Olive Balls

These Olive Balls are a holiday entertaining MUST! Olives wrapped in a buttery cheddar cheese pastry…they couldn’t be easier or more delicious. Your guests will love them!

It’s just a few days til Christmas! Say what?! Honestly, I feel like Thanksgiving was yesterday. I’ve been so busy holed up in my kitchen cranking out cookies like a boss, December’s passing me by! Just like that….WHOOSHHH and it’ll be ovah!

Right now, I’m in full entertaining mode. YASSSS! My favorite part of the holiday season….well, besides the cookies. So to make things easier, I spent this past weekend making some of my favorite appetizers and throwing them in the freezer, so when I need ’em, I can pop ’em out, enjoy the party and still look like the hostess with the mostess!

Honestly, I can’t believe I haven’t shared these Olive Balls with you guys yet. I’ve been enjoying these since I was a kid. My mom, the original hostess with the mostess, made these every holiday season. She’d get all of us to help and we’d make dozens to throw in Ziplocs in the freezer, so when friends would drop by unexpected, we always had something to serve with cocktails.

How to Make these Olive Balls

These olives balls couldn’t be easier to make.

First, you drain your olives and place them on a paper towel on the kitchen counter. You’ll use another paper on top of them to roll them around and dry them as best you can.

In a medium bowl, you will whisk together your flour, salt and cayenne until well combined and then set it aside. You will beat the butter until it’s soft and creamy and then add your shredded cheese. At this point you will add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until a soft cohesive dough forms.

You’ll wrap the dough in small portions around each olive until the olive is totally covered and place the finished olives on a parchment lined baking sheet. Once all the olives are done being wrapped you can put the tray in your freezer until they’re frozen solid. After the freezing period you can either bake or put in a large freezer bag for later.

I love to have these on hand for unexpected company not just during the holiday season, but all year long.

If you’re an olive fan you’re going to LOVE these, because they’re covered in a buttery cheddar cheese pastry that’s to die for. I always opt for the larger queen olives, so they’re more of a mouthful. And I usually double or triple the recipe so I have a good stash in my freezer. They’ll keep right through New Year’s too! That is if they last that long!

Please let me know if you give the recipe a try. And if you have any questions about the recipe, just drop a comment below. Enjoy!

Olive Balls

Author: MaryAnn Dwyer

Servings: 26 olives

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These Olive Balls are a holiday entertaining MUST! Olives wrapped in a buttery cheddar cheese pastry...they couldn't be easier or more delicious. Your guests will love them!

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 14 mins

Total Time 34 mins

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1/2 cup (one stick) butter
• 2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 24-26 large Queen pimento stuffed olives

Instructions

 

• Drain olives in a strainer. Lay out on paper towels and rub the tops with another paper towel to dry.
• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Beat butter until creamy. Add cheese until well combined.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and cayenne. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture until well combined.
• Cover each olive with dough until totally covered. Place on a large baking sheet and freeze for about one to two hours. (If you're using these for later, freeze until frozen solid and then you can add the olive balls to a large freezer bag for later use. I always have a stash in my freezer for unexpected guests.)
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place desired amount of olives on tray and bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned.

Notes

You can really use any size olive you'd like. It will just affect how many finished olive balls you end up with.

You will need to lay your olives out on paper towels to let them dry before wrapping them with the cheddar cheese dough.

Nutrition

Calories: 116kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 104mg | Potassium: 33mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 0.3g | Vitamin A: 236IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Keyword: appetizer, cheddar cheese, cheddar cheese pastry dough, game day, holiday, olives

Cuisine: American

Course: Appetizer

Before your first bite, snap a photo and share!If you make this recipe, I'd love to see! Be sure to follow thebeachhousekitchen on Instagram and tag Mention @thebeachhousekitchen or tag #thebeachhousekitchen!

Updated: This post was first published here in December 2016. I decided it was worthy of a re-share so you could make these tasty little bites for your holiday cocktail party this year too. I’ve updated some of the content and added some notes to the post above.