Holiday Tree ~ Shaped Cheese Ball

Fun and easy, eye ~ catching way to serve a holiday cheese ball. The best news? You can make it up to a month in advance!
 

3 ~ 8 ounces package of  cream cheese or light cream cheese or fat free cream cheese, softened
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese ~ about 16 ounces
2 tablespoons basil pesto
1 tablespoon grated onion
1/4 teaspoon yellow mustard
Red pepper sauce
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley or cilantro
1/4 cup pine nuts or sliced almonds
2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper
a piece of lemon peel  1 inch square ~ cut into a star shape

Assorted crackers

Stir together cream cheese and Cheddar cheese; divide in half. Stir pesto into 1 half of cream cheese; stir onion, mustard and 2 or 3 drops pepper sauce into the other half of the cream cheese. Cover each half; refrigerate about 4 hours or until firm enough to shape.
Place cheese mixtures on cookie sheet. Shape each half into cone shape to look like a pine tree. You will have 2 trees
If desired, wrap each tree, label and freeze up to 1 month. Twelve hours before serving, remove trees from freezer. Thaw in wrapper in refrigerator.
Just before serving, roll trees in parsley, gently pressing it evenly onto trees and set in the center of a pretty serving plate. Press pine nuts onto the tree in a string form for garland. Press bell pepper pieces onto trees for ornaments. Top each tree with star shape cut from lemon peel. Serve with crackers. Makes:2 trees ~ 7 cups of spread, easily doubled for more trees or snowmen to go long with the tree.