Caramel Apple Cheese Ball

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This Caramel Apple Cheese Ball is cream cheese, grated apple, caramel sauce and apple pie spice, rolled in crushed pretzels. It is a dessert cheese ball, so you serve it with apple slices and graham crackers instead of crackers and summer sausage.

Ten minutes, one bowl, no oven. It is the sweet one on the table next to the savory ones from my cheese ball recipes.

Below: what goes in it, how to keep it from getting soft, what to dip, how far ahead you can make it, and a few easy swaps. The recipe card is at the bottom.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a commission when anything is bought. This is at no additional cost to you. 

What Is a Dessert Cheese Ball?

Same idea as a regular cheese ball, a ball of cream cheese with a crunchy coating, but sweet instead of savory. This one tastes like a caramel apple. The pretzel coating keeps it from being too sweet, and it gives you the salty crunch.

Ingredients

• Cream cheese: two blocks. Full fat holds its shape better than light.
• Apple: one large apple, grated with the peel on. A firm, crisp apple like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith holds up best.
• Caramel sauce: jarred is fine.
• Powdered sugar: sweetens it without any grit.
• Apple pie spice: or cinnamon with a pinch of nutmeg.
• Crushed pretzels: for the outside.

Tips So It Holds Its Shape

• Start with cold cream cheese and soften it with the mixer instead of leaving it on the counter. Warm cream cheese turns into dip.
• Squeeze some of the juice out of the grated apple with a paper towel. Extra juice makes it soft.
• Shape it in plastic wrap. Line a bowl with two layers of wrap, drop the mixture in, and twist it into a ball.
• Chill it before you add the pretzels if it feels soft.
• Roll it in the pretzels right before serving so they stay crunchy.

What to Serve With a Caramel Apple Cheese Ball

• Sweet: apple slices, graham crackers, vanilla wafers, Biscoff cookies.
• Salty: pretzel sticks, pretzel crisps, plain crackers.

Toss the apple slices in a little lemon juice or lemon-lime soda so they do not brown while they sit out.

Make Ahead and Storage

You can mix and shape it a day ahead. Keep it wrapped in the fridge and add the pretzel coating right before you serve it. Leftovers go back in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days. The pretzels will soften, so scrape them off and re-roll if it matters to you.

Easy Variations

• Nutty: roll it in chopped pecans or walnuts instead of pretzels, or half and half.
• Toffee: stir toffee bits into the cream cheese.
• Mini cheese balls: scoop it into small balls for a party tray.
• Extra caramel: drizzle more caramel over the top right before serving.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

A few questions before you make it.

Make It a Meal

Main Dish: Apple and Pork Chops in the Crockpot

Vegetable Side: Roasted Cauliflower Steaks

Starch Side: Butternut Squash Fries

Drink: Alcohol-Free Mint Grapefruit Mimosa

Shop My Printables

These printables are great for meal planning and organizing! Simply click the image to check out my shop products!

More Cheese Balls and Appetizers

• Bacon Jalapeno Cheese Ball
• Sweet Pineapple Cheese Ball
• Appetizers and Recipes for Your Next Party
• Apple Crumble Cheesecake Bites
• Chili Cheese Dip
• Jalapeno Popper Dip

This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a commission when anything is bought. This is at no additional cost to you. 

Werther’s Original Chewy Caramel Candy, 5 Oz Bags (Pack of 12)Torani Puremade Sauce, Caramel, 16.5 Ounces(Pack of 4)Ghirardelli Caramel Flavored Sauce 16 oz. Squeeze Bottle (Pack of 2)

 

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