If you have never made a Christmas Appetizer Tree this is the year to give it a try. A beautiful centerpiece for your holiday table, this appetizer tree is made out of cheese and olives. It tastes as good as it looks and is a great way to start your Christmas dinner.
WHAT IS AN APPETIZER TREE?
I have seen “trees” made with all sorts of different foods. The premise is that you create something that looks like a tree out of food.
Typically the base of the tree is a cone-shaped styrofoam craft form. You can create the tree using any kind of food that you can stick to the foam with a toothpick.
Some of the foods I have seen used are gumdrops, cherry tomatoes, sliced meats, pickles, cheese cubes, fruit and more!
I saw the idea for this Christmas Appetizer Tree is a Betty Crocker display cookbook from 2004. You can check out their original recipe and all their other great appetizers while you are there.
The purpose of any kind of decorative food is to create a beautiful focal point on the table and honestly to impress your guests!
The best part about this appetizer tree recipe is that it is so easy!!
INGREDIENTS AND SUPPLIES NEEDED
This appetizer tree tutorial doesn’t call for a large variety of ingredients or supplies. If you have several tables it would be easy to double or triple the ingredients and supplies to make 2 or 3 of these in one sitting.
Supplies:
- Green Cone Shaped Floral Foam
that is 9 inches tall
- Toothpicks
- Star Shaped Cookie Cutters
in 1 inch and 2 inch
Ingredients:
- Pimiento Stuffed Olives
(a jar of small and a jar of large)
- Pitted Large Ripe Olives
- Jumbo Pitted Ripe Olives
- Block of Colby Cheese
- Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
HOW TO MAKE A CHRISTMAS APPETIZER TREE
If you can stick toothpicks into foam then you can handle making this cool Christmas appetizer. The colors of the ingredients will look wonderful on almost any Christmas table.
If you want to make a larger tree just increase the number of ingredients you buy! Follow the same steps.
STEP ONE: CUT CHEESE
Start off by taking the block of Colby cheese and cutting it horizontally into 2 equal pieces that are each about 1/3 inch thick.
Cut one 2 inch star out of the cheese using the 2-inch star-shaped cookie cutter.
Cut the rest of the cheese into 1-inch stars using the 1-inch star-shaped cookie cutter.
Place all the cheese stars onto a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Place the plate in the refrigerator until ready to use.
STEP TWO: PREPARE SUPPLIES
Now it is time to do some basic preparations.
Drain the jars and cans of olives.
Take the rosemary sprigs and cut them into smaller pieces.
Cut each of the toothpicks in half.
STEP THREE: ASSEMBLE TREE
Start off by pushing each olive onto a toothpick half.
Begin at the bottom of the cone and begin inserting toothpicks with olives on them into the cone until they are secure.
Alternate the different types of olives and place them in random order on the cone.
Leave a little space every now and then to place a cheese star.
When all the olives have been added to the cone it is time to go back and add the cheese stars to the tree.
Insert a toothpick half into the cheese stars and push them into the cone until secure.
STEP FOUR: ADD TOP STAR
For the top tree star, push the toothpick into the bottom of the star and add it to the very top point of the cone.
STEP FIVE: ADD ROSEMARY
Now that the olives and cheese have been added to the tree it is time to add the rosemary sprigs.
The rosemary will add a wonderful aroma to the appetizer tree and will also make it resemble a Christmas tree even more!
Just gently insert sprigs of rosemary between olives and cheese wherever you can.
Once the Christmas Appetizer Tree is completed you can cover it loosely and keep it refrigerated until ready to use.
I wouldn’t recommend preparing this any sooner than 6-8 hours before it is needed.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH THE APPETIZER TREE
You may be thinking that this Christmas Appetizer Tree should be served with something and I couldn’t agree more.
Think about what you like to dip olives and cheese into and those would be great additions to the table.
Some good dips to accompany this holiday appetizer tree are:
- Ranch Dressing
- Veggie Dip
- Creamy Cilantro Dressing
- Hummus
CHRISTMAS APPETIZER RECIPE
I know you are excited to make this lovely appetizer tree to show off on your holiday table or to take along to a party.
You can print off the complete ingredients and instructions via the recipe card below.
This beautiful olive and cheese Christmas Appetizer Tree is simple to assemble and looks beautiful on any holiday table. 1. Cut the block of cheese horizontally into 2 pieces, each about 1/3 inch thick. Cut cheese with 1-inch star-shaped cookie cutter. Use the 2-inch star-shaped cookie cutter to cut a single large star to go on top of the tree. Cover the cheese stars and refrigerate till ready to assemble. 2. Drain olives. 3. Cut the rosemary sprigs into small pieces. 4. Break toothpicks in half. 5. Push each olive onto the toothpick half. 6. Starting from the bottom of the cone, insert toothpicks with olives into the cone until they stay in place. 7. Continue placing olives in random order, varying both in color and in size, on the tree, leaving enough spaces for the cheese stars. 8. Push each cheese star onto toothpick half. Insert the cheese stars into cone among the olives. 9. Top the tree with the large cheese star. 10. Insert the rosemary sprigs randomly between the olives and the cheese stars. 11. Cover the tree loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate no longer than 8 hours before serving. PeaceLoveChristmas.com may offer nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although PeaceLoveChristmas.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.Christmas Appetizer Tree
Ingredients
Supplies
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
15
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 154Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 236mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 7g
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