We all know what’s this Sunday. Yep, it’s here. The Superbowl. I’m not a football person, but my fiance absolutely loves it. I pretty much watch it in the background, but other than the commercials and food it’s not really my deal. However, with that being said it’s always fun to spend time with friends and family and that’s kind of what it’s all about anyhow! Of course you’ll need to feed some of the people you’re spending time with, and appetizers area  great way to do that! That’s why today I’m showing you how to make these Firecracker Cream Cheese Ball Bites!

These Firecracker Cream Cheese Ball Bites are actually a combination of two FABULOUS recipes from near the holidays. While they’re awesome by themselves frankly this is even better! My mom got this cracker recipe at one of her last bunco games near December and really if you keep the crackers whole they’re great to munch on out of the bag on their own! The cream cheese filling that the ball bites are made out of  is actually the same cheese log recipe that my aunt makes at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Cheese log was always one of my favorite parts of the holiday season and I’m pretty good at polishing off about a third of one with whatever crackers are handy.

One of the parts about this recipe that ROCKS is that there’s no actual cooking – you’re just combining stuff together. The one caveat that is so important to remember is that the cheese log mixture does take 24 hours in the fridge to set up and get the right consistency.

To make the cheese log for the inside of the ball bites you’ll need to place the softened cream cheese, vegetable soup mix, garlic powder, salt and grated cheese in a bowl.

Then you can mix it. I just used my hands and did more of a kneading motion to make sure everything was well distributed. Next I set the cream cheese log mixture in the fridge.

To make the cracker mixture place 1 sleeve of crackers in a gallon bag.

Next, add the canola oil.

Season the crackers with red pepper flakes and red chile powder.

Now add one package of dry ranch dressing mix.

Shake the bag vigorously for a few minutes until everything is well mixed.

Now you can use your hands (I used a bottle of pam) and crunch the crackers up. Leave them in the bag to sit until you put the Firecracker Cream Cheese Ball Bites together.

After the cream cheese mixture has firmed up (this takes 24 hours) then section off some of it with a spoon and form it into a ball in your hands.

Now you’ll need to impress the Firecracker bits onto the outside of the ball. I did this with both of my hands, but you could probably also do them in bulk by placing all the cream cheese balls into the bag.

Next you’ll take a pretzel stick and place it in the center.

You’re all the way done, now you just have to enjoy!

What are some of your favorite no-cook Superbowl recipes? I have some other favorites for Sunday that are pretty easy like chips, salsa and queso!

Firecracker Cream Cheese Balls

Ingredients

Cheese Log Mixture

• 1 (8 oz) Package of Cream Cheese
• 1/2 Packet of Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix
• 1/4 teaspoon of Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
• 1 Cup of Grated Cheese

Firecrackers

• 1 Sleeve of Crackers
• 1 1/2 Cups of Canola Oil
• 1 Heaping Tablespoon of Chile Powder
• 1 Heaping Tablespoon of Red Chile Flakes
• 1 (1 oz) Packet of Dry Ranch Mix

Instructions

1. Combine 8 oz package of cream cheese, half of the packet of knorr vegetable soup mix, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1 cup of grated cheese mixing until cheese and knorr vegetable soup mix is well distributed.
2. Place covered cheese ball mix in refrigerator for 24 hours.
3. Place sleeve of crackers in gallon size bag. Add 1 1/2 cups of canola oil. Season the crackers with 1 heaping tablespoon of red chile flakes and 1 heaping tablespoon of chile powder. Dump in dry ranch mix.
4. Shake the gallon bag vigorously to combine all of the ingredients.
5. Crush the crackers until they are in small pieces.
6. Roll a ball of the cream cheese mix together. Coat it with the firecracker bits.
7. Insert a pretzel stick into the center of the cheese ball.
8. Serve and Enjoy these Firecracker Cream Cheese Bites!

Thanks for reading!

Lauren