Turn this Ingredient Into 5 Speedy Holiday Appetizers
Look no further than your freezer: Puff pastry is having a moment, rising to the occasion to help you up your Christmas-party hosting game.
Power Puffs
The holidays are a time for breaking out those elegant, entertaining-ready recipes –– but they're also among the most busy and stressful days of the year. Impress your party guests with ease by relying on a from-the-freezer staple: puff pastry. You can get endlessly creative customizing the quick-to-rise dough. Here, Kelsey Nixon shares five super-speedy options to help you up your hosting game.
Puff Pastry-Wrapped Olives
These enticing little balls have it all: savory Parmesan cheese, aromatic herbs, the brightness of lemon zest and a salty, tangy bite in the form of pimento-stuffed olives, hidden at the center of each one.
Get the Recipe: Puff Pastry-Wrapped Olives
Fig Tart with Bacon and Bleu Cheese
This beautiful tart is perfect for slicing into finger-size wedges. Layered with fig jam and topped with arugula, bacon and bleu cheese, it spans the sweet-salty-peppery-funky spectrum for a palate-pleasing experience.
Get the Recipe: Fig Tart with Bacon and Blue Cheese
Parmesan, Black Pepper and Rosemary Cheese Straws
These elegant, herbaceous straws are just the sort of gourmet breadstuffs you'd find at a high-end restaurant. You can prepare the high-yield recipe in advance and freeze the straws; then they go straight from freezer to oven for only 15 minutes of baking time.
Get the Recipe: Parmesan, Black Pepper and Rosemary Cheese Straws
Curry Puffs
These elegant, vegetarian-friendly puffs will fill your home with the aromas of ginger, garlic and, most prominently, curry powder. The tender pea-and-potato filling makes for a warming, welcoming holiday party starter.
Get the Recipe: Curry Puffs
Cran-Apple Relish on Cinnamon Sugar Spoons
These cinnamon-sugar puff pastry "spoons" (they're formed using a cookie cutter on the dough) are perfect for scooping up a tart, no-cook cranberry, apple and citrus relish, which can be prepped up to three days in advance.
Get the Recipe: Cran-Apple Relish on Cinnamon Sugar Spoons
Bring It All Together
Thoughtfully arrange the appetizers on one table to create a beautiful party centerpiece of food and drinks. If you arrange the cheese straws in glasses, make sure to balance the display with other tall items like highballs, drinking straws or other drinking accoutrement, like bottles and carafes.