smoked salmon and cream cheese party bites

Ahh, smoked salmon and cream cheese bites.  How I love you.  I love party food in general; specifically bite-size party food.  When I go out for dinner, I always select entrees (or appetizers) with the most flavor combinations.  The thought of enjoying multiple textures and flavors in one dish is just so appealing to me.  So party food is basically my heaven; I can try little bites of all the things!

I’ve been on a bit of a “party-food-making-kick” lately, and it’s been glorious.  Last weekend, some friends of ours held an NYE party at their house, and asked that each of us provide an appetizer or two.  I had been playing with a few ideas, and finally settled on three different test recipes I was dying to let everyone try: spicy chicken meatballs, ahi tuna and avocado bites, and champagne cake balls. 😀 

Then, life happened, and I had to go into work the day of the party.  Needless to say, my big dreams of preparing bite-size appetizers all day had gone to shit.  I found myself scrambling for quick-and-easy appetizer recipes, rather than the elegant morsels I had been so excited to prepare for our friends.

But then, I saw my situation as an opportunity.  Just because I was pressed for time didn’t mean I couldn’t prepare something elegant!  I had previously made a smoked salmon cream cheese spread for morning bagels, and thought the smoked salmon spread it would be perfect to serve in bite-size form on small squares of pumpernickel bread!

Alas, the smoked salmon and cream cheese bites were born.  I prepared the smoked salmon spread ahead of time, and packed slices of pumpernickel bread into plastic baggies. I also packed a few chives to use as garnish.  (Side note : I had Mark make my buffalo chicken dip to take, too!  It’s always a big favorite!)

These were so easy to put together, and they were a hit!  Plus, they’re bite-size … so you can carry around a cocktail in one hand, and just pop one or two of these into our mouth as you walk by them. 😀 

Happy New Year to you!

Recipe Card

4.25 from 8 votes

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smoked salmon and cream cheese bites

Author Sara

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Servings 32 bites

Combine smoked salmon and cream cheese with just a touch of seasoning, then spoon or pipe onto bite-size pumpernickel squares. Garnish with chives for an elegant and super easy appetizer! Perfect for party food!

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

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Ingredients

 

• ▢ 4 slices pumpernickel bread
• ▢ 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
• ▢ 3 ounces smoked salmon finely chopped
• ▢ 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• ▢ salt and pepper to taste
• ▢ 2 tsp chives finely chopped
• ▢ additional chives finely chopped, for garnish

Instructions

• Cut crusts off of pumpernickel bread, then cut the bread into 1" squares.
• In a medium sized bowl, combine the finely chopped salmon and cream cheese. Using a fork, mash the salmon and cream cheese together until fully combined.
  
• Sprinkle the garlic powder directly and 2 tsp. of chopped chives onto the cream cheese and salmon, and continue to mash with a fork.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Spoon the entire smoked salmon cream cheese mix into a small plastic bag; scoop it directly into one of the bottom corners.  Using scissors, snip a small piece of the corner off of the bag.
• Slowly squeeze the smoked salmon and cream cheese mix through the hole cut in the corner, or "pipe" it directly onto the pumpernickel squares.
• Garnish with finely chopped chives.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bite | Calories: 32kcal

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