Celebrate with Our Holiday Party Recipes

This easy cheese spread from Shelly Westerhausen Worcel, author of Platters and Boards, is highly addictive thanks to the slight tang and brightness from marinated artichoke hearts and smokiness from the smoked gouda. You can make the spread a few days ahead and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

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Gougères, or hollow, cheesy puffs, are a traditional French snack taste eaten warm from the oven. They're best when fresh, though they can be made ahead and reheated for entertaining ease. Serve them as an appetizer with predinner cocktails.

Related: Festive Holiday Drinks

These sweet and slightly spicy pickled carrots created by Shelly Westerhausen Worcel, author of Platters and Boards, should be made at least 24 hours ahead of time so they have time for their flavors to develop. Although they will stay good in the fridge for over a week, they may lose some crunch after a couple of days.

This festive holiday appetizer couldn't be simpler. Find easy-to-slice logs of Brie at large supermarkets. The common brand President is available at Super Target.

The day before you serve this layered dip, prepare the tomato mixture, hummus and tapenade. Cover and refrigerate separately until you're ready to layer and serve the dip. To save time, use purchased hummus.

Related: Easy Dip Recipes

This beautiful and unusual recipe makes one small cheese ball, but easily doubles or triples to make multiple for a party. The recipe comes from Indiana-based blogger Annie Marshall.

Spoon these indulgently saucy mushrooms (inspired by classic Midwest casseroles) over baguette slices or crostini. The recipe comes from the Chowgirls Killer Catering cookbook. To serve the dish skillet-style, start the recipe off in a 10-inch oven-going skillet.

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This creamy dip is packed with healthy ingredients, so it's great for keeping in the fridge for weekday snacks—but it's also tasty enough to serve at a party.

Related: Easy Appetizer Recipes

Dating to the 1800s, this recipe is easy, breezy, pink and fruity—and still completely sophisticated. It comes from Cincinnati mixologist Molly Wellman. 

This crowd-pleasing sweet-and-salty appetizer comes from the Chowgirls Killer Catering cookbook. For ease or just a different flavor, you can skip roasting fresh Italian sausage and swap in a smoky precooked sausage. 

Skip the supermarket tray. Our shrimp cocktail update is the ultimate make-ahead party app. Roasting brings out the shrimp's natural sweetness, and the two homemade sauces are ridiculously simple.

The recipe makes half the bites with pink salmon mousse filling and half with white herbed cheese. If you like, streamline by choosing just one filling and doubling its ingredients. This recipe comes from Annie Marshall of Indianapolis.

Onion dip is a classic for a reason—and this 100 percent homemade version is one of the best we've tasted. It's fab with potato chips, of course, but we also love it with crisp Romaine or Little Gem lettuce leaves for a lighter twist.

Featuring whatever's in season, this gorgeous platter is Chowgirls Catering's most popular menu item, an unexpected and delicious alternative to raw veggie trays. The recipe comes from the Minneapolis company's cookbook, Chowgirls Killer Party Food.

Cream cheese, Camembert and cheddar bring big cheese flavor to this appetizer with a hint of sake, the Japanese rice wine. Let the cheese and butter come to room temperature for easy mixing.

These six-ingredient party sandwiches are simple and delicious. 

These mini meat- and vegetable-filled turnovers are equally good warm from the oven or at room temperature. The recipe comes from the Chowgirls Killer Catering cookbook.

Unlike most stuffed mushroom recipes, these savory sausage-filled gems don't contain cheese, so they're a great choice for people avoiding dairy. The recipe comes from Annie Marshall of Indianapolis.

The chips are easy and definitely add to the dip's appeal, but rice crackers, sugar snap peas, celery sticks and baby bok choy leaves all make good Asian-inspired dippers.

Turn a couple jars of olives into this fresh and easy appetizer to set out for nibbles and noshes. We love Kalamatas and buttery Castlevetrano olives.

At the now-closed The Rieger in Kansas City, bartenders prepare this dead-simple, gingery cocktail with J. Rieger & Co. KC Whiskey—but any rye or blended whiskey will work!

This crowd-pleasing party recipe is sweet, salty and highly addictive! Plus, you can assemble the sandwiches a day early for easy party prep.

This nutmeg-spiced spin on the French classic is luscious and so festive and Christmassy. The recipe comes from Chowgirls Catering in Minneapolis.

Russian beet soup doesn't sound sexy, but this silky, lemon-herby version from Minneapolis' Chowgirls Catering is shockingly good. (You can serve it any season, but the red hue is especially festive for Christmas!)

For an appetizer in minutes, Wendy Porterfield of the Washington House Inn in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, bakes her cheesy dip for 10 minutes, stirs, then spoons it into pre-baked phyllo shells. Then, she bakes the shells 5 to 10 minutes more. "The phyllo cup version makes a great appetizer for a more formal party, where the dip version is great for a crowd," she says.

These cupcake-size treats are a fantastically simple alternative to a full-size cheesecake. You could also garnish them with fresh raspberries or blueberries.

These totally indulgent sliders pack all the flavor of French onion soup into a tidy little sandwich. The recipe comes from Indianapolis blogger Annie Marshall.

Melted Nutella. Need we say more? Our updated version of hot chocolate is made in a slow cooker, just for kicks, and after cooking, can be kept on the warm setting for one hour.

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Fresh herbs season this ridiculously simple spread from BelGioioso Cheese in Wisconsin. It keeps well in the fridge and is delicious with cherry tomatoes or other vegetable dippers, as well as crackers or baguette slices.

Shape and bake the chicken meatballs ahead of time, then pop them in your slow cooker with cranberry and barbecue sauces.

Related: Irresistible Slow-Cooker Appetizers

Chocolate-hazelnut spread (Nutella) gives this fudge a smooth texture and luscious nutty flavor.

Related: Fabulous Fudge Recipes

Paprika-spiced sharp-cheddar crackers look like a bundle of kindling gathered on an appetizer board or standing in a jar. Smoked paprika is becoming more popular but can still be a little hard to find. Look for it at specialty or spice stores or online.

A spiced graham cracker crust and bourbon-infused egg nog filling give these simple bars a delicious holiday twist. The recipe comes from Annie Marshall of Indianapolis.

These five-ingredient truffles come together in a snap. Blending jam into the chocolate makes for a subtle fruit flavor perfectly balancing the rich, smooth chocolate. The recipe comes from Annie Marshall of Indianapolis.

This five-ingredient recipe comes from the bacon pros at Nueske's meats in Wisconsin.

No offense to the classic mimosa, but not everyone wants to booze with their brunch. Enter the Darling Clementine, a tart, fizzy, deliciously pink, nonalcoholic alternative to classic morning cocktails.

We packed this snack mix with extra protein and nutrients by adding soy nuts. You can find plain or flavored roasted soy nuts at large supermarkets or health-food stores.

Stir up a pitcher of these rosy margaritas for your next holiday bash. The Simple Syrup recipe makes enough syrup for 30 margaritas but is easily halved or quartered.

Freshly shredded cheese works better than packaged shredded cheese in a cheese ball. Prepare the cheese mixture the night before so flavors have a chance to blend. Shape and roll in the crumbled bacon or pistachio nuts a few hours before serving.

Somewhere on the road from fresh fruit to chutney, you'll find these rubylike beauties, slicked in olive oil and oven-warmed to concentrate their sweetness. They're a perfect match for cheese or cured meats.

Pretty in pink, yes, but this sweet drink has bite, too, thanks to grapefruit's subtle bitterness and the woodsy notes of gin and rosemary. This recipe makes enough rosemary-infused syrup for several cocktails.