25 Festive Finger Food Recipes for Your Next Party
Finger foods aren't just appetizers, they're appetizers you can eat while standing up, chatting, and — most importantly — holding a glass of wine. It's a small but important difference at a cocktail party, which you can appreciate if you've ever had to awkwardly shove an entire slider into your mouth while trying not to spill your drink. Because finger foods are served at parties, they should be festive and fun. A classic is pizzette; these bite-sized pizzas can be topped with traditional Italian combinations like fresh mozzarella and prosciutto, but they're also a blank canvas for new flavors. Take our Lamb Pizzette. Inspired by Arabic lamejun, each thin round of dough is topped with a flavorful mix of ground lamb with cumin, mint, and pine nuts.
Our collection of finger foods also includes riffs on old favorites. For an updated take on pigs in a blanket, we swap spicy andouille sausage for hot dogs, and our crispy fried hush puppies are served with a Tabasco-spiked remoulade. One country that's mastered the tasty two-bite is Spain. Our favorite tapas to make at home include traditional potato croquettes; a cheese-studded dough is dipped in eggs and a thin crust of breadcrumbs, then fried until crisp. For a deliciously savory-sweet bite made from just three ingredients, try our pan-fried Chorizo-Filled Dates Wrapped in Bacon. If you're hosting a more formal occasional, follow chef José Andrés' recipe for crispy cauliflower fritters served with yogurt and caviar.
Running out of time before your party? You can always fall back on the most basic finger foods: a bowl of roasted nuts or marinated olives. Chef Chris Yeo takes it to the next level by soaking peanuts in lime juice before frying them and tossing them with tart shredded lime leaves. Another quick fix for a crunchy, salty snack? Our Popcorn with Sesame-Glazed Pistachios. Keep scrolling to see more of our favorite finger foods. Just don't forget to buy the napkins. — Carrie Mullins
Onion Jam and Goat Cheese Rugelach
Rugelach are typically layered with jam and chopped nuts and topped with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, but the dough makes a surprisingly compatible home for savory fillings. These are spread with a thick homemade onion jam flavored with balsamic vinegar, sumac, and coriander. Serve them as an hors d'oeuvre with a glass of sparkling wine.
Mini Wedge Salads with Anchovy Dressing
These mini wedges are coated in a creamy, anchovy-packed dressing and dredged in crunchy panko, making them easy to eat with your hands.
Bacon-Wrapped Scallops
These two-bite quintessential cocktail party scallops are easy to prepare and ready in just half an hour. The bacon adds nice smoky flavor, but you can also make this recipe with prosciutto or pancetta.
Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Pickles and Gin-Spiked Sour Cream
These extra-crispy potatoes are boiled and then smashed and baked on a sheet pan. Dollops of gin-spiked sour cream; sprinkles of salmon roe, chives, dill, and parsley; and quick-pickled turnip, beet, and cauliflower make these colorful bites a blast to eat.
Cheesy Sausage Cocktail Toasts
For these tasty toasts, cookbook author Andrea Slonecker borrows from the nostalgic flavors of her childhood and swaps creamy mascarpone and robust Taleggio for the Velveeta in her grandmother's original version. "The topping can be made a few days ahead, and it's as straightforward as browning some Italian sausage and melting in the cheeses," she writes.
Oysters on the Half Shell with Rosé Mignonette
Great oysters are delicious "naked," as Island Creek founder Skip Bennett says, but sometimes chef Jeremy Sewall dresses them up with a mignonette (vinegar sauce) like this one, made with sparkling rosé.
Tomato Bruschetta
Matt Taylor-Gross
Just about any summer cocktail party can use a platter of bruschetta. This appetizer comes together in just minutes, making it easy on the host. It’s a great way to show off tomatoes when they're ripe and in season, whether they came from your garden, the farmers market, or the grocery store.
Caviar Waffle Bites
Instead of serving blini alongside a tin of caviar, make these handheld snacks. Waffles are cut into strips, and the pockets are filled with caviar, crème fraîche, and snipped chives to form the perfect pop-in-your-mouth morsel.
Chorizo-Filled Dates Wrapped in Bacon
This timeless tapa from Spanish cookbook author Penelope Casas has everything going for it — it's sweet, smoky, and savory, all in one bite.
