Cheese Christmas Trees
These cheese Christmas trees are the perfect Christmas appetizer that looks impressive but doesn't need a lot of effort and time. They can be a great festive addition to your holiday table!
Cheese triangles get coated in a colorful mixture of tart cranberries, crunchy walnuts, and fresh rosemary, then finished with a sweet and spicy drizzle. Feature these on your holiday grazing table with some spiced Christmas jam, crackers and all your other favorites!
I love how quickly these come together. There’s no cooking involved, and you can assemble them right before your guests arrive. They taste fantastic with pretty much anything, but especially with caramelized onion upside down tarts.
Plus, you can also experiment with the toppings and the drizzle- I've included some cool ideas and swaps for you here in the post!
Quick Look: Cheese Christmas Trees
- 🔪 Prep time: 15 mins.
- ⏲️ Cook time: None
- 👪 Servings: About 8–10 cheese trees.
- 📋 Main ingredients: Cheese triangles, cranberries, walnuts, rosemary, pretzel sticks, hot honey.
- ♨️ Cooking method: No-cook.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy.
- 🥣 Best served: As a Christmas appetizer, party snack, or addition to a holiday cheese board along with spiced pear butter and crackers.
Jump to recipe
What's So Great About This Recipe?
- There's no cooking involved, so these are incredibly easy to put together.
- They're individual sized and perfect for parties- like cream cheese stuffed dates.
- They are flavor and texture bombs- creamy, tart, sweet, spicy, crunchy and chewy all at the same time.
Recipe Ingredients
Cheese triangles: Use individually portioned cheese triangles that are firm enough to handle and coat. The triangular shape makes them perfect for turning into little Christmas trees.
Toppings: I used a mix of chopped dried cranberries for that beautiful color and chewy texture, some walnuts for that crunch and nutty flavor, and fresh rosemary for that festive feel.
Pretzel sticks: For the tree trunks. Snap them in half- that way, they'll be long enough to hold the cheese and still have that bit sticking out from the bottom.
Hot honey: To finish up, with that bit of sweet, spicy kick. I love using homemade habanero hot honey!
Substitutions & Variations
- Try small wedges of Brie, Camembert, goat cheese, or another firm soft cheese that can hold its shape if you can't find these cheese triangles.
- Swap the walnuts and try using other nuts like almonds, pistachios, or hazelnuts. I love using my orange candied almonds or cocoa dusted almonds whenever I have them at hand.
- A little finely grated orange zest would pair beautifully with the cranberries and rosemary.
- Use regular honey instead of hot honey if you're serving these to kids or don't want any heat. Another great idea is to use a milder, sweeter infused honey like orange infused honey.
How to Make Christmas Cheese Trees
Step 1: Combine chopped cranberries, walnuts and rosemary
Step 2: Carefully and gently push the halved pretzel
Step 3: Top with chopped cranberries, walnuts and rosemary
Step 4: Generously drizzle with hot honey
💭 Top Tip
Chop the cranberry, walnut, and rosemary mixture quite finely. Larger pieces can make it harder to coat the small cheese triangles evenly, while smaller pieces cling much more easily.
Tips and Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- Chop the cranberries, walnuts, and rosemary finely so they stick easily.
- Use cheese triangles that are firm enough to handle without falling apart. Insert the pretzel sticks gently to avoid breaking the cheese.
- Press the coating onto the cheese instead of aggressively rolling it.
- Chill the cheese briefly if it feels too soft to handle. Arrange the finished trees on the serving platter before adding the honey.
- Drizzle the hot honey shortly before serving, and make a few extra cheese trees in case some break during assembly.
How to Serve Cheese Christmas Trees
These little cheese trees are made for holiday entertaining! Arrange them on a large serving platter or Christmas charcuterie board alongside crackers, oven roasted grapes, fried stuffed olives, sliced apples, and homemade Boursin cheese.
They're also perfect as an appetizer before Christmas dinner. Arrange them around a bowl of crackers, butternut squash chips or other finger foods like pickled cherries or candied dates so guests can easily grab one. For a festive grazing table, make several batches and arrange the cheese trees together to create a little edible Christmas forest.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
Yes. You can assemble the cheese trees a few hours ahead and refrigerate them until you're ready to serve. Add the hot honey just before serving.
If you tried this cheese Christmas trees recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Cheese Christmas Trees
Ingredients
- 8 cheese triangles
- 4 pretzel sticks halved
- 2 tablespoon cranberries finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon walnuts chopped
- 2 tablespoon hot honey
- 1 tablespoon rosemary finely chopped
Instructions
- In a bowl Combine chopped cranberries, walnuts and rosemary
- Carefully and gently push the halved pretzel into the bottom part of the cheese triangle
- Place the tree trunk on a serving board and generously drizzle with hot honey
- Chill and serve with holiday-themed elements like rosemary sprigs or cranberries.
Notes
- Chop the coating ingredients finely so they adhere more easily to the cheese.
- Handle the cheese triangles gently when inserting the pretzel sticks.
- Regular honey can be used instead of hot honey for a milder version.
- Assemble the cheese trees ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Add the hot honey just before serving for the best presentation.
I tried this recipe. I used pecan nuts instead of walnuts as I only had those and it still worked out great. Thank you 🙂
Too good!