Almond Pine Cones

Almond Pine Cones

I wish I knew who to credit for this recipe. My mom pulled it out of one of her magazines ages ago. I have long since lost the picture but I know how to make this. The cheese ball itself is pretty tasty. The fun part is using toasted almonds on the outside to look like a pine cone. You can dress it up with greens if you like.

Almond Pine Cones

1¼ c. whole un-blanched almonds

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

½ c. mayonnaise

5 slices crisp bacon or turkey bacon, crumbled

1 T. chopped green onion

½ t. dill weed

1/8 t. pepper

Place almonds on baking sheet and toast in a 300-degree oven for 15 minutes. Cool and set aside. Combine remaining ingredients and form into an oval (sort of almond shaped) on a serving dish. Starting at the bottom of the oval start laying down almonds at an angle until cheese is covered. The idea is to make the cheese mixture look like a pine cone*. Decorate with a sprig of greenery (real or fake) if you like. Serve with crackers.

* You can also divide the mixture in half and make 2 smaller pine cones. Also very pretty.