Festive Holiday Party Spread

I’ve found a way to elevate my festive holiday party spread: spiced pecans.

If you’ve been around these parts you know I love a nut – on salad, sprinkled over oatmeal, chopped on pancakes, baked in waffles, dropped in any cookie, and eaten by the handful as a snack when I’m making dinner. And while I don’t discriminate, I’d argue that favourite nut is arguably the pecan.

That’s pronounced pea-can, for your information.

My college friends can confirm this when I used to order pecan pancakes every time we’d go out for breakfast, laughing at my Western New York pronunciation of this tasty nut.

Flash forward, erm…let’s just say a lot of years later, my love hasn’t changed, but I’m upping my game from just pecan pancakes and, with the help of Zingerman’s Deli, giving new oomph to a typical holiday party spread.

What’s on the menu?

Let’s start with a cocktail.

I suggest an espresso martini, with a hint of mint to get us in the holiday spirit.

Or this fizzy cranberry crowd favorite.

Too early in the day for a martini? Pair bourbon with this mint simple syrup for a winter take on this fall cold brew favourite.

Kiddos around? Add the mint syrup to hot chocolate– and don’t forget the marshmallows!

As a true millennial child of the 80s’ and and perhaps somehow influenced by the fact that Mom never let us have Lunchables, I love a charcuterie board (remember the epic sweet and savoury ones I put together a few months ago?).  This season we’re getting a little fancy and upgrading a run-of-the-mill cheese ball with goat cheese, cranberry compote and spiced pecans.

Served with my favourite top seedz crackers, the every bite is sweet, tangy, crunchy, creamy and delicious.  It truly hits ALL the notes.

(The best part? Stash some away for tomorrow – paired with cranberry pecan bread, it sure would make the most epic grilled cheese sandwich!)

To truly round out your cheese board, add something old, stinky and blue.

Fresh fruit, candied fruit, more nuts (are there ever too many nuts?)

And we can’t forget about dessert? 

For these cupcakes, I took my favourite vanilla cupcake recipe and used chicory pecan bitters in place of vanilla extract to add a little something for the holidays. I stole the frosting from Mom’s classic Hungarian walnut torte and swapped those toasted walnuts for spiced pecans. 

Can I say heaven?!

With a festive holiday party spread this good, you’ll be good and full to tuck in for a long winter’s nap, with visions of spiced pecans dancing in your head.

The post was sponsored by Zingerman’s Deli. Be sure to check out all of their holiday gifts (but obviously, most definitely, get the spiced pecans!)  Thank you for supporting the brands the support THB!