board. The two ends of the roll won't open up too flat, but you will easily be able to cut out a 10"-12" piece of flat cheese. Cut that piece in half lengthwise.
The underside of the cheese, although wrinkled, is much more smooth than the top side. Flip both slices of cheese over and make sure the top side shows when placed on the face. It will really look like a towel.
If you can't find the mozzarella cheese rolls you can use Velveeta Queso Blanco Cheese. Get a big block, and use a cheese slicer to cut long slices. It is soft enough to mold over the cheese ball.
Wrap the cheese over the cheese ball head.
Pick up one strip of cheese and set it at a diagonal across the left side of the face. Press the cheese up against the head. You want to form the cheese around the top and side of the head then cut off the excess cheese.
Lay the second piece of cheese in the opposite diagonal direction across the right side of the face and repeat the process.
Add guacamole face mask, cucumbers, and red pepper lips.
Spread the guacamole or colored sour cream over the face.
I think I would have liked my face a little better had I left more of it exposed so try to spread the guacamole in an oval over the face, leaving some of the pale orange cheese ball showing.
Place cucumber slices over the eyes. Cut lips out of roasted red pepper and place on face.
Serve within an hour of decorating if you use guacamole. Guacamole gets brown when it's exposed to air so you need to serve this soon after it's decorated.
If you don't plan to serve this cheese ball soon after you decorate it, use the green-colored sour cream instead. See pictures of that below.
Variations
My amazing readers have recreated this recipe and sent me photos of their creations. I hope you find inspiration in their ideas.
You can create orange hair using carrots or shredded cheese. If you want to go all out, you can turn your cheese ball into Medussa with pizza dough snakes coming out of her head.
My readers got creative with the head wraps (towels) using flour tortillas, Swiss cheese, and mozzarella cheese slices.
Several used fresh red peppers to make the lips while one just shaped them out of the cheese ball.
If you make a cheese ball for your spa party, be sure to snap a picture and send it to me at beth@hungryhappenings.com. I'd love to see it!
Related Recipes
Open Face Sandwich topped with a mashed potato face served over turkey and gravy.
Slumber Party Snacks with apple kids snuggled in flour tortilla sleeping bags.
Pink Fuzzy Slipper Cookies made with peanut butter fudge and Nutter Butters.
Recipe
Decorate a cheese ball to look like a woman getting a facial. This face-shaped taco-flavored cheese ball is topped with a guacamole mask, cucumbers over the eyes, a cheese head wrap, and red peper l
- 16 ounces (2 blocks) cream cheese, softened
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 8 ounces Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
- 1-2 tablespoons taco seasoning (Season it to your taste.)
- 1 fresh BelGioioso mozzarella cheese roll or Velveeta White Queso Cheese sliced into long strips
- ½ cup guacamole, pureed avocado, or sour cream colored with green food coloring
- 2 slices cucumber
- 1 roasted red pepper
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Wash the face mask with warm soapy water. Dry is completely then line it with a piece of plastic wrap.
-
Stir together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, Monterrey Jack cheese, and taco seasoning.
-
Press the cheese mixture into the face mask. Smooth out the top surface then fold the plastic wrap up over the cheese and smooth out even more.
-
Refrigerate until you are ready to decorate it before your party guests arrive.
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Remove the cheeseball from the plastic face mask and set it on a serving platter.
-
Unroll the mozzarella cheese roll onto a cutting board.
-
The two ends of the roll wont open up too flat, but you will easily be able to cut out a 10"-12" piece of flat cheese. Cut that piece in half lengthwise.
-
The underside of the cheese, although wrinkled, is much more smooth than the top side. Flip both slices of cheese over and make sure the top side shows when placed on the face. It will really look like a towel.
-
Pick up one strip of cheese and set it at a diagonal across the left side of the face.
-
Press the cheese up against the head.
-
Lay the second piece of cheese in the opposite diagonal direction across the right side of the face and repeat the process.
-
Cut off the excess cheese around the edge of the head.
-
Push guacamole through a fine mesh seive to remove any chunks of vegetable or puree avocado and a splash of lemon juice or lime juice in a food processor.
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Spread the guacamole or pureed avocado over the face leaving some of the cheese ball exposed around the edge of the face.
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Place cucumber slices over the eyes.
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Cut lips out of roasted red pepper and place on face.
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Serve.
Storage
Store your undecorated cheese ball in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Decorate the day you plan to serve it.
Green facial mask options
If you are using store-bought or fresh guacamole, strain it through a fine mesh strainer to remove all of the chunky bits. Add the guacamole to the face within an hour of serving it or it might turn too brown.
If you need to decorate your cheese ball earlier, use green-colored sour cream instead.
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Nan says
Where to find “rolled” mozzarella cheese? I live near Boston, and I’ve only seen solid mozzarella logs?