Shakshuka Deviled Eggs
Shakshuka meets deviled eggs in this colorful snack. Instead of poaching eggs in a tomato-based sauce, you'll spoon a garlicky, slightly spicy tomato jam flavored with harissa and smoked paprika on top of deviled eggs. The yolks are pureed with mayo and plain yogurt for a creamy, perfectly balanced filling with a little bit of tang.
Two-Bite Parmesan Biscuits
These biscuits are baked on a bed of grated Parmesan cheese, resulting in a crispy, cheesy crust around the bottom of each biscuit. Perfect on their own, try them drizzled with a bit of honey, or improvise by tossing a few handfuls of fresh thyme or chives into the dough to take them over the top.
Green Peppercorn-Marinated Feta
Marinating cubed feta is a low-effort move with big-flavor results. Pair it with crackers and fruit to anchor your cheese board. Feta's slightly airy texture makes it perfect for soaking up bold flavors such as these briny, piquant peppercorns. For the best results, look for feta in brine; drain off the brine before marinating.
Hogs in a Blanket
This fun take on pigs in a blanket swaps spicy andouille sausage for the hot dogs, with sweet mustard chutney as a condiment.
Herb-Roasted Olives
These herb-roasted olives are an elegant, simple hors d'oeuvre that's easy to prepare and even easier to snack on. Serve them warm or at room temperature.
Goat Cheese-Stuffed Mushrooms with Breadcrumbs
For these texturally satisfying bites, creamy chèvre is stuffed into cremini mushrooms and topped with crispy herbed breadcrumbs. You can make these a day ahead and refrigerate them without the breadcrumbs, then sprinkle the topping on before serving.
Gougères with Smoked Salmon, Caviar, and Prosciutto
These cheesy puffs look fancy but come together in minutes to make any snack feel like an occasion. We topped ours with slivers of prosciutto and smoked salmon and dollops of caviar and crème fraîche, but any toppings will do. Or, simply eat them plain — they shine on their own.
Popcorn with Sesame-Glazed Pistachios
Mixing popcorn with glazed pistachios creates a sweet-salty snack that's fantastic with cocktails.
Lamb Pizzettes
This recipe is based on the Arabic lamejun, a thin piece of dough topped with minced meat, then baked. Here, ground lamb is flavored with cumin, mint, and pine nuts.
Hush Puppies with Remoulade
Former F&W editor Emily Kaiser Thelin created these crispy hush puppies — cornmeal dumplings — by adapting a recipe from chef Susan McCreight Lindeborg. Emily serves them with a version of the creamy French sauce remoulade, which she spikes with Tabasco and a little ketchup.
Potato and Mozzarella Croquettes
These light and cheesy fried potato croquettes are breaded twice: They’re dredged in breadcrumbs, dipped in beaten eggs seasoned with mustard and garlic, then dredged in breadcrumbs once more. The payoff is a super-crisp, flavorful crust for the filling of soft mashed potato and melted cheese.
Salty Black-and-White Sesame Cocktail Cookies
"In these cookies, you start with a sweet dough and the sesame seeds push it over on the sweet-savory continuum," says baking expert Dorie Greenspan. Blending ground almonds with the flour emphasizes the nutty sesame flavor.
Pigs in a Blanket
Chef Jen Pelka loves serving Champagne with playful bite-size foods like pigs in a blanket. To take them up a notch, she brushes the puff pastry with a tasty mix of honey, mustard, and fresh black pepper before rolling up with the hot dogs and baking.
Fried Citrus Peanuts
To make these irresistible peanuts extra tangy, chef Chris Yeo soaks them in lime juice before frying and tossing them with tart shredded lime leaves.
Herbed Chickpea Bruschetta
The key to these delicious bruschetta from chef Nancy Silverton is lots of olive oil. After she bakes the chickpeas with a variety of flavorings — including onions, pancetta, and carrots — she purees them with a good amount of oil, spreads the puree on toasts, and drizzles with a little more oil.
Cauliflower Fritters
To create these wonderful tapas, chef José Andrés makes a batter with crunchy nubs of chopped cauliflower florets, fries spoonfuls in a skillet, and then tops the fritters with yogurt sauce and a dollop of caviar.
For more Food & Wine news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on Food & Wine.
