Need a sophisticated nibble for last-minute holiday parties or unexpected guests? This five-minute Christmas tree appetizer is a fun, festive finger food that will bring cheer to any holiday gathering.
If you have cream cheese, pesto and pretzels, you’ve got the makings for a decorative appetizer that looks like a Christmas tree. You can’t have a Christmas tree without decorations! Thin apple slices make the cream cheese tree look 3D while the red and green pestos become garland and ornaments. A single pretzel becomes the tree trunk. Who knew that a block of cream cheese could become the most interesting appetizer on the table?
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The cream cheese Christmas tree can’t stand alone, so we’ve added Laughing Cow cheese triangles to the serving platter to serve as miniature Christmas trees. These mini Christmas trees are deliciously decorated with pesto and absolutely too cute to resist. Serve your five-minute Christmas tree appetizer with a tasty assortment of crackers.
Your family and friends will take one look at your deceptively fancy eat and thank you for your eat-right-now gift!
5-Minute Christmas Tree Appetizer
Makes: 10-12 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 block cream cheese (8 ounces)
- 4 small cheese triangles
- Small pretzel sticks
- 1 green apple, halved, cut into thin slices
- 2 tablespoons basil pesto, poured into a small squeeze bottle
- 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato pesto, poured into a small squeeze bottle
- Assorted crackers for serving
Instructions:
- Cut block of cream cheese down the middle diagonally. On serving platter, flip one side of cream cheese over next to other side, forming a tree shape.
- Place small cheese triangles around the large cream cheese tree.
- Insert pretzel stick into the bottom of large cream cheese tree to form the trunk. Insert a pretzel stick into each of the smaller cheese trees to form trunks.
- Lay apple slices diagonally across the large cream cheese tree.
- Squeeze rows of basil pesto on the large tree. Squeeze dots on the smaller trees.
- Use the sun-dried tomato pesto to form ornaments on the large tree. Squeeze dots on the smaller trees.
- Serve with assorted crackers.