Thanks
Beth says
Hi Nan,
I used BelGioioso Unwrap and Roll Mozzarella. I found it at Kroger in Ohio. Here's a link to the product locator for the cheese to see if it is available in your area. https://www.belgioioso.com/products/unwrap-roll/
Other readers have used slices of cheese, cream cheese, carrots, and bread dough. You can see some of their ideas in my Reader's Gallery. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see all of their pictures. https://hungryhappenings.com/hungry-happenings-readers-gallery/
Nanette Walker says
Making this next week for a Spa birthday party. I can’t find the mozzarella cheese unwrap & roll. What could I substitute the head wrap with? Thanks for your help!!!
Beth says
You could also make the headwrap using white (Queso) Velveeta cheese. Melt the cheese and spread it out onto a silicone baking mat (or piece of wax paper) then let chill it. Once it is firm enough, you can cut it into strips, allow it to come to room temperature, then lay it over the cheese ball face. You can see how I melt and cut the white Velveeta cheese in this other cheese ball post - https://hungryhappenings.com/elegant-cheese-ball-birthday-cake/
You could also buy a large block of mozzarella cheese and cut thin slices to wrap over the heat. You may need to warm the cheese slightly to get it to bend.
One of my readers spread cream cheese on plastic wrap and froze it for a while until it would peel off the plastic wrap. Then she wrapped it around the cheese ball head.
I hope this helps and that you have a wonderful birthday party.
Juanita Fourie says
Its an awesome idea. Having a spa party next year.
Beth says
I hope you have fun at your spa party!
Wilhelmina Wessel says
This is hilarious and so very clever! Love it!
Beth says
I'm so glad you found the humor in this!
Pam says
Soooooo awesome!! Where did you get the mask that you used for the mold?
Beth says
Thanks Pam. You can find the masks at craft stores. I ordered mine from amazon here - https://amzn.to/2w6NoxU (affiliate link).
Vicki says
Hello, I tried making the spa cheeseball as a trial run and I think I did something wrong. Don't laugh.....( I know how hard is it to make this right) but for some reason it was very hard to spread or dip into. Is that normal or did I skip something?
Beth says
Hi Vicki, I'm so happy you are making this for a party. The cheese ball is quite firm. You need it that way to hold it's shape. But when it sits at room temperature for a while, as it will for your party, it should become soft enough that you can easily cut off pieces and spread them on a cracker. It isn't a soft dip, that's for sure. If it's too firm for you, you can add less of the hard shredded cheeses the next time you make it. Just be sure it isn't too soft or it won't hold it's shape. Have fun!!! I hope your guests enjoy this unique snack.
Somerset Spa Lover says
I think I'd feel slightly uncomfortable dipping a nacho into someone's face! But it's a very clever idea nonetheless!
Gloria Hayes says
Omg.... This was such a great idea! Had a spa party for some friends and it was a hit! !! We named ours Emma. I wish there was a way to attach a picture for you to see. I added a little lemon juice in the guacamole to prevent from browning and it worked! !! Emma was fresh all day! !!! Thanks again! !!
beth says
Yay, I'm so happy to hear Emma was a big hit at your party. Adding lemon juice to the guacamole is a brilliant idea. I'd love to see a picture. You can send it to my e-mail - beth@hungryhappenings.com and I'll share your picture in my Readers' Gallery.
Marie Blackburn says
Love this idea - I'm definitely making one of these for my next gathering!
Marie @ The Interior Frugalista
Morgan says
I found this recipe while looking for ideas for a cheese-and-crackers platter using cucumber slices to replace the crackers. Offering this cheese ball with sliced cucumbers instead of or in addition to the crackers would offer a low-carb choice, and complement the cucumber slices on the eyes.
Anonymous says
how can I share or send this...I think its AWESOME!!!!
beth says
There are share buttons at the bottom of the post, just underneath the Amazon links (the boxes with images of the mask) and above the comments. You can share through Facebook, Google +, Pinterest, E-mail, and Twitter. Thanks!
SweetSugarBelle says
I still die laughing over this!
beth says
Thanks! It is one of my favorite creations:)
Melissa says
This is absolutely fantastic. I really appreciate the step-by-step guide. I will be using this in a bachelorette spa party this weekend!
beth says
Have fun making your cheese ball for your party. I'd love to see a picture, if you'd like to share. You can send it to me at beth@hungryhappenings.com.
Jennifer Lopez says
Where I come from we have a good recipe that could be use for this too. It's called Bola de Fuego. It's cream cheese and spam mixed together you make the ball or in this case the face then pour all over pinnaple jelly! Serve with Ritz! It taste awesome!
beth says
That sounds like it would work perfectly for this project!
Alexandra Rae says
This is such a great idea and great tutorial. I never thought to use a mask mold. I was going to hand mold it. I've seen the spa lady thing before but never so stop by step. And your recipe sounds delicious. Glad I bothered to "read the directions" this time. Thanks again!
beth says
If you can sculpt, you can make it by hand, but it was really easy using the mask mold and they are really cheap at the craft stores.