Appetizers

A month ago I catered a local company’s Christmas party. The group of 20 women gathered for an array of cold appetizers while they celebrated the Christmas season.

Appetizers are a great thing to have in your recipe box. Select your favourites and whip them together anytime someone stops by or you just want a quick snack. The possibilities are endless. Hot, cold, sweet, savoury, simple, fancy, and the list goes on.

Here is a list of the appetizers that I catered.

The appetizers were small in size, yet great in flavour.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake

Goodbye Pumpkin Pie, Hello Pumpkin Cheesecake. 

This year our traditional Christmas dinner dessert was replaced. We swapped boring, old pumpkin pie, with rich and creamy pumpkin cheesecake.

Ginger snap crust filled with fluffy, spice-infused pumpkin cheesecake filling, topped with homemade caramel and toasted pecans. This took regular pumpkin pie to the next level.

A Classic Apple Pie

In my mind Apple Pie tops the charts.

Flaky crust. Golden buttery edges. Sweet filling. Apple pie.

Tart apples tossed with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg creates a sweet filling. Flaky, buttery homemade crust encases the filling to make a delicious dessert.

We’ll experimenting with pie dough recipes over the last year I have finally found my favourite recipe. Though it took some trial and error, I have found my secret ingredient. Tenderflake Shortening. I have been taught to use Crisco, have always used Crisco, but this time I went against the grain.

Tenderflake delivered the most flaky and golden crust that I have ever made. The crust puffed up while baking, and feel apart in my mouth.  Try Tenderflake in your favourite pie dough recipe. Let me know what you think!

Bake this classic pie, your home will smell glorious and your family will thank you!

Salted Chocolate Pecan Pie

This pie ups the ante in the pecan pie game. It’s full of a rich caramel custard and chock-full of pecans, with a healthy dose of chocolate to send it over the edge. With just a tiny hit of salt to balance out the sweet richness of the filling, this pie will be the one they talk about and request for every occasion.