Hors D'oeuvres and Finger Foods Recipes: Sweet bites

These are all super easy to make and your guests will love them

Meringues

If you’d like some variety, you can add about 1/2 c of chocolate chips or any of the chip like items in the baking section. Heath bar chips, m&ms etc.

Ingredients

8 lg egg whites
2c super fine sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp extract. Vanilla or almond are most commonly used. Coconut extract is nice too. We’ve used all sorts of flavors. You can cut the ingredients in half and make 2 batches with different flavors.

coconut meringue bites

Ingredients

Pre heat the oven to 250
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
Beat the whites till foamy
Add salt while beating
Add sugar 1 Tbsp at a time
It will take a while, about 10 min
Warning- we have said this before but it bears repeating. EGGS ARE TRICKY. If you have even a smidge of yolk in there- forget it. They won’t peak.
If you dump all of the sugar in at once- they won’t peak
Always follow the recipe with eggs
Once the sugar is all in, add the extract
Beat until they are shiny and form stiff peaks
Don’t over mix
If you are adding chips, fold them in by hand
Use a piping bag or make a cone out of parchment paper and pipe small dollops onto the parchment lined sheets
They will end up just the way you shape them
Bake for 1 hr
Turn off the oven
Do not open the oven door
Leave them alone for several hours. Overnight is fine
Refrigerate to keep them fresh

Strawberry Shortcake Bites

An old fashioned summer dessert, miniaturized. This one surprises people. We were stuck for a mini dessert one day and decided to wing it. It was a hit.

Ingredients

2 1/4c Bisquick
2/3 c milk
1 1/2 lb strawberries cored, stemmed and quartered
3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2c heavy cream
3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

strawberry-shortcake bites

Ingredients

Preheat the oven to 450
Toss the strawberries with the sugar in a bowl
Cover with seran wrap and refrigerate for 30 min
Mix Bisquick with milk to make a dough
Roll out the dough
Use a small cookie cutter to make the base for the bites
Bake for 8-10 min until golden
Whip the cream with sugar and vanilla
Remove the biscuits
Let them cool a bit
Just before serving, top with a dollop of whipped cream and a couple of pieces of strawberry
Don’t over top them or they will fall apart when your guests pick them up

Truffles

These are very tasty as is but we like to have a variety available. We roll some in coconut flakes, sprinkle some with pink salt, add a touch of cayenne to a few, just make sure you know which ones those are. We’ve made that mistake before and one woman was pretty unhappy about it. Oops.

Ingredients

8 oz cream cheese at room temp
3 c confectioners sugar
3 c semi sweet chocolate chips. Melted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Ingredients

Beat the cream cheese till smooth
Slowly add sugar while beating
Stir in the melted chocolate and vanilla
Make sure that it’s well mixed
Refrigerate for 1 – 2 hrs
Shape into balls. If you are rolling the balls in nuts or some extra ingredient, do that now
Cover with seran wrap and keep them cold until you are ready to serve them

Almond Butter Balls

These are salty and sweet. People love them when they try them. Some folks initially snub them because they’re healthy.

If you want to make them look more festive, roll the balls in crushed nuts or coconut flakes.

Ingredients

1/4 c raw almonds
2 c medijool dates
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c (heaping) almond butter

Ingredients

Use a food processor to coarsely grind the nuts
Add the remaining ingredients
Combine in the food processor for a few seconds. Use pulse and do it on and off a few times
Shape into small balls
If you want to roll them in coconut flakes or nuts, do that now
Cover with seran wrap and refrigerate