We have all seen that preverbal cheese ball covered in nuts sitting in the center of a plate surrounded by crackers. This is not that, whew! Small bites sized creamy cheese balls surrounded by tea glazed pecans. Your palate is sure to enjoy this creamy, crunchy, salty yet sweet bite. One of the wonderful things about this recipe is it can be adapted to your tastes. The possibilities are endless.

8 oz Goat cheese (substitute: cream cheese or mascarpone cheese)
1 ½ cup finely chopped roasted salted pecans (substitute: almonds, pistachios, walnuts)
¼ cup strongly steeped Irish breakfast tea (substitute any tea that will pair well with the ingredients you are using)
1/8 cup bakers’ sugar

In a non-stick sauce pan over slightly more than medium heat place your chopped nuts. Sprinkle the sugar over the top and toss to coat. Allow the nuts and sugar to cook for about 1 minute or until the sugar has become translucent on the nuts. Pour on 1-3 tablespoons of your tea, just enough tea to coat all the nuts, but do not let them get too wet. Cook the nuts while constantly stirring for about 1-2 minutes. The liquid should be completely dissolved and your nuts will be sticking together a bit.

Place the nuts onto a plastic cutting board and chop immediately. It is necessary to chop the nuts before the sugar hardens too much. The purpose of chopping the nuts is to keep them from clumping up because of the glaze thus ensuring they are the right size to coat your cheese bites. Roll your cheese into balls the size of a grape. Roll your cheese balls into the cooled nuts coating all sides.

This recipe makes enough for 4-6 people but can be adjusted quite easily for whatever size party you wish to throw.

See more of Janet Sanchez’s articles here.

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