Blue Cheese Balls

Touch of blue

Earlier this summer we visited the adorable Samish Bay Cheese. It’s a lovely farm out in Bow, Washington, and we had the pleasure of picking up some of their Touch of blue cheese balls. They are Samish Bay Cheese’s Vache (cream cheese) with Blue Cheese, coated with dried fruits and nuts. And these little blue cheese bites were delicious!

I added them to a couple of cheese plates for dinner. We had also picked up some bread from Breadfarm in Edison, as well as more cheese from the farm, homemade blueberry jam, and creamed honey. Our cheese plates were awesome!

I decided that I needed to recreate this blue cheese appetizer for you because it was so good and so simple to make. So, I guess that this is my copycat version of the Samish Bay Cheese Touch of blue (which I think I nailed!!).

More PNW recipes

I just love the food of the Pacific Northwest. In fact, I’ve done several recipes from here. Check out my Brown Butter Salted Cookies, How to cook Dungeness Crab, Smoked Salmon Pizza, and Smoked Salmon Pate.

How to make

I wanted to mimic the cheese balls from the cheese shop as closely as possible, so the ingredients and methods are super simple. You don’t even have to cook anything. This also allows the blue cheese to shine!

Cheeses

Trim off the rind of the Cambozola blue cheese. And, really, I think that the Cambozola is the best cheese to use here. It’s soft and creamy, and the flavor is great. And, if the blue cheese is a little more or a little less than 7 ounces, that will be just fine, as the wedges are usually different in size.

What is Cambozola, you ask? Well, besides being my favorite blue cheese…

Cambozola is a German semi-soft cheese known for its soft triple-cream texture, delicate blue veining, and a rind similar to Camembert. It’s a mild, buttery “blue brie” created by adding extra cream and blue mold to a soft-ripened cheese base, resulting in a flavor that’s well balanced and blends the richness of brie and the subtle tang of blue cheese like Gorgonzola.

Room temperature cheese is the secret to a smooth and spreadable cheese ball, so let both the cream cheese and the blue cheese come to room temp. Room temperature cheese is easier to mix and will help the ball stick together.

Simply mix together the two cheeses. This can be done in a food processor (my preferred method here), using a hand mixer, or by hand. You want a smooth creamy mixture.

Toast the nuts

Toasted pecans will have so much added flavor, it’s worth the effort to toast them. And really, this just takes a few minutes. Or, if you want you can buy already toasted pecans from the store.

To toast pecans in the oven, spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet, preheat the oven to 350° F, and bake for 5–10 minutes. I like to bake them in my counter top toaster oven. Remove the pecans once they’re lightly golden and fragrant. Allow them to cool on a separate baking sheet to prevent continued cooking from the residual heat.

Get chopping and rolling

Take the toasted pecans and chop them together with the dried blueberries and dried cranberries until they’re nice and finely chopped. Place the mixture in a shallow bowl.

Use a cookie dough scoop to make nice even sized balls of the cheese mixture. Dropping the scooped cheese into the chopped fruits and nuts. Roll the cheese mixture around int the fruits and nuts, shaping the ball as you roll it.

Cheese can also be scooped with spoons and rolled by hand if you don’t have cookie dough scoops. If the cheese mixture is too soft to roll immediately after mixing, refrigerate it for a couple of hours to help it firm up a bit.

Place the rolled balls on a parchment paper lined tray.

Recipe makes 7 medium balls, 14 mini balls, or one large ball.

Balls can be served right away, or place them in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.

If they have been refrigerated, let them sit on the counter for 15 to 20 minutes before serving, so the cheese softens.

Storage

Cambozola cheese typically lasts for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator after it’s been opened; always be sure to check the sell by date for more indicators of how long it will last.

To maximize freshness, wrap the balls tightly in wax paper or parchment paper, and store them in an airtight container to prevent drying out.

Serving suggestions

These are a welcome addition to all holiday parties, cocktail parties, Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas open house, and summer evening shindigs.

These paid well with wine. Try a semi-dry Riesling or a late harvest wine. For a red wine, try a fruity Pinot Noir.

I love adding these to a simple charcuterie board or cheese plate with bread, crackers, fruit, and veggies.

• Bread and crackers: Raincoast crisps are my favorite, and they even have a blueberry flavor that goes perfectly. Water crackers and buttery crackers are all great. Slices of baguettes are also lovely.
• Fruit: add some apple slices, berries like blackberries and raspberries, and pears to your plate
• Veggies: try cucumber slices, celery, carrot sticks, and baby zucchini

Changes

There are lots of ways to customize this recipe. Try it first, the way it’s written, but then feel free to use it as a base for experimentation.

Use goat cheese instead of cream cheese for a tangy flavor and less lactose.

Roll the balls into your favorite dried fruits or toasted nuts. Try dried apples, dates, figs, raisins, or apricots. Swap the pecans with almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, or pistachios.

Add some fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme to either the cheese filling or the coating.

More blue cheese recipes

Do you like blue cheese? I’m guessing you do if you’re on this recipe! Check out my Blue Cheese with fig preserves and candied pecans, Blue Cheese Spinach Walnut Sauce that’s great for pasta or chicken, and Tofu with Broccoli and Blue Cheese Salad.