Whether you’re hosting a large or small gathering, or spending the night in, I’ve got you covered.

I’ve compiled my best and easiests appetizer, cocktail and mocktail recipes for you to ring in the New Year!

No matter how you are ringing in the New Year, New Year’s Eve food and drinks are key to celebrating. But, let’s make things easy!

When it comes to cocktails OR mocktails, we all need something to cheers with! Many of my cocktail recipes also contain instructions to help you make them a mocktail too.

Cocktails & Mocktails for New Year’s Eve

Easy Cocktail Recipes for Your New Year’s Eve Gathering

The Best Pomegranate Aperol Spritz Holiday Cocktail

This pomegranate aperol spritz is the perfect holiday cocktail! Made with just 4 ingredients, everyone will love this festive sip!

Check out this recipe

Winter Spiced Old Fashioned

This spin on the classic Old Fashioned cocktail uses a spiced simple syrup that brings lovely warming notes to this Wintery sip.

Check out this recipe

Blood Orange Martini (an easy vodka cocktail recipe)

This Blood Orange Martini is a fresh twist on a cosmopolitan! Make these blood orange vodka drinks for any occasion during citrus season.

Check out this recipe

Cranberry Rosé Fizz

This Cranberry Rosé Fizz is the perfect cocktail for the holidays and to celebrate the New Year! A combination of tart and sweet, this Cranberry Rosé Fizz is garnished with sugared rosemary for a lovely sparkling touch.

Check out this recipe

Easy and Festive Christmas Cosmopolitan Cocktail

This Christmas Cosmopolitan is a festive twist on a classic cosmo. With a cranberry-rosemary simple syrup, it's perfect for the holidays!

Check out this recipe

Delicious Mocktails to Cheers With

Winter Spiced Kombucha Punch

This Winter Spiced Kombucha Punch is full of seasonal flavours like vanilla and chai paired with fresh fruits! It’s a festive, non-alcoholic drink you can enjoy all season long.

Check out this recipe

Citrus Vodka Cocktail (see the options in the recipe to make this a mocktail!)

With fresh citrus juice, ginger beer & vodka, this Citrus Vodka Crush cocktail is a bright, colourful drink to sip on during the holidays.

Check out this recipe

Ginger Honey Sparkler

A lovely sparkling mocktail with ginger, honey and rosemary.

Check out this recipe

Appetizers for New Year’s Eve

Simple ingredients and easy to make appetizers for the holidays and New Year’s Even so you can spend more time with the one’s you’re gathered with. Many of these appetizer recipes have become instant favourites for me too!

Quick & Easy Dip Appetizers for a New Year’s Eve Party

Easy Goat Cheese Appetizer with Fig Jam & Pecans

A simple holiday appetizer, this easy goat cheese dip with fig jam and pecans is sure to please all your guests! Make it in under 10 minutes!

Check out this recipe

Easy Garlic & Herb Cheese Holiday Appetizer

Make this easy cheese appetizer for your guests in under 10 minutes! With garlic & herb Boursin cheese, fresh herbs, walnuts & lemon, it's a joy to share.

Check out this recipe

The Best Cranberry Whipped Feta Dip (holiday recipe!)

This quick & delicious cranberry whipped feta dip is the perfect holiday appetizer! Make it with just 10 ingredients & under 20 minutes!

Check out this recipe

Easy Cheesy Baked Pesto and Sun-Dried Tomato Dip

This easy cheesy baked pesto dip is packed with flavour and juicy sun-dried tomatoes. It's an easy appetizer for the holidays and game-day!

Check out this recipe

Quick Whipped Ricotta Dip with Hot Honey Appetizer

Make this creamy whipped ricotta dip with hot honey for a quick & delicious appetizer! Top with rosemary & walnuts, for savory & sweet bite!

Check out this recipe

Easy Pizza-Inspired Olive Oil Dip with Burrata Cheese

Make this Olive Oil Dip with Burrata Cheese in 10 minutes! Enveloped by pizza-inspired flavours, this burrata appetizer is hard to resist.

Check out this recipe

Strawberry Basil Goat Cheese Dip

A festive goat cheese dip appetizer made with strawberry jam, honey and fresh basil. A perfect dip for entertaining any time of year!

Check out this recipe

Baked Feta Appetizer with Dates, Pistachios & Honey

Make this Baked Feta with Dates, Pistachios and Honey in just 20 minutes! This easy appetizer is a true crowd-pleaser during the holidays!

Check out this recipe

Bite-Sized Appetizers

Bite-sized appetizers are great to make when serving a crowd! Many of these appetizer bites can be made ahead of time or at least prepped so that they can be quickly put together for your New Year’s Eve guests.

Easy Herb & Walnut Mini Cheese Balls Appetizer

Make these herb & walnut mini cheese balls for a quick & delicious appetizer! A perfect bite-sized appy for Christmas, New Year's or gameday.

Check out this recipe

Easy Roasted Boursin Stuffed Dates with Pistachios

These Easy Boursin Stuffed Dates are roasted to perfection with chopped pistachios, orange zest and honey for the perfect appetizer bite!

Check out this recipe

Easy Garlic Bread Bites

These easy garlic bread bites are the perfect appetizer! Butter, spices, parmesan cheese and biscuit dough – your guests will love these!

Check out this recipe

Easy Buffalo Chicken Puff Pastry Bites Appetizer

These buffalo chicken puff pastry bites are the perfect game-day appetizer! Cheesy, spicy and crunchy, they're a must-make delicious bite.

Check out this recipe

Easy and Quick Holiday Brie Crostini Appetizers

Make these quick holiday brie crostini appetizers in 10 minutes! Top with seasonal jams, nuts & a honey drizzle for the perfect holiday bite.

Check out this recipe

Roasted Feta Stuffed Dates Appetizer with Walnuts

Make these Feta Stuffed Dates with walnuts in under 30 minutes! These roasted dates are the perfect appetizer for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Check out this recipe

Puff Pastry Appetizer Recipes

I love to use puff pastry in appetizer recipes because it’s so versatile! The buttery puff pastry can be found in the frozen section of most grocery stores which makes it very accessible for holiday and New Year’s Eve appetizers.

5-Ingredient Puff Pastry Cheese Twists with Gruyère

These 5 ingredient Puff Pastry Cheese Twists are the perfect make-ahead appetizer! Serve with hot honey, mustard or on a cheeseboard.

Check out this recipe

Puff Pastry Baked Gruyere with Fig Jam & Rosemary

Make this melