These are the 8 very best Christmas snacks
The focus during the Christmas dinner is always on the starter, main course, and dessert. But do you know what might be even more important? The snacks. Yes, you heard that right. I actually find those bites more important. Those bites are the first thing your guests see as they trickle in and the last before they, much later than planned, walk out the door. I don’t know what your Christmas looks like, but my guests are really there longer than just those three hours during dinner, so I always make sure I have enough treats. What can you serve then? Well, a lot. Whether you want sweet or savory bites, I’ll help you with some inspiration. These snacks are so delicious and fun that you’ll want to make them right away:
1. Apple Wreath Puff Pastries
Apple and puff pastry, what’s not to love? An apple turnover might be the standard, but these apple wreath puff pastries are so much more fun to serve during Christmas. This is ideal if you’re looking for something quick to make, so pay attention:
Ingredients for nine wreaths:
- 3 large apples
- 3 large sheets of puff pastry that you can roll out
- 1 egg
- Icing sugar
- Mint leaves
- Raspberries
The preparation:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Slice the apples into thin slices and remove the core with a round cutter. This can be anything you want: a wine bottle cap, an apple corer, a shot glass – whatever you like. Roll out your puff pastry and let it thaw a little. Cut it into long strips of 1.5 centimeters. One such puff pastry strip you roll around your apple from the inside. First, pass it through the hole and wrap it around until it’s all used up and your apple is covered. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Beat the egg in a bowl with a fork or whisk briefly and brush the apple wreaths with it. Bake for 20 minutes until they are golden brown. Let them cool for a bit and then comes the fun part: decorating. Place a raspberry on the top left and press it lightly into the pastry. Place a mint leaf on the left and right of the raspberry. This way it looks just like a real Christmas wreath. Sprinkle some icing sugar over it and they are ready to serve.
@dietitianrose Easy Christmas Dessert 🎅👇 APPLE WREATH PASTRIES Ingredients (makes ~9 wreaths) 3 large red apples 3 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed 1 egg, lightly whisked Icing sugar, to dust Mint leaves, to serve Raspberries, to serve To serve (optional) Custard or Ice-cream 1. Prep the apples: Preheat oven to 180°C (fan-forced). Slice each apple horizontally into 3 even rings (depending on the size of your apple, about 1.5 cm thick). Use an oil cap, small lid, or cookie cutter to remove the core from each slice. 2. Prepare the pastry: Cut the puff pastry into long strands/ribbons approximately 1–1.5 cm thick. Working with one strand at a time, wrap the pastry around each apple ring, slightly overlapping as you go to create a wreath shape. Depending on the size of your apples, you may need more or less pastry than specified. Place the wrapped apple wreaths onto a lined baking tray and brush with egg wash. 3. Bake: Bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the apples are tender (this may vary depending on your oven). Allow to cool slightly before serving. 4. Serve: Dust with icing sugar and enjoy warm. Delicious with warm custard, Greek yoghurt, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
2. Pesto Christmas Trees
We’re still on puff pastry, because this is also a snack that you really have to make. What’s more Christmas than a Christmas tree? Nothing. And if it also contains cheese and pesto, then I can’t resist. These are the kinds of bites where you eat one and then can’t stop for the rest of the evening. So sorry if you eat five of these, but we’re going to explain how to make them anyway.
Ingredients for 13 Christmas trees:
- 2 large sheets of puff pastry
- 2 jars of pesto
- 2 bags of grated mozzarella
- 1 egg
- Skewers
The preparation:
This is really the easiest puff pastry snack ever. Start by preheating your oven to 200 degrees and soaking your wooden skewers in water. You do this because otherwise they can burn (yes, it’s still wood). Then roll out a sheet of puff pastry. Generously spread it with green pesto. Sprinkle as much mozzarella as you want over it and place another sheet of puff pastry on top. Now we’re going to cut out two parts: long vertical strips that will become the Christmas tree and a horizontal strip from which you will cut small stars. Cut a horizontal line about five centimeters thick at the top of your sheet. Leave this and then start cutting vertical strips. These will go over your entire sheet, including the part you just cut off. Pick up the vertical strip in your hand and ‘swirl’ it in a twisting, zigzagging motion until you have a Christmas tree-like shape. Thread a skewer through it and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cut a star out of the leftover puff pastry and thread it on top of your Christmas tree. Beat 1 egg in a bowl briefly and brush the Christmas trees with it. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until they are golden brown. Whether you serve them warm or cold – these are always a hit.
@dishedbykate How cute are these little cheesy pesto puff pastry Christmas trees!? 😍🎄We’re already at Day 8 of my 24 Days of Christmas Party Appetizer series and this one is v lovely. They’re also ready in less than 30 mins 💕 I’ve seen the sweet Nutella ones doing the rounds for years – and while Nutella is always an excellent choice – as a savory girlie through and through, gooey cheese and herby pesto was always going to win for me. And the green makes them even more fun and festive 💃 Prep ahead? Easy peasy!! Assemble the trees, cover and chill overnight, then bake fresh the next day 👌 Or, freeze the unbaked trees and bake them straight from frozen. You’ll find the recipe up on dishedbykate.com (linked in my bio for ease – tap on the ’24 Days of Christmas Party Appetizers’ button for the up to date recipe list), or Google ‘dished by kate pesto trees’ xx #christmasfood #appetizers #partyfood #christmasrecipes
3. Chocolate Brownie Pine Cones
You can’t have Christmas without pine cones. You see them in the Christmas tree and on the street, so yes, how can we make this list without brownie pine cones? They may be a bit rich, but that’s okay for these showstoppers. Curious how to make them? Read on.
Ingredients for 6 pine cones:
- 112 grams 35% cocoa chocolate
- 113 grams unsalted butter
- 15 grams cocoa powder
- 5 grams instant coffee or espresso powder
- 3 eggs
- 250 grams sugar
- Two teaspoons vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
- 120 grams of flour
- 175 grams milk chocolate chips
- Cocopops (chocolate cornflakes)
- Icing sugar
The preparation:
Brownies always go well with me, so with these you’ll score at the Christmas dinner. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees and start on your batter. Melt the dark chocolate in a bain-marie. Once melted, add the cocoa powder and instant coffee. Mix this well and let it cool. In another bowl, mix the eggs and sugar. Then add the vanilla extract and salt. Then mix in the cooled chocolate mixture. Add the chocolate chips and stir them well. Pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake for 25 minutes. Let it cool for about 2 hours before you actually make the pine cones.
Cut off the hard top layer. You can snack on this or save it for later. Remove the rest of your brownies from the baking dish and crumble them in a bowl. Then take a handful of brownie crumbs and roll them into a ball. Shape the top with your fingers to create a pear-like shape. Let them cool for 30 minutes in the fridge before serving and grab your cornflakes. Use an image of a pine cone as inspiration and stick the cornflakes from bottom to top into the ball, following the pattern of the pine cone. Dust them with icing sugar and serve them on a green plate with some pine branches for the best effect.
@thefitlondoner Choc pine cones !!🌲🍫🌟 So fun to make and so fun to eat, too. They travelled really well and went down a treat at the @raybanmeta Friendmas last night which was so bloomin’ fun. Essentially our content creator / self employed Christmas party full of games and laughter – loved it 💌 The recipe for the chocolate cake is on p. 184 of my cookbook, which is available via the link ♥️ #healthyish #festivebaking
4. Christmas Wreath Sausage Rolls
Sausage rolls are always delicious, so how fun is this sausage star? Everyone can just grab their own piece: that’s very practical. And tasty. I know what I’m going to eat this Christmas. Is this difficult? Not at all. You’ll have this done in no time.
Ingredients for the wreath with 11 sausage rolls:
- 400 grams of pork mince
- Two large sheets of puff pastry
- Cranberries
- 1 egg
- Pecan nuts and almonds
- Sesame seeds
- Cranberry jam
The preparation:
Chop the pecan nuts and almonds into smaller pieces. Mix these in a bowl with the minced meat and the cranberries. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees and grab a baking sheet. Place baking paper on it and roll out a large sheet of puff pastry. Spread the cranberry jam generously in the middle of your sheet. Place the meat on top and shape it into a round sausage-like form. Lightly beat 1 egg and brush this over the sides of the puff pastry around the sausage. Carefully roll it up so that you have a large roll of puff pastry. Cut about 11 openings in your roll; this creates that beautiful wreath shape. Now gently shape the roll into a circle so that all the ‘bites’ stick out. Brush the whole thing with egg and sprinkle some sesame seeds over it. Bake for 20 minutes until the puff pastry is golden brown. Carefully transfer it to a nice platter and place a bowl of sauce in the middle of the circle. This way, people can grab from it and dip it straight into the sauce. This can actually be done with anything you want.
@dishedbykate Show-stopping, festive and prep-ahead friendly – this GORG festive sausage roll wreath is my kind of appetizer It’s Day 12 of my 24 Days of Christmas Party Appetizer series, and this one is a forever fave!! – Looks super impressive. – Is secretly v easy. – Can be prepped in advance (even frozen if needed!) – Is ALWAYS a crowd-pleaser. Is there anything better?? I’ve loaded up the sausage meat with festive dried cranberries, pistachios (or pecans and almonds), and fresh sage, and served it with a very tart cranberry sauce for dipping (sweet chili jam is excellent here too). The full recipe is up on dishedbykate.com (linked in my bio for ease – just tap on the ’24 Days of Christmas Party Appetizers’ button for the up to date list), or you can Google ‘dished by kate sausage roll wreath’ xx #partyfood #appetizers #christmasfood #sausage roll
5. Chili cheese shortbread stars
Savory cookies, who wouldn't want that? Buttery cheese cookies are what I want. I'm already looking forward to it, so I can assure you: your guests will too. This is something different on your snack board.
Ingredients for +/- 25 chili cheese bites:
- 100 grams grated cheddar
- 50 grams Parmesan cheese
- 50 grams Gruyere cheese
- 210 grams unsalted cold butter
- Pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
- 220 grams flour
- 1 tablespoon starch
The preparation:
Do you love cheese? Then this is your recipe. Start by grating all the cheese. This can be done in your food processor or with a grater, whichever you prefer. Put it in a bowl and set it aside for later, because we will start with the dough. In a bowl, mix the flour, starch, chili flakes, thyme, cold butter in pieces, and fresh rosemary sprigs. Mix it until you get a soft dough. It should stick together and look a bit messy. If it’s too dry, you can add some extra cold water. Is it too greasy? Then add some flour. Clean your countertop and sprinkle it with flour. Roll out your dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 4 centimeters. Cut them yourself or use a cookie cutter to get stars. Roll out the scraps again and cut out new stars. Do you notice that your dough is too sticky? Then you can wrap it in cling film, roll it up, and let it rest in the fridge for 15 minutes before cutting.
Before you bake them, let the cookies rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or in the freezer for 15 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 180 degrees. After resting, place your cookies on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and bake them for 12 to 15 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Let them cool before serving and voilà: there you have chili cheese star bites. Perfect for the snack, right?
@dishedbykate Day 5 of 24 Days of Christmas Party Appetizers and today we’re making these GORG chili cheese shortbread stars – aka. my boujee little upgrade on classic cheese crackers 🧀💅 They’re buttery, cheesy, melt-in-your-mouth beauties with a little kick and I am OBSESSED. If you’re a fellow savory girlie – these cookies are for YOU because not all Christmas cookies need to be sweet!! 💕 While I love cutting them into little stars for a jazzy festive look, you can easily just make regular round cookies here. They’re secretly really easy too – just mix, chill, cut and bake. That’s it. They look SO cute on a grazing board and I loveee gifting these – they keep well and are such crowd-pleasers. The full recipe is on up dishedbykate.com (linked in my bio for ease!) or you can Google ‘dished by kate cheese cookies’ xx #christmasfood #christmas cookies #cheese shortbread
6. Peach, prosciutto and pesto crostini
You can't get easier than a crostini. These are the kind of bites that look like you've spent hours in the kitchen, but secretly are ready in 15 minutes. They have everything for the perfect bites: a sweetness (aka peach), cheese (burrata), some meat, and green pesto. Yes, pesto again. It's just a fan favorite. Okay? Just accept it.
Ingredients for +/- 12 crostini:
- 1 baguette
- Two cans of peaches
- 3 balls of burrata
- 2 packs of prosciutto
- 1 jar of pesto
The preparation:
As I said: this is an easy one. Cut your baguette into small slices. Briefly toast them in the pan with some olive oil so they become extra crunchy. Remove the bread from the pan and let the pan sit for a moment (with the heat off). Cut your peach into small slices and then roast them in the pan. This will caramelize the sugar in the peach and make it even tastier. After that, it's just a matter of building your crostini. Spread the pesto on all the slices of baguette. Open the burrata and distribute it over the toasted slices. Fold a slice of prosciutto nicely over the burrata and finish it off with a slice of peach. Place them on a nice bread board and you won't have to go back into the kitchen for the rest of the evening. Except for extra portions, maybe.
@kizactivelife 24 days of Christmas recipes 🎄✨♥️ day 10: peach and burrata crostini 🍑 I’m actually obsessed with this appetiser, seriously the best combo of flavours and so easy to prepare!! Ingredients: Baguette Peaches Burrata Prosciutto Basil pesto dip Method: Pan fry peaches and sliced baguette. Assemble everything and enjoy! #appetiser #festive recipes #christmasrecipes #festive food #crostini
7. Bow cinnamon rolls
After those savory things, we’re baking again, yes indeed. What screams winter more than cinnamon? Nothing. In my opinion, cinnamon and thus also cinnamon rolls really belong to winter, so it’s not surprising that you might eat these during Christmas. So if you’re looking for a good dessert or a coffee ‘cookie’? Then you’re really at the right place with these bow cinnamon rolls. They are so festive that you’ll want to munch on them right away.
The ingredients:
- 2 x Danerolles Cinnamon Swirl
- 100 grams of butter at room temperature
- 200 grams of light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons of cinnamon
The preparation:
First, preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Now this dough is of course already made with cinnamon filling in it, but it can always use more, right? Exactly. In a bowl, mix the butter, sugar, and cinnamon with a mixer until you have a fluffy mixture. Sprinkle flour on your countertop and roll out the puff pastry. Spread half of the cinnamon mixture over it. Roll out your next roll and spread the rest of your cinnamon mixture over it. Take a large baking dish and cut out large circles from your dough as a guide. Fold the circle in half and then cut two horizontal strips in the middle of the round bottom until you are almost at the top. Fold the outer two pieces inward. These will be the ‘ears’ of the bow. Now take the strip you’ve cut open and fold it upwards under the ears. This will suddenly give you a real bow shape. Beat 1 egg lightly and brush your bows with it. Bake them for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Place them on your prettiest, cutest platter and sprinkle some powdered sugar over them. This way you have some simple cinnamon rolls that still look very festive. Nice, right?
@cosimafawcett Potentieel de schattigste bak die ik ooit heb gemaakt!! 🥰🥰🎀🎀✨✨❤️❤️ De schattige strik servies is van @Primark 🫶🏼🫶🏼*gegeven* Feestelijk Bakken Kerst Bakken Kerst Recepten Kaneelbroodjes Kaneelbollen Kerst Kaneelbollen Kaneelstrikken #festivebaking #kerstbakken #kaneelbroodjes #kaneelbollen #christmasrecipe
8. Kerst borrelplank
Hoe kunnen we anders eindigen dan met een borrelplank? Dit is toch de populairste snack ooit. Dit is zo leuk omdat je hier eigenlijk alles in kan doen wat jij wil. Alle soorten kaas waar je van kunt dromen, allerlei soorten vlees die je vouwt in de mooiste rozen, crackers, dipjes, chutneys. Ja, alles kan en alles mag. Hoe je ‘m dan kerst maakt? Dat leg ik jou uit.
Ingrediënten voor de kerst borrelplank:
- Rozemarijntakken
- Cranberries
- Cranberrie chutney
- Bramen
- Raspberries
- Rode druiven
- Groene druiven
- Kaas naar keuze
- Vlees naar keuze
- Crackers naar keuze
The preparation:
Haal je mooiste borrelplank van zolder en geef ‘m een goede schoonmaakbeurt. Pak je rozemarijntakken en leg ze in een ronde vorm over je hele plank. Dit is de basis van je kerstkrans-vorm. Vul nu de rest van je borrelplank op met alles wat jouw kersthartje begeert. Begin met je vleesrozen en leg hiernaast allerlei andere dingen als stukken brie, frambozen, druiven of bakjes met chutney en andere dipjes. Vul een laag verder in de cirkel met crackers en zorg dat je een gat in het midden overhoudt. Anders is het geen krans meer, natuurlijk. Stop overal tussendoor nog wat cranberries en… Ja, dat was het.
@dishedbykate Je reguliere borrelplank omtoveren tot een borrelkrans is zonder twijfel de gemakkelijkste manier om een showstopper kerstappetizer centerpiece te maken!! Rangschik een selectie van je favoriete vleeswaren, kaas, fruit en jam in de vorm van een krans, en je bent KLAAR 🎄 (het is nooit te vroeg voor kerstinhoud sorryyyy 💅) #kerstcountdown #christmasfood #christmas #appetizers #charcuterie
Oh, ben jij die basic borrelplank echt zat? Dan maak je toch kleine persoonlijke charcuterie-glazen? Personaliseer ze met wat jouw gasten lekker vinden en dan heb jij weer eens wat anders op tafel staan.
@hostedbyhalle Nieuwe leuke snackidee ontgrendeld🔓 Dit is mijn huidige kerstfilm snack van keuze🫒🎄🤶 #hosting #kerstsnacks #snackideeën #easysnacks #christmas
Nou. Als dit niet genoeg inspiratie meer is dan weet ik het ook niet meer. Alsjeblieft.
