Often it’s the little things that are the most important. This holiday season, take the time to make your own little snacks and bites. Not only will they taste better than store-bought, you, your friends and family will appreciate them more because they were made with love. If you can conscript some help from visiting houseguests, all the better. You’ll be able to spend quality time together and make memories alongside your delicious creations. 

Two of these recipes, the brown butter spiced nuts and homemade taralli, also make great hostess gifts. Just pop them in a cellophane bag with a pretty bow. The others – cheesy stuffed mushrooms, pepper jelly turnovers, and roasted grape & boursin crostini – evoke the “fancy hors d’oeuvres” vibe, but really take no time at all. They are perfect for a special holiday dinner, or to tote to a friend’s dinner party. 

Sweet & Savory Brown Butter Mixed Nuts

This recipe is based off of the Rosemary Roasted Mixed Nuts from my cookbook. The brown butter, brown sugar, honey and salt are base that makes these nuts addictive. In place of rosemary in the original recipe, I’ve used a mix of spices to give the seasoning a sweet/savory contrast of flavors. If you like a little heat, add a teaspoon of Aleppo chili flakes to the mix.

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Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

It’s hard to find a more classic appetizer than stuffed mushrooms. With a zillion recipes out there to choose from, what makes these special? A creamy crab filling with a zing from a Japanese seasoning called Furikake. Made up of sesame seeds, toasted nori, and bonito flakes, it adds a subtle Asian vibe to these bites. Top them with crispy shallots for an irresistible crunch.

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Taralli

In 2017, our family took a trip to Puglia, the heel-shaped region in the south of Italy. It was the first time we tasted a cracker called taralli. Each night we’d sit on the patio of our hotel and order aperitivos (pre-dinner drinks), and with them arrived dishes of olives, cheese, and these diminutive crackers that we came to know very well. In the years since, they’ve become more common in the U.S., and can be found in many grocery stores and most Italian specialty stores. But, here’s a secret. They are easy to make on your own, and with a yeasted dough flavored with white wine and extra virgin olive oil, far superior than store-bought. Make sure to use a good extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.

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Rosemary Roasted Grapes & Boursin Crostini

Roasting grapes concentrates their sweetness and softens their flesh. They are an excellent accompaniment to a type of spreadable, garlicky cheese called Boursin. The cheese is mixed with a bit of milk to make it creamier and easy to spread, then it is layered with the unctuous rosemary roasted grapes and topped with a generous drizzle of honey. If you want to get ahead, the grapes can be roasted, cooled and stored in your refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the crostini.

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Flaky Pepper Jelly Cheese Puffs

Cream cheese and pepper jelly is a classic appetizer in the southern U.S. The cream cheese is a blank slate, offering only its richness and slight tangy flavor to compliment sweet & spicy pepper jelly. It’s tough to beat, but easy to riff upon. I’ve swapped out traditional cream cheese for the more elevated flavor of goat cheese, which also holds up better under the heat of the oven as it bakes inside puff pastry. Convenient and easy to use, store-bought puff pastry provides a buttery flaky vessel to deliver the goods.

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