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Total Time: 1 hour + cooling
Main Ingredients: Honey, fresh parsley, unsalted butter, shredded cheddar cheese
Level: Intermediate
If you’re having a few get-togethers in one week, invest some time into making several batches of your own shortbread crackers. The time commitment is nearly an hour, but the raves from your guests will be well worth it.
“It may seem like a lot of work to make homemade crackers. However, after you’ve tasted these sweet and savory honey-kissed shortbread crackers, I think you’ll admit that it’s worth every minute you spent making them. They’re crispy, cheesy, salty, and have a lovely sweet honey finish. They are basically cracker perfection.” —Recipe contributor Colleen Delawder, Herndon, Virginia
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Total Time: 40 minutes
Main Ingredients: French bread baguette, dried cranberries, dried figs, spreadable goat cheese
Level: Intermediate
Move over, bruschetta. This holiday-themed appetizer is equal parts sweet and tangy, thanks to dried cranberries, dried figs, balsamic vinegar, honey, Greek olives and goat cheese.
“The blend of flavors in the crostini makes an absolutely scrumptious appetizer.” —Recipe contributor Barbara Estabrook, Rhinelander, Wisconsin
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Total Time: 1 hour
Main Ingredients: Pickled hot cherry peppers, anchovy fillets, pimiento-stuffed olives, capers
Level: Easy
These healthy-ish stuffed peppers are packed with flavor, so your guests won’t feel bad about polishing off the whole platter. Best of all, you can make them ahead and freeze until you’re ready to thaw for serving.
“Our family’s holiday dinners always include a giant antipasto, and the showpiece when we were growing up was Mom’s stuffed hot peppers on top of the display. Regardless of how spicy the peppers were, every year we would sneak into the refrigerator and steal one of those thrilling little flavor bombs! There isn’t a holiday that we don’t make them in her honor.” —Recipe contributor Donna Scarano, East Hanover, New Jersey