The Well Dressed Kitchen

Snacks

Sweet Potato Bites + Goat Cheese, Cranberry, and Pecan

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These Sweet Potato Bites are the perfect festive appetizer. I swapped out toasted bread with roasted sweet potato rounds then topped with goat cheese, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, and finished with a drizzle of honey. These little bites are sweet and savory and I can’t wait to serve them over the Holidays! 

Sweet Potato Bites

I can’t believe it’s already December!! I couldn’t be more in the Holiday Spirit. Every year we go to my Mom’s house for Christmas Eve and eat appetizers, drink wine, and play games all night. This year I am getting creative with my apps. Instead of using bread to make a crostini in this recipe, I toasted sweet potatoes, and topped with whipped Goat cheese, dried cranberries, pecans and a drizzle of honey. The drizzle of honey pairs perfect with the bite of goat cheese and nuttiness from the pecans. It’s the perfect finish to this lighter appetizer.

Sweet Potato Bites

I love the texture of the whipped goat cheese. Allow the goat cheese to sit out while your potatoes are roasting. It will whip easier if at room temperature. I whipped the goat cheese with a little olive oil to give it a smoother texture, you can also use milk… but honestly I didn’t have milk in my refrigerator so I used olive oil and it came out great.

Chopped Pecans

I wanted this appetizer to have holiday flavors so I topped with dried cranberries and pecans and finished with a drizzle of honey to add sweetness.

5.0 from 1 reviews
Sweet Potato Bites + Goat Cheese, Cranberry, and Pecan
 
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Recipe type: Appetizer
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Cook time: 
Total time: 
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These Sweet Potato Bites are the perfect festive appetizer. I swapped out toasted bread with roasted sweet potato rounds then topped with goat cheese, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, and finished with a drizzle of honey. These little bites are sweet and savory and I can't wait to serve them over the Holidays!
Ingredients
  • 2 sweet potatoes, cleaned and sliced into ¼ inch rounds
  • 1 tbsp + 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 4 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
  • ¼ cup chopped pecans
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries
  • Honey, for drizzling
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Cut cleaned sweet potatoes into roughly ¼ inch rounds.
  3. Place the sweet potato rounds on parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Coat rounds evenly with olive oil.
  4. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip sweet potato rounds over and bake for additional 10 to 12 minutes or until tender and starting to crisp on edges.
  5. In the meantime, while the sweet potatoes bake, use a mixer to whip the goat cheese with remaining 1 tsp of olive oil and a drizzle of honey until smooth and fluffy.
  6. When sweet potato rounds cool spoon the goat cheese mixture onto each potato round then top with a few chopped pecans and cranberries, drizzle with honey and serve.

Sweet Potato Bites

More Holiday Appetizers:

Tomato Pesto Crostini

Tomato + Pesto Crostini 

Cranberry Salsa

Cranberry Salsa

Shop Products I used for this Recipe:

Williams Sonoma Nonstick Baking Sheet

What are your favorite Holiday Appetizers!? Please let me know by leaving a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thewelldressedkitchen.

THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING ALONG! XOXO, BECCA @ THE WELL DRESSED KITCHEN! 💗

Pesto Crostini + Tomato & Parmesan

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Look no further when you’re searching for an elegant appetizer that’s easy to put together. This Pesto Crostini topped with Parmesan and Cherry Tomato looks great on a Christmas platter and will disappear quickly!  

Tomato Pesto Crostini

This recipe is so quick and easy and tastes delicious. The green from the Pesto and Red from the Tomato make this the perfect festive appetizer. Best part is it only requires a few ingredients and it couldn’t be easier to make. Serve as an appetizer or snack.

Quick and Easy to Make:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degree F. Start by slicing a baguette in roughly 1 inch thick pieces and place on baking sheet. Top each slice of bread with pesto and then sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake roughly 8 minutes or until bread is crisp and cheese is melted. Top each slice of bread with 1 cherry tomato half, arrange on a platter and serve.

You can use any bread you desire, I also like using french bread. Mozzarella works great in this recipe too. If you want a crisper slice of bread, drizzle with olive oil and bake for about 5 minutes prior to topping the pesto and cheese.

I recommend grating your own cheese whenever possible. It’s cheaper to buy a block of cheese at the grocery store because when you purchase grated cheese your paying for the convenience. Many food processors have a grating device attachment that can make the job go much faster. Also, it tastes better, doesn’t have additives, and will last longer.

