Best Baked Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip Recipe
Ingredients:
Instructions:
- 2 cups Extra-Sharp Cheddar cheese grated (divided)
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature; full fat, or Neufchatel is fine
- ¼ heaping cup cranberry sauce canned, leftover or make recipe below.
- ½ cup fresh cranberries may substitute with frozen, do not thaw
- ⅛-¼ teaspoon nutmeg fresh or ground (optional)
Instructions:
- Lightly spray a small 1 ½ quart baking dish with a little spray oil and preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C) (350° F (175° C) if using a convection oven).
- In a medium-large mixing bowl, stir together the cream cheese and 1 ¾ cups aged cheddar cheese until combined.
- If desired, grate some fresh nutmeg into the cheese mixture and combine, this is a taste preference. I like a little more, about ½ a teaspoon (ground may be substituted).
- Gently stir in the cranberry sauce and ½ cup reserved fresh cranberries, then spooning the cranberry mixture evenly into prepared baking dish, and top with remaining ¼ cup shredded cheddar. Baking 18-23 minutes (15 minutes if convection) until bubbly in the middle and the edges.
- Cover if needed with some foil (shiny side down) if browning too quickly.
- A few minutes before you are ready to pull it out of the oven, sprinkle remaining aged cheddar cheese on top and remove foil to brown a bit.
- Serve immediately with crostini, crackers or pita chips. If desired, grate a little more fresh grated nutmeg over the top.
Enjoy!