by Christine C.
When I was tasked with bringing an appetizer to Easter dinner a few years ago, I decided to make hot spinach artichoke dip. It’s always a hit at parties, so I figured it would be a pretty safe bet. Then I got to thinking that it would be a better idea to bring an appetizer that people could just pop in their mouths…easier than having to spoon the dip on a plate, then carrying the plate around. So I decided to make them into bites. They were a big crowd pleaser, really yummy and most importantly, so easy to make.
Ingredients (yields 4 dozen bites)
- 1 (8 oz.) package softened cream cheese (I used reduced fat)
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
- 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 2 tubes of crescent roll dough sheets
- shredded mozzarella (optional, though in my opinion completely necessary)
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray mini muffin tins with baking spray.
Combine the first six ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well. Here’s a tip for draining the spinach: place all of the thawed spinach in the center of a clean dishtowel, close the towel up with your hand and while holding over the sink, use your other hand to twist and squeeze until all of the water has been squeezed out. Works like a charm and saves you a ton of paper towels! Once you’ve combined the dip, set aside.
Roll your crescent roll dough out onto a large cutting board/work surface. Pinch all of the creases together so that you’re left with one big piece of dough. Recently, I’ve seen the crescent roll dough tubes in full sheets which negates the need to pinch seams together. Using a pizza slicer or a knife, cut the dough into 24 roughly even squares.Don’t worry if they’re not perfect…I certainly don’t and they always turn out just fine.
Press each of the dough squares into a mini muffin tin like so.
Then, using a teaspoon, fill each cup with the spinach artichoke mixture. At this point, if you’re feeling saucy, sprinkle each one with a little shredded mozzarella. Because cheese makes everything better.
Then pop those babies in the oven for 12 minutes and wipe the drool from your mouth as you wait. Or be like me and lick the spoon clean in the meantime. You deserve it. When they’re done, they should look something like this.
Wait a couple minutes until they’re cool enough to touch, then use a butter knife to get them out of the cups and onto the plate of your choice. Or in my case, directly into my mouth. Quick, easy and delicious!