Garlic Cheese Pumpkin Shaped Spread

Pumpkin Shaped Garlic and Cheese Spread. Perfect for Halloween or Thanksgiving!

Randy and I were blessed with a quiet kid free weekend. My kids flew to Oregon to visit their family and attend an early halloween party. The party was circus themed. I am scared of clowns, so to say the least, I know the pictures are going to freak me out when they show me. Any way. I had a full fridge and a weekend "off" from having to feed everyone. Doesn't mean I didn't still get creative in my kitchen. I wanted to do some sort of cheese spread for us to enjoy with a glass of red wine, for a quiet nice relaxing day.  Why not make it seasonal? I have seen various pumpkin shaped spreads, but most of them use gluten filled cheese crackers as the coating on the outside. I used paprika. I used Wyle's gluten free pretzels for the stem and parsley for the leaves. The spread is very yummy and if you are not in the mood to be creative, it will taste just as good inside a serving dish. Here is how I did mine.

1 tsp butter
1 TBSP chopped garlic
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp sugar
1/8 cup butter
4 oz cream cheese

For Garnish:

Pretzels
Parsley
Paprika
Gf Crackers

Melt 2 teaspoons butter in small skillet until sizzling; add garlic and sugar.

Cook over medium–high heat, stirring constantly, until garlic just starts to brown (3 to 5 minutes). Immediately remove from heat.

Combine garlic mixture and all remaining spread ingredients in large bowl.

Beat at medium speed until creamy. Shape cheese mixture into pumpkin shape with hands. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour.

Garnish with pretzel, parsley for stem and leaves. Sprinkle with Paprika.

Serve with your favorite Gluten Free Crackers. I used Crunchmasters 7 ancient grains gluten free cracked pepper and herb crackers.