Puffed Cranberry Feta and Walnut Bites

If you're looking for a quick and easy holiday appetizer or even another small item to add to a Christmas breakfast buffet...you've got to try these Puffed Cranberry Feta and Walnut Bites. Made with crescent rolls, which happen to be accidentally vegan...you might have all the ingredients you need already in your pantry! They look way, way, fancier than they are and can be made either vegetarian or vegan depending on the cheese option you use!!

For this recipe you’re going to need cranberry sauce…and I make my own because 1. It’s easy and only takes about 7-10 minutes and 2. It tastes so much better than the canned stuff BUT you could just as easily use some canned cranberry sauce, or even some jam or preserves!

What you are going to need to buy:

Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Fresh Cranberries

Maple Syrup

Small Orange

Cinnamon

Cloves

Dairy-Free Feta Cheese

Walnuts
 

What you are going to need to do: The Cookies

To start, in a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 cup of maple syrup, the juice of one small orange, and 1 cup of fresh cranberries to a boil and let boil on medium-high until the berries start to burst.

With the back of a fork, crush the berries and continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes until the mixture thickens up. Add 1/2 teaspoon of cloves and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and stir to combine. Remove from heat.

Preheat your oven to 350

Open a can of crescent rolls and roll out the pastry onto a clean counter or cutting board but do not separate into triangles. Instead, gently pinch the perforations closed and then cut the rectangle of dough into 12 equal squares

Push the crescent dough squares down into a mini muffin tin.

Fill with cranberry sauce and top with crumbled feta cheese and walnuts.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, turning halfway through baking until pastry is golden brown and set.

Let stand fro 1-2 minutes in the tin before removing to serve!

Crispy Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Dates and a Sweet Balsamic Glaze

Anyone who thinks that they don’t like brussel sprouts, I dare you not to like this recipe. This dish is so good and so simple. It’s perfect for entertaining as we head into the holiday season because although brussel sprouts are often available year-round these days their peak season is from September to mid-February making them budget friendly for serving a crowd.

The trick to this recipe is, of course, fresh brussel sprouts, and really ripe dates! There is something kind of magical about the sugar content in the dates and how it almost caramelizes into a chewier crunch when they are roasted. If you are really time sensitive go ahead and get the pitted dates, but if you can spare a couple extra minutes I think buying dates with the pit in and removing yourself at home keeps them softer and sweeter. (I have no proof of this…it’s just been my experience.) With under 10 ingredients, including the spices, what’s not to love?

What you are going to need to buy:

Fresh Brussel Sprouts

Whole Dates

Pine Nuts

Salt and Pepper

Olive Oil

Minced Garlic - (we like these jarred options from Spice World!)  

Maple Syrup - (The good stuff, not pancake syrup. You could also use agave or honey.)

Balsamic Vinegar - (I get mine locally here in Orlando from The Ancient Olive)

What you are going to need to do:

begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees.

Remove all loose, witty, or soft outside petals from your brussel sprouts and cut in half length-wise.

Lightly oil, salt and pepper your brussel sprouts and place on a sheet pan or cookie sheet being careful that they are only one layer thick.

Cut your dates length-wise and remove the pit. Then cut each half length wise again so that you end up with 4 quartered wedges. Place on the sheet pan with the brussel sprouts. Roast at 400 degrees, on the middle rack for 25 minutes, flipping/stirring half-way through so that you can get some browning on all sides.

To make the glaze, mix equal parts of Olive Oil, and Balsamic Vinegar with minced garlic and maple syrup or honey, to taste. If you can’t find the thick balsamic vinegar, you can always take of of the extra soft and squishy dates from the package and scrape out the contents into the glaze. Use a fork or small wish to incorporate the date flesh into the mixture and it will thicken it up a bit. If you do this…you will need less maple syrup or honey because the dates are so naturally sweet.

After 25 minutes, turn oven on to a low broil and broil for another 5-7 minutes, checking every 90 seconds or so to make sure that nothing is burning. Note: The dates will get really dark in color, and you might be afraid that you have burned them…rest easy. You likely didn’t but this broil at the end is what makes them caramelize into a nice chewy crunch!

Once the brussel sprouts and dates are out of the oven, toss them with the glaze and allow to cool for 4-5 minutes before serving to let that glaze really thicken up. Garnish with pine nuts or chopped pistachios!

Enjoy!