Special Sausage Balls

NO NOT LIKE THAT.

I grew up eating these sausage balls for *special* occasions. Christmas, birthdays, funerals (shit, I went there) – you get the gist. So when my husband & I moved into our first home we bought together in January 2019, it brought a major tear to my eye that my parents made us these sausage balls to eat together as we all unpacked the kitchen.

They require a lot of work, like anything that’s truly worth eating, and they freeze well, so BONUS! I’ve also decided to break tradition and make these sausage balls for baby showers, Father’s Day, tea parties, etc. – and ONLY for people who deserve to eat your effort, you feel me?

I use my KitchenAid stand mixer & this process goes by a WHOLE hell of a lot faster – but if you are the damn Hulk, then go ahead & mix this shit by hand – I dare you. I also use the flat beater since the mixture tends to gunk up & its easier to scrape the sides inbetween. Grate your cheddar cheese & set aside – but have it ready.

To make this mix as evenly as possible, I tend to do everything in halves and then mix very well at the end.

Instructions

· First cream your cream cheese, spices & 1 LB of your pork sausage and mix together on low – next, (going back & forth) I slowly spoon in ¾ cup of the Bisquick and then ¼ cup of the milk – be sure to scrape down the sides in-between with a spatula -- & please for the love of God, I sincerely hope you turn off your damn mixer while you are doing this.

· Next slowly drop in handfuls of your cheddar cheese, about half of what you grated, all while having your mixer on low.

· Now add the other 1 LB of hot sausage and continue to mix on low, adding your remaining ¾ cup of Bisquick and your other ¼ cup of milk, when it is getting sticky and combined, add in the last of your cheddar cheese. Give your mixture a last good scrape & stir with a wooden-handled spatula – trust, I’ve broken a couple plastic ones.

And you’re ready to roll out your sausage balls! Parchment paper works best, but if you only have tin foil, make sure to grease that shit generously.

· Oven needs to be at 400 degrees and the sausage balls will cook for 22-25 minutes. If they are frozen, no need to thaw those suckers! Just adjust your cooking time by another 3-5 minutes.

· They will be perfectly browned, crisp-bottomed & piping hot!

((If you have never made sausage balls before, well then shit – bless your heart. This mixture should be sticky, but not overly clumpy (you need a few TBS more milk) and not overly wet (you need ¼ cup more Bisquick) – you want to be able to grab a hunk & roll out a sausage ball the size of a golf ball, rather easily – I also wear gloves for this part because, ew.))