Pesto Crostini + Tomato & Parmesan
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizer
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
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Ingredients
  • 1 baguette or french bread, cut into 1 inch thick pieces (roughly 20 slices)
  • ½ cup pesto
  • 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ¼ cup parmesan, shredded
Instructions
  1. Pre heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place bread slices on un-greased baking sheet.
  2. Top each slice of bread with a scoop of pesto and sprinkle with cheese.
  3. Bake roughly 8 minutes or until bread is crisp and cheese is melted. Top each slice of bread with 1 cherry tomato half. Serve Immediately.

Tomato Pesto Crostini

More Holiday Appetizers:

Sweet Potato Bites

SWEET POTATO BITES + GOAT CHEESE + CRANBERRY+PECAN

Shop Products I used in this recipe:

Williams Sonoma Nonstick Baking Sheet

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY APPETIZERS!? PLEASE LET ME KNOW BY LEAVING A COMMENT BELOW AND SHARE A PICTURE ON INSTAGRAM WITH THE HASHTAG #THEWELLDRESSEDKITCHEN.

THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING ALONG! XOXO, BECCA @ THE WELL DRESSED KITCHEN! 💗

Easy Homemade Creamy Hummus

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Hummus makes an excellent snack or appetizer. With only a few simple tricks, you really can make smooth, creamy homemade hummus from scratch in your own kitchen. Hummus is made with chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, and lemon juice. This super easy hummus only takes minutes to make and tastes better than store bought. 

Homemade Hummus

You can almost guarantee every time I am in the grocery store I throw hummus in my cart. Now, I make this simple recipe at home, it’s better than store bought and I know all the ingredients in it. I added fresh garlic cloves, but you can leave the garlic out and it still tastes delicious.

With this trick you can make smooth, creamy hummus at home:

The key to smooth and creamy hummus is as simple as the order you add the ingredients in food processor. Add the tahini and lemon juice first and pulse for a minute or so before you add any other ingredients. This process whips the tahini resulting in a smooth and creamy hummus. For even smoother hummus, remove the skins of the chickpeas. This can be done by rubbing them with a paper towel or by pinching the beans between your thumb and index finger (the beans should pop right out of their skins).

What is Tahini and where can I find it in the grocery store:

Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds and is used in many Mediterranean dishes. You can find it in the condiments aisle usually near the olives or in the ethnic isle. My favorite brand is Ziyad Tahini Sesame Paste  which you can purchase here Ziyad Tahini Sesame Paste. 

Easy Homemade Creamy Hummus
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Snack
Prep time: 
Total time: 
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Hummus makes an excellent snack or appetizer. With only a few simple tricks, you really can make smooth, creamy homemade hummus from scratch in your own kitchen. Hummus is made with chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, and lemon juice. This super easy hummus only takes minutes to make and tastes better than store bought.
Ingredients
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (skinned removed for creamy texture)
  • ¼ cup tahini
  • 1 lemon, juice of
  • 2 tbsp olive oil, + more to drizzle for serving
  • 1 small garlic clove
  • ½ tsp salt, more to taste
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons water, if needed
  • dash of paprika, for serving
Instructions
  1. In food processor, add the tahini and lemon juice and process for 1 minute, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then process again for another minute. This process whips the tahini resulting in a smooth and creamy hummus.
  2. Add the olive oil, garlic, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Process again for 30 seconds, continuing to stop and scrape sides of bowl to combine. Add half of the chickpeas to food processor and process for 30 seconds, scrape sides and bottom of bowl and add remaining chickpeas and process until thick and creamy, about 1 to 2 minutes.
  3. If the hummus is too thick and there are bits of chickpeas, slowly add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water (or more as needed) and process until you reach the right consistency.

I topped with a drizzle of olive oil and paprika and served with pita chips and veggies – carrots, bell pepper strips, cherry tomatoes, cucumber… anything you desire. Hummus also goes great on sandwiches as part of your lunch with turkey in a pita pocket or on thick, hearty bread.

Smooth and Creamy Hummus

Chickpeas make a filling, healthy snack. Keep these Roasted Chickpeas on hand for an on-the-go, nutritious snack.

Roasted Chickpeas

Shop Products I used in this recipe:

I can’t wait for the day I have a huge Food Processor, but for now my Cuisinart does the trick and I am really impressed with it. It’s reasonably priced, easy to use and makes REALLY good hummus!!! Click here or on the picture below for the link:

William Sonoma Nonstick Baking Sheet

Did you make this recipe!? I would love to see your pictures. Please let me know by leaving a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thewelldressedkitchen.

THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING ALONG! XOXO, REBECCA ROSATI @ THE WELL DRESSED KITCHEN! 💗