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    Home » appetizers

    Basketball cheese slices

    Modified: Jul 16, '24 · Published: Mar 23, '11 · By: Beth Klosterboer · Commission earned on paid or sponsored links.

    Make a super simple basketball-themed appetizer for your March Madness watch party! Top ham and cheese sandwiches or crackers with a round piece of cheese that's been decorated to look like a basketball to make your basketball party snacks a slam dunk.

    basketball cheese slices served on crackers or bread with round pieces of ham

    Whenever I host a party, I always serve some form of cheese and crackers, so for a March Madness themed party, I wanted to make basketball-shaped cheese cut-outs, but a round piece of cheese looks like, well, a round piece of cheese.

    To transform this cheese "ball" into a basketball, I needed to add the ball's black seam lines which was really easy to do with a fine tip paintbrush and some black food coloring.

    After drawing seam lines on all those basketball tortilla chips for my last post, I'd gotten the hang of it and created a dozen cheese "balls" in no time.

    cracker topped with ham and a round slice of cheese decorated like a basketball

    How to make Basketball Cheese Slices/Sandwiches

    Ingredients:

    orange cheese slices (American, Cheddar, or Colby)
    black food coloring
    deli meat slices (ham or turkey)
    bread or round crackers
    optional: mayonnaise or mustard

    Special Equipment Needed:

    round cookie cutter (I used 1 ½" round)
    fine tip paintbrush (use a paintbrush that is only used for food projects)

    Instructions:

    painting lines using black food coloring to make basketball cheese slices

    • Use a round cookie cutter to cut circles from cheese slices, deli meat, and bread (if using.)
      • If you are topping crackers with the cheese, use a round cutter that is the same size as the cracker.
    • Squeeze a few drops of black food coloring into a small bowl.
    • Use a fine-tip paintbrush to paint the black food coloring onto the cheese creating the seam lines of a basketball.
      • Depending on how you view a basketball, the seam lines look different. I created two different views.

    The surface of the cheese is so smooth that the paintbrush glides easily across the top and I was able to make nice even lines.

    I tried using a food coloring marker but found that it dried out as it went across the surface of the cheese and created streaks instead of lines.

    Just be sure to use a paintbrush that has only been used for food for this project and I recommend a very fine tip brush.

    Once you've created your cheese basketballs, you can arrange them on a serving platter, or do as I did and make little ham and cheese sandwiches.

    make ham and cheese sandwiches topped with cheese slices decorated to look like basketballs

    Mini basketball sandwiches

    • Assemble little sandwiches by topping a bread round or cracker with deli meat and a cheese slice.
    • Optional: spread some mayonnaise or mustard on the bread before topping it with meat and cheese.

    NOTE: If you make the cheese up ahead of your party, be sure to layer the slices with plastic wrap and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

    There are so many fun things you can do with this decorated cheese.

    round crackers and bread topped with ham and basketball cheese slices

    More March Madness Basketball Themed Food
    from Hungry Happenings

    cheeseburger topped with a slice of cheddar cheese decorated to look like a basketball
    Mini Cheeseburger with Basketball Cheese
     
     
    basketball bean dip
    Basketball Bean Dip with Basketball Tortilla Chips
     

    Basketball pinata cookies filled with Skittles are decorated with orange candy melts.

    Basketball Cookies filled with Candy

    • 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. Anonymous says

      April 07, 2013 at 6:02 pm

      Using a cookie cutter for the bread, cheese and deli meat would make this fool-proof. I initially thought you used a food marker, but thanks for the heads-up about that creating streaks.

      I'm going to start measuring crackers 🙂 as they usually look much bigger on the box and then I have to buy even more boxes to get the right size. We all know what happens when the crackers are not the right size for a project 🙂 That's why I like your idea of bread and the cookie cutter. Everything will match up perfectly.

      Tavette

      Reply
      • Beth Jackson Klosterboer says

        April 08, 2013 at 12:09 am

        You are right, Tavette. It is always hard to determine the size of crackers in a box. I've bought cookies and crackers only to find the size was not what I needed too.

        Reply
    2. 木不子 says

      October 24, 2012 at 8:00 am

      Thanks for sharing such cute idea. I shared one picture with link in my article, talking about ham and cheese creative ideas. The following is my article.
      http://www.cupcookstudio.com/2012/10/5-cheese-ham-yummy-ideas.html
      If there is anything offended, please leave me a message or write me an e-mail
      cupcook2009@gmail.com
      by Gloria from Taipei

      Reply
      • Beth Jackson Klosterboer says

        October 24, 2012 at 11:28 am

        Thank you for including my recipe in your post.

        Reply
    3. Khuram says

      April 18, 2012 at 7:35 am

      Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home a bit, but instead of that, this is great blog. An excellent read. I’ll certainly be back.spinre writer

      Reply
    4. hamza says

      March 20, 2012 at 7:51 pm

      Hi there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found that it’s really informative. I’m gonna watch out for brussels. I’ll appreciate if you continue this in future. A lot of people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!triglycerides diets

      Reply
    5. USMAN says

      October 08, 2011 at 7:32 pm

      this idea is very great appreciatable!Vertical Jump Bible

      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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