This bacon cheddar Hatching Chick Cheese Ball will brighten up your Easter dinner table. Your whole family will love this cute Easter cheese ball chick decorated with cheese slice eyes, feet, wings, a beak, and cracked eggshells.
Cut one slice of white cheese into the top half of a cracked eggshell.
Cut another slice into the bottom half of the cracked eggshell.
Cut two 1 ½-inch circles, and two ½-inch circles out of another slice of white cheese.
Brush black food coloring over the small ½-inch cheese circles to create the pupils for the hatching chick's eyes. Alternatively, you can use the ends of a black olive instead.
Cut one 1-inch triangle (beak), two 1 ½-inch triangles (feet), and two 2-inch wings from the orange cheese.
Cut the two larger triangles into chicken feet by cutting two notches out of each triangle.
Brush orange food coloring over the beak and feet.
You could use carrots or sweet potatoes to make the beak and feet if you don't want to use orange food coloring.
Blend together the softened cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and bacon until smooth and creamy.
If desired, mix in one or two of the optional ingredients to flavor the cheese ball.
Lay a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper on your countertop.
Sprinkle a thin layer of cheddar cheese in a 4 ½-inch wide by 6 ½-inch long egg shape on the plastic wrap.
Reserve a tablespoon of cheese ball mixture to use to attach the decorations, then shape the rest into a 4 ½-inch wide by 6 ½-inch long egg and place it on top of the shredded cheese.
Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over the middle of the egg-shaped cheese ball leaving about an inch or so uncovered at the top and bottom of the cheese ball.
Insert the two cheese-shaped wings on either side of the cheese ball chick.
Spread a thin layer of cheese ball mixture over the backside of the cheese slice decorations and attach them to the cheese ball. Add the cracked eggshells at the top and bottom, a beak in the middle, and two white eyes with black pupils over the top edge of the beak.
Cut two long strips of white cheese from the final slice to press onto the cheese ball below the cracked shells to finish off the edges. Add shredded cheese to any uncovered spots on the edges of the cheese ball.
Move the Easter cheese ball to a serving platter.
Serve with crackers.
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a day before serving. To keep the cheese decorations from getting sticky and wet, set a paper towel under the lid of your airtight container so that it does not touch the cheese ball.
Allow the cold cheese ball to rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes to soften slightly before serving.
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