Whether they’re for a shower, a holiday party, or appetizers for guests, every southern woman needs a few killer finger food recipes up her sleeve.
11 Tantalizing Finger Food Recipes:
1. Blue Cheese & Cherry Thumbprints
2 packages of blue cheese (4 oz. crumbled)
½ cup softened butter
1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp poppy seeds
¼ ground red pepper
⅓ cup cherry or blackberry preserves
*makes about 5 dozen
Prep: Preheat oven to 350. Whisk blue cheese and butter until fluffy. Next, add in the flour, poppy seeds, and red pepper to the mix, beating only until ingredients are evenly distributed. Roll mixture into ¾ inch balls and chill for 2 hours
Bake: Arrange dough balls on un-greased baking sheets, and press your thumb into each ball to leave a visible indentation. Bake the dough for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Move the thumbprints to a cooling rack and spoon the preserves to the indentations.
2. Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts
1 lb. bacon, cut into halves
3 cans water chestnuts
toothpicks
Prep: Preheat oven to 350. Wrap each water chestnut with a piece of bacon, fastening the bacon with a toothpick.
Bake: Put chestnuts in the oven until the bacon is crisp (35-45 minutes).
3. Pecan Pennies
¾ cups softened butter
2 cups all purpose flour
1 block grated swiss cheese (8 oz.)
½ cup finely chopped pecans
3 tbsp. honey-dijon mustard
¾ tsp. salt
*makes about 6 dozen
Prep: Beat butter at medium speed until fluffy. Next, add flour, swiss cheese, chopped pecans, and mustard, and beat just until ingredients are combined. Cover and chill for 2 hours. Then, shape dough into 2 logs, 8 inches long. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and chill for at least 6 hours.
Bake: Preheat oven to 350. Cut each log into ¼ inch-thick slices and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Salt to liking. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove and transfer to cooling racks before serving.
4. Homemade Fried Cheese Balls
2 large eggs
1 lb. bocconcini (small mozzarella balls)
1 cup flour
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 cups vegetable oil
coarse salt and pepper
tomato sauce
Prep: Preheat oven to 250. Grab 3 mixing bowls– place flour in one bowl, beat eggs in the second bowl, and mix panko and thyme in the third bowl. Sprinkle salt and pepper into each bowl. Next, take a bocconcini and first dip it in the flour, then coat it in the eggs, and last roll it in the bread crumbs. Do this until all of the bocconcini is breaded and ready to be fried.
Fry: Next, heat the vegetable oil on medium high until it sizzles a pinch of the panko mixture. place 4 balls into the pan at a time, they should cook for 2 minutes– turning occasionally. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the batch to paper towels to drain. Keep them warm in the oven and serve with tomato sauce or homemade ranch.
5. Country Caviar
1 large can of black beans (15.8 oz)
1 large can of yellow corn with red and green bell peppers (11 oz)
3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 cup hot picante sauce
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 Garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 block cream cheese
Ritz crackers
*makes 4 cups
Prep: Rinse and drain peas and corn. Mix everything but the chips into a large mixing bowl. Cover and chill for 2 hours.
Serve: Serve with tortilla chips, or pour over a block of cream cheese and serve with Ritz crackers.
6. Cajun Pecans
5 cups pecans
2 large eggs
2 tbsp. cayenne pepper
1 ½ cup sugar
1 ½ paprika
1 tbsp. coarse salt
Prep: Preheat oven to 300. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In one bowl, combine dry ingredients, sans pecans. In another bowl, whisk 2 egg whites until frothy, then mix in spices. Next, stir in pecans until evenly coated. In a single layer, transfer the coated pecans onto the parchment paper.
Bake: Place the baking sheets in the oven and cook for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, reduce the head to 250 and cook for another 10 minutes, rotating baking sheets as needed.
Serve: After the pecans are finished cooking, transfer them to a clean sheet of parchment paper right away. Let them cool before storing or serving.
7. Bacon Pimento Cheese Spread
8 bacon slices
2 blocks (8 oz) smoked cheddar cheese, shredded
1 ½ cups mayonnaise
1 jar (4 oz) diced pimiento, drained
1 tbsp. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
*makes 1 quart
Prep: Cook bacon in skillet until crisp; remove bacon, drain on paper towels, and crumble.
Serve: Stir bacon together with cheeses and remaining ingredients and serve with chips or crackers immediately.
8. Crab Cakes
3 tbsp. butter, divided
2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ medium onion, finely chopped
¾ tsp. dry mustard
1 cup saltine cracker crumbs (finely crushed)
¼ tsp. hot sauce
½ cup mayonnaise
1 lb. fresh lump crab meat
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
*makes 8 crab cakes
Prep: Melt 2 of your 3 Tbsp. butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; add bell pepper and onion– saute for 10 minutes until tender. Remove from heat and stir in cracker crumbs and the following 6 ingredients. Then, gently stir in the crabmeat. Shape the mixture into 8 patties; cover and chill for at least 1 hour (up to 24 hours).
Cook: Melt ½ Tbsp. butter with ½ Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook 4 crab cakes 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels. Repeat procedure with remaining ½ Tbsp. butter, ½ Tbsp. oil and crab cakes.
9. Roast Beef Rounds
8 oz. roast beef deli meat
2 10in. spinach flour tortillas
2 tbsp. prepared horseradish, drained
1 block cream cheese at room temp
½ cup green onion, chopped
¼ cup parsley, chopped
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. garlic powder
Prep: Combine cream cheese with all the other ingredients, sans roast beef and tortillas. Next, lay the tortillas on a flat surface and spread half of the cheese mixture onto one tortilla, and the other half of the mixture onto the other. Divide the roast beef and evenly distribute to the two tortillas. Roll up the tortillas and wrap tightly.
Serve: Chill for at least 30 minutes, or until solid. Slice into ½ or ⅓ inch slices and serve
10. Goat Cheese Turnovers
4 frozen Phyllo dough sheets, thawed
4 small white onions, chopped
4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
½ cup balsamic vinegar
⅓ cup honey
1 tbsp. light Butter
1 tsp. fresh Thyme, chopped
1 tsp. sugar
butter flavored cooking spray
2 lemons
Prep: Preheat oven to 375. Melt butter in a lauce nonstick sauce pan before adding onions and sugar. Cook for about 30 minutes, or until caramelized. Next, add the vinegar and honey and cook until the mixture has thickened (15-20 minutes). Stir in the thyme. Next, stack the phyllo dough, spraying each layer with cooking spray. Cut the dough into 6, 5 inch squares and spoon the onion mixture evenly into each square. Spritz the top of the cheese with lemon juice before lifting and twisting the corners of the dough together. Place the pockets on a parchment lined baking sheet, and spray each pocket with cooking spray before placing in the oven.
Bake: Cook for 12 minutes or until golden.
11. Fried Macaroni & Cheese Balls
Ingredients:
1 box original mac & cheese
ingredients called for on mac & cheese box
1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese (4 oz)
1 1/2 cups Italian style bread crumbs
oil for frying
Prep: Make the mac & cheese as directed on box. Stir in shredded cheese and 1/2 cup of the bread crumbs. Cover mixture and refrigerate about 20 minutes or until firm. Then, line large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using 1/4-cup measuring cup, scoop mac & cheese mixture into balls and then roll in remaining bread crumbs. Place balls on cookie sheet and freeze 30 minutes.
Fry: In a heavy saucepan, heat three inches of oil to 375°F. Fry balls in hot oil in small batches for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve.
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