Category

A Well Crafted Pantry

Category
Cranberry Prosciutto Goat Cheese Appetizer held in front of sparkly pink and silver mirror balls
A Well Crafted Pantry

Easy Holiday Party Appetizer: Cranberry Prosciutto Goat Cheese Bites

No Comments A Well Crafted Pantry

Are you hosting a holiday gathering this year and need a simple holiday appetizer to drive home the flavors of the season, while not taking forever to make? These Prosciutto, Spiced Cranberry, and Goat Cheese Bites take little time to put together and are the perfect holiday bite. These are a perfect QUICK appetizer to make for your New Year’s Eve get-together or any winter event.

First off… DO NOT USE STORE BOUGHT CRANBERRY SAUCE. Okay, fine, if you have to… you can use store bought, just avoid the cranberry sauce that retains the shape of the can. Use something with discernible berries. I do highly recommend taking the time to make the spiced cranberry sauce as it will give just a bit more depth of flavor and holiday flare than store bought. (I created my spiced cranberry sauce while making my spiced cranberry simple syrup by straining the berries from the syrup.)

Second… crisp your prosciutto. It makes a word of difference. While you can absolutely do this with prosciutto straight out of the package, the crispy, salty goodness that comes from taking the time to throw that prosciutto in a pan or airfryer will add to this recipe. You can sub bacon if that is more readily available, but I’d recommend a thin sliced bacon so that it doesn’t overpower the dish.

Cranberry, Prosciutto, Goat Cheese Bites

This is more of an assembly than a recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Log of Goat Cheese – I used a plain goat cheese, however a honey goat cheese would be lovely in this.
  • Approximately 16 oz of Cranberry sauce of choice. The spiced cranberry sauce linked above worked really well with this as it had wonderful notes of cinnamon. However, a traditional cranberry sauce or even my pomegranate apple cranberry sauce would make for a fun addition.
  • 4-6 slices of Prosciutto crisped up in a pan and broken into smaller portions.
  • 1 Box of Fig and Olive Crackers (or a cracker of choice)
  • Fresh thyme for garnish.

Directions:

Take a cracker and top it with cranberry sauce and a spoonful of goat cheese. Top with crispy prosciutto. Sprinkle fresh thyme leaves on finished bites for a pretty and tasty garnish.

by
Keep Reading
overhead shot of spiced cranberry negroni cocktail with holiday baubles
A Well Crafted Pantry

Spiced Cranberry Negroni Holiday Cocktail

2 Comments A Well Crafted Pantry

Sometimes that eggnog and hot buttered rum just doesn’t hit the spot. When you want to serve a cocktail that feels like the holidays, but isn’t one of the classics you always see, try this spiced cranberry negroni for Holiday a twist on an Italian classic… and something your guests probably haven’t tried recently. The flavors of a classic cranberry sauce spiced with orange zest and cinnamon is paired with the bitter notes of clove, cinnamon, and citrus of campari, the freshness of gin, and depth of sweet vermouth to create a truly interesting holiday sipper.

Holiday cocktail in christmas bauble with pink and red decor

This post contains affiliate links marked with an asterisk (*). Affiliate links allow me to make a small commision with purchases made from links without an extra charge to the purchaser. Thank you for supporting A Well Crafted Party.

I know that the bitter notes of campari can be difficult for some, but hear me out on this drink. While a traditional negroni has either devoted followers or haters, this twist on the original offers a more balanced approach to appeal to the holiday guest. It may even be a way to convert some people over to join you for some amazing aperol spritz and negronis next summer when you host your next cocktail party.

Spiced Cranberry Syrup

Before you can make this cocktail you have to first make the spiced cranberry syrup. The best part of this recipe, is you have some tasty spiced cranberry sauce in the end as well!

Makes approximately 1 cup of syrup

  • 1 Bag of Fresh Cranberries rinsed and de-stemmed (16 oz) – you can substitute frozen, just decrease the water by 1/4 cup
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 zest of orange

Directions: Put all ingredients in a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring so that sugar does not burn, until sugar is fully dissolved and berries have cooked and are bursting. Smash the berries with a spoon and continue to cook until liquid has reduced some and will coat the spoon slightly. This takes around 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let cool. Separate the liquid from the berries. Keep the cranberry sauce to use for a holiday appetizer. Reserve the liquid to use in the Negroni cocktail or other holiday drinks!

Cocktail in glass with holiday baubles

A Holiday Twist on the Negroni: Spiced Cranberry Negroni Cocktail

Makes 1 cocktail (scroll below for a batch recipe)

  • 1 oz gin
  • 1 oz campari
  • 1 oz sweet vermouth
  • 1 oz cranberry juice
  • 1 oz spiced cranberry syrup

Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker* over ice and shake. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass or over a large cube of ice* in a rocks glass—your choice!

Batch Holiday Cocktail Recipe: Spiced Cranberry Negroni Cocktail

Makes 6 cocktails

  • 6 oz gin
  • 6 oz campari
  • 6 oz sweet vermouth
  • 6 oz cranberry juice
  • 6 oz spiced cranberry syrup
  • 3 oz water

Mix all ingredients together in a pitcher and chill in fridge. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass or over a large cube of ice in a rocks glass—your choice!

TIP: I’ll be pouring these into ornaments and chilling in fridge. Guests can then pour the chilled drink directly from their ornament and into their glass! I use the clear ornaments* that can be cleaned out with soap and water. I remove the metal insert and use plastic wrap to seal the bauble and cover with the metal cap. However, I’m sure that some companies are making these baubles with caps on them just for this use now-a-days, I just haven’t used them before!

Holiday cocktail overhead shot with pink and red decor

This year, instead of having the boring old-standbys for your holiday party, spice things up with this Spiced Cranberry Negroni Cocktail. Suddenly your party will be more interesting and intellectual. Your guests will agree that you are the absolute best and no one else will have a holiday party like yours. I am sure of it. 😉

by
Keep Reading
Cocktails

Spiced Apple Cocktail

1 Comment Cocktails

Fall is in the air. School is starting up. People are prepping for the holidays. Soup season is just waiting for the first chilly afternoon. In my books, that means it is time for a celebration. Celebrating the start of this season doesn’t need to be elaborate, everyone is busy this time of year after all. To start my celebration I created a Spiced Apple Cocktail filled with my favorite flavors that remind me of Fall—spiced cider, apples, bourbon, and cinnamon.

This spiced apple cocktail starts off with making a spiced simple syrup. Simple syrup is a 1 to 1 ratio of sugar and water heated on medium heat until sugar has dissolved, and this time we are going to steep some mulling spices and cinnamon in the mixture. Letting the mixture steep in the fridge overnight will increase the intensity of flavor. Strain the spice mixture from the simple syrup for use. It will last in the fridge in a closed container for 7 days.

Spiced Apple Cocktail

  • 2 oz Bourbon
  • 1 oz Apple Cinnamon Vodka (Or Apple Brandy)
  • 1 oz Apple Juice
  • 1 oz Spiced Simple Syrup
  • Sugar, apple slices, and cinnamon stick for garnish

In a cocktail shaker over ice, pour the bourbon, apple cinnamon vodka, apple juice, and spiced simple syrup. Shake! Strain the mixture into a cocktail glass rimmed with sugar and top with a slice of apple and a cinnamon stick.

For a non-alcoholic treat mix 2 oz of the spiced simple syrup with 3 oz of apple juice!

by
Keep Reading
Load More