A Fun Christmas Appetizer Recipe

This eye catching Christmas tree cheese ball is decorated with plenty of earthy green minced fresh parsley, dotted with tiny red tomatoes and yellow bell pepper pieces, its swirled with a ribbon of pine nuts, then finished with a vibrant golden bell pepper star practically shining atop.

It's a holiday classic with a sophisticated upgrade thanks to its enhancements of herby flavors and fresh vegetables (or technically fruits), the welcomed bold white cheddar goodness, a pine nut finish, and its impressive unique appearance. No boring typical rounded shape plus pecan coating here.

And even though it's quite large this savory treat will be devoured in no time. This charming centerpiece will be a highlight of your gathering and a new striking way you'll want to make the holiday cheese ball every year!

Easy Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board

A charcuterie board has never been so fun to make! Everything you get in a traditional charcuterie board shaped into a festive Christmas tree!

It's simple to assemble, it just takes a little bit of chopping and some basic artistic planning.

This is a family friendly charcuterie board and it's adaptable to swapping out some of the things I've shown here for things you may already have. The idea is just to stick to that simple red, green, and white/yellow theme for those classic Christmas colors. Then of course just keep the "Christmas tree" shape as you go.

A delicious holiday project that may just become a new family tradition at each yearly holiday gathering!

Easy Caprese Salad Christmas Tree Appetizer

Caprese salad is one of the easiest, tastiest Italian side dishes to prepare. And its natural colors just happen to be so perfectly Christmasy too so it only makes sense to bring the two things together for a deliciously festive dish making this cheery "Christmas tree".

This tasty "tree" is party perfect, makes enough for a crowd, doesn't require any special kitchen skills, and only needs a handful of ingredients. It's just a quick and simple, edible art project that will be the talk of the holiday gathering.

It's also a fun thing to do together if you've got friends or family around to help. Someone can slice while the other person assembles. Even kids can help with the layering assembly.

So many reasons to add this easy Christmas side dish to your holiday menu!

Soft Cake-Like Cinnamon Roll Cookies

I made many batches of these cookies until I finally perfected them and achieved that true cinnamon roll flavor and a similar soft texture to what you get from a real cinnamon roll. The secret was to add a whole brick of cream cheese into the cookie dough (rather than making a thick sticky frosting that only covers the pretty design of the cookies). It added great flavor and improved overall texture.

These super tender, melt-in-your-mouth cookies have a fluffy Lofthouse cookie style softness. And their flavor is light tangy, deeply cinnamony, richly buttery, and highlighted with vanilla.

The cookie dough itself isn't very sweet but once you layer it with brown sugar and cinnamon and finish them with a sweet icing it has just the right level of sweetness you hope to get from a cookie.

Just plan ahead with these cookies. You'll need some time for the dough to chill so it's not overly sticky to work with and time to allow the icing to set. They'll make a great weekend baking project.

And fortunate tasters will be smitten with their reminiscent cinnamon roll flavor!

Easy Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Thumbprint cookies are a simple, richly buttery cookie much like shortbread cookies. They are however even more tender (like butter cookies) thanks to the egg yolks in the dough and also the jam which slightly soaks in and creates more softness.

They have a unique texture differing from most other cookies because of this.

You can use just about any flavor of jam. The most commonly used are raspberry jam, strawberry, apricot, or peach. You can't go wrong with blueberry, blackberry or fig either.

I think you'll appreciate the fact that they use so few ingredients (only six plus salt) and they are fun and easy to make. Though a small and humble cookie they are also such a pretty cookie with a purely delicious taste!

These are a delightful treat that can be adapted to include other flavors, other fillings and even can be rolled in various coatings before baking (see ideas below).

A simple cookie that proves old fashioned favorites are often the best!

Easy Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Chocolate shortbread is made from a simple cookie dough using minimal staple ingredients and it blends together quickly in a mixer. The dough is rolled into log shapes then chilled, after that it's just cut into slices and baked.

It's an easy cookie with a decadent flavor upgrade to traditional shortbread.

In other words if shortbread hasn't really been a cookie you care for these chocolate shortbread cookies will have you thinking again. There's nothing boring about them!

And you can even add extra flavors to make things even more interesting. Chocolate and peppermint, for example, is a beautiful combo and perfect for the holidays.

Peppermint Christmas Cookies

We all love that chocolate peppermint combo, but have you tried the white chocolate peppermint combo? These cookies are just that, more of a vanilla meets peppermint cookie and they are completely irresistible in every way!

They are easy to make, similar to a chocolate chip cookie but with the addition of crushing candy canes. And those crushed candy bits add a pretty speckles of red color to these bright and cheery cookies.

You'll find they stay soft for days, thanks to those melted candy cane bits and a fair amount of butter.

They pair beautifully with a cup of chocolatey hot cocoa or deeply flavored coffee. I think they will be a standout addition on a holiday cookie tray and may even become a new tradition on repeat each year.

Put these fun cookies at the top of the baking list this holiday season, they are a must try treat especially if you love peppermint!

Slow Cooker Turkey Breast

Here's a simplified version of holiday turkey, no oven required. You just need a decent size slow cooker (6 to 7 quart) and to plan a bit of extra time for that low and slow cooking.

It's a no fuss method that yields a deliciously seasoned, butter infused turkey breast, plus plenty of drippings for turkey gravy to pour atop. It's final result of tender juicy turkey made with less hassle may have you turning to this method year over year.

This is also a great option if your family only likes the white meat of turkey, no need to even start with and waste the dark meat. No turkey thighs here.

Pair this turkey breast with some other simple sides to round out the holiday meal such as buttery slow cooker mashed potatoes, quick sauteed green beans, tender 1-hour dinner rolls, and finish with the easiest 5-ingredient pumpkin pie.

A simplified feast with classic, comforting, homestyle flavor.

Like this Winter version? Also try my go-to classic fruit salad recipe filled with summer fruit.

Winter Fruit Salad Recipe

Typically we think of fruit salads as a summer side dish but there's still an abundance of fruit in season during winter so why not take advantage of that and make a healthy winter fruit salad?

I first shared this recipe eight years ago and we've made it several times each year since. It's so good it almost passes as a tempting dessert!

This is a great dish to add to a holiday menu because there are often lots of heavy sides served but this is a light, refreshing and nutritious option to help balance those out a bit.

You'll find this inviting fruit salad is so easy to make and it adds so much festive natural color to your table.

Just keep in mind the most important thing about a fruit salad is the quality of the fruit. You want the fruit to have a sweet ripe flavor and firm enough texture that it won't get mushy.

From there the honey and lemon will just balance and highlight all of it's natural, fresh fruity goodness.

The Fastest Soft Dinner Rolls Recipe!

Who doesn't love a freshly baked homemade roll warm from the oven?

It's amazing that something made up so few of the most basic ingredients, that's so reasonably easy to make can create something so supremely delicious!

These dinner rolls have the best melt-in-your-mouth texture with a light chew, a rich buttery flavor and just a faint hint of background sweetness. They're the perfect side to homemade Vegetable Soup or Minestrone Soup!

I've shared so many soup recipes so of course it only makes sense to have some delicious rolls to serve with them. These rolls also double as great base for sliders or sandwiches (pulled pork, holiday ham and turkey etc), or use leftovers the next day for a breakfast casserole (like French toast or a strata).

These easy dinner rolls are the ultimate upgrade to a cozy, comforting meal especially when slathered with a fair layer of creamy whipped butter or homemade freezer jam.