Ranch Cheese Ball - An Easy Poker Party Food Idea

This cheese ball is so easy to make that people are amazed it tastes so good. I've made it for several parties and gatherings, and every single time the plate was scraped clean. People literally ate every last bit of it. I like it so much that I sometimes make a smaller personal sized cheese ball just for myself, since I know there won't be any leftovers at the end of the night.

Ingredients:

2 blocks cream cheese (used regular or reduced fat, but not the fat free - it doesn't have the right texture)
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1 bottle of coarse ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Cut each block of cream cheese into several pieces, then put it in a bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds. You don't want to melt the cheese, but only make it soft enough to stir. If you get it too warm, step 3 will take longer.
2. Pour the entire packet of dressing mix into the cream cheese and stir it until evenly distributed. You can add a little pepper, too.
3. Put the cream cheese in the fridge for about 15-30 minutes so that it will firm up. It's much easier to roll it into a ball when it's firm. If you don't let it get cool enough, you'll just make a big mess.
4. Take a plate and cover it in a layer of the coarse ground black pepper.
5. Remove the cream cheese from the fridge and roll it into a giant ball.
6. Take the cream cheese ball and roll it around in the plate full of pepper. Keep rolling until the entire thing is covered.

It works great with most any kind of cracker, though Wheat Thins seems to be the cracker of choice. Since the cream cheese can be kind of thick, make sure you use a thicker cracker that won't break when people try to spread the cheese onto it. Some people just use the cracker as a knife, and that's fine, too!

Enjoy!