Whipping up some festive bites for your intimate holiday gathering this year? Then we’ve got just the thing for you! Inspired by our Zinus team members’ annual traditions, we’re bringing you three tried and true holiday recipes. If you’re on the hunt for the perfect Christmas appetizer or potluck idea, we encourage you to give one of these tasty, easy recipes a try.
Easy Baked Cranberry and Pecan Brie
Ingredients:
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 8 ounce wheel of brie cheese
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg yolk, beaten
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Soak dried cranberries in a small bowl of water for one minute so they can soften.
- Lay thawed puff pastry sheet on a cookie sheet.
- In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in pecans and cinnamon and toast for about 3 minutes.
- Place brie in the middle of the puff pastry.
- Place pecan mixture on top of brie.
- Place brown sugar on top of the pecan mixture. The heat of the mixture will help to melt the brown sugar.
- Drain cranberries. Place them on top of brown sugar.
- Bring the edges of the puff pastry up over the cheese and press them together, making sure you seal the dough. If you have excess dough, you can cut this off and form to use as a decoration on top.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the entire pastry with the beaten egg.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes in the oven, or until the pastry is a golden brown.
Holiday After Party Meatballs
Ingredients:
- 1 pound refrigerated roll sausage – vegan meat will work too!
- 8 slices of your favorite smoked bacon, cooked and diced
- 6 ounces dry stuffing mix, prepared according to instructions
- 3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Combine sausage, cooked bacon, cooked stuffing and cheese in a large bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- Roll into balls, approximately 1 heaping tablespoon each. Make sure to pack the balls tightly so they hold together as they bake.
- Place sausage balls on a prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until cooked through.
Pumpkin Spice Dump Cake
Ingredients:
- 30 ounces canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 16 ounce can of evaporated milk
- 3 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 package spice cake mix
- 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) of unsalted butter
- 1 cup chopped pecans or toffee bits (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking dish.
- Mix canned pumpkin, milk, pumpkin pie spice, sugar and eggs. Pour into a baking dish.
- Sprinkle cake mix lightly over pumpkin mixture (do not mix them together - this is important!).
- Top with pecans or toffee bits if desired.
- Slice butter into thin pieces and lay all over the top of the cake.
- Bake for 1 hour, let sit for a few minutes to set and serve warm.
- Top with ice cream or whip cream if you'd like.
