16 Cocktail Party Recipes

A decorative bowl filled with a sphere of goat cheese and a few olives, topped with a thyme sprig.

Goat Cheese with Olives, Lemon, and Thyme1/16

Words sort of elude us when we attempt to describe just how stunning and scrumptious we consider this dish. Just...wow.

A sheet pan with an onion thyme tart on it, covered with cooked onions, thyme on a puff pastry crust

Onion Thyme Tart2/16

"Delicate." "Flaky." "Perfect." "I could not stop eating it!" That's what folks are saying about this hors d'oeuvre that's a cinch to make—and devour.

A blue pot containing three deviled eggs with roast chicken skin.

Deviled Eggs with Roast Chicken Skin3/16

Crisp roast chicken skin makes everything better. And we mean EVERYTHING. Witness these bewitching deviled eggs.

Four delicate Stilton Walnut crackers, edges rolled in chopped walnuts, on a parchment-lined sheet pan

Stilton and Walnut Crackers4/16

Perhaps the simplest and most sophisticated dinner party precursor ever. Just make the savory shortbread dough, freeze, slice, and bake. You're welcome.

Eight mini hog dogs wrapped in puff pastry on a parchment lined baking sheet

Pigs in a Blanket5/16

Without further ado or feigned guilt, allow us to reacquaint you with a long-lost childhood friend.

A deep baking dish lined with parchment and filled with baked ricotta

Baked Ricotta6/16

Entertaining gets no simpler than this rich, creamy, indulgent, elegant cheese spread made from three ingredients. Tasting is believing. Go on.

A basket of spiced shrimp with a bowl of paprika mayonnaise beside the shrimp, a halved lemon, and a cup of toothpicks.

Spiced Shrimp with Paprika Mayonnaise7/16

This crowd-pleasing spiced shrimp is served hot, hot, hot alongside a dip that's sigh-inducingly coooooooooool.

Bite-size bacon and cheese scones with smoked bacon and melted Asiago on top on a parchment-lined baking sheet

Bite-Size Bacon and Cheese Scones8/16

Cute as a button, and not much bigger, these buttery, bacony scones are the most diminutive and darned good baked thing we've had in recent memory.

A layer of parmesan twists on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Parmesan Twists9/16

There's lots to love about these crowd-pleasing twists. How they look. How they taste. How they come together with ease. (Need we go on...?)

Baked spiced pecans on a sheet of parchment that is resting on a wooden serving board.

Spiced Pecans10/16

"Super easy." "Great with beer." "Disappear fast." "Yummy!" That's what folks are saying about this recipe that's a little sticky, a little sweet, a little spicy, and incredibly stunning.

A carved wooden bowl filled with barbecue potato chips.

Barbecue Potato Chips11/16

A cheater's version of homemade barbecue potato chips that will have you hooked for life. Taste 'em and get back to us.

Wedges of Arlington chicken liver pate on top of crisp crackers on a brown serving platter along with a small bowl of chutney.

Arlington Chicken Liver Pâté12/16

Larded with bacon, freckled with hints of fresh parsley and cilantro, and left pleasingly, old-fashionedly chunky, this country-style pâté redefines refined.

A plate with a horseradish deviled egg, truffled deviled egg, and smoked salmon deviled egg

A Trio of Deviled Eggs13/16

Lovely. That's all we can think to say of this array of deviled eggs, which come in classic, smoked salmon, and lightly truffled.

A coupe class with three scoops of red mulled wine sorbet

Mulled Wine Sorbet14/16

Mulled wine turned into dessert. Second pours, er, helpings encouraged. Especially for moms. Zinfandel, Cabernet, Beaujolais, or Bordeaux, it matters not.

Five round pistachio shortbread cookies with a few broken pistachios on the side

Pistachio Shortbread Cookies15/16

Tender and crumbly like shortbread, yet subtly flavored and sweet like cookies, these beg the question, which are they?