Perfect Party Appetizers & Cocktails

Christmas is just over a week away and New Year's Eve is right after that so I thought I'd share some recipes that have become my go-tos when entertaining. These are easy appetizers and cocktails I've shared on the blog before, rounded up into one post for ease of access. Also, there's a new section just for appetizers under the Recipes tab up above. Some of these have been on the blog for quite a while so, I'll talk a bit about each dish to help familiarize you with it. Each photo and dish title is a link that leads to the full recipe. Bear with me, y'all, because some of the older ones desperately need updated pictures. I just haven't found the time to do it yet but I will soon! Just know that they're still tasty despite the photo quality. If I could use emojis here, you'd see the little monkey one covering its eyes. Between this post and Wednesday's Christmas playlist and entertaining tips, you should be all set to sleigh the holiday season. Get it? I replaced "slay" with "sleigh". Maybe I put away my embarrassed emoji a little too soon? Anyway, first up are the appetizers, followed by the cocktails, so let's get to scrolling!

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Appetizers

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Texan Twist Pastry Braid: Sweet, spicy, creamy, crunchy, and savory all wrapped up in a neat little puff pastry package. It's also perfect for brunch! This recipe is the newest addition to the blog.

Pumpkin Spicy AF Salsa: Spice level is on ten here, y'all. This salsa is not for the faint of heart as it has roasted hatch, jalapeno, and habanero peppers along with pumpkin. Just toss everything in a blender and add either the homemade chips featured in the post or a bag of your favorite store-bought ones.

Honey Fire Crockpot Meatballs: These are sweet, spicy, and super easy because they're made in a crock pot. I recommend serving them up alone with toothpicks or tongs for grabbing or with little buns and lettuce to make sliders!

Praline Brie Dip: This dip is a hot, sweet, cheesy, nutty mix made with triple creme brie and my indulgent praline sauce. Super simple to make and a guaranteed hit. I recommend serving it with sliced baguette.

Veggie Rose Tart: The showstopper. This tart is almost too pretty to eat. It would also be a great brunch item.

Easy Cheese Board: This is a simple tutorial on building a cheese board for beginners, including necessary tools, cheese types, and suggestions for cheese board components.

Hot Mess Harvest Dip: This dip is visually an ooey-gooey mess but so good! It's comprised of triple creme brie, raw honey, golden raisins, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds. Get into it.

Quick Salsa: The name is pretty self-explanatory. It's a basic, medium (in my opinion) salsa and you can add peppers to this one to get the spice right where you want it. All you need are a few minutes and a blender to make this!

Cocktails

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Cranberry Apple Spice Mules: fresh cranberries + ginger beer + vodka + apple juice + cinnamon sticks

Spicy Love Potion: grenadine + ginger beer + white rum

Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail: pomegranate juice + simple syrup + champagne

Sweet & Spicy Sangria: fresh fruit and jalapeno + rum + juice + flat and sparkling wines

Red Wine Hot Chocolate: red wine + dark chocolate + cocoa powder + cream + sugar

Frozen Rose: frozen pineapple and strawberries + Rose (blended)

With just nine more days til Christmas, I hope you have a lovely holiday season. Thanks for reading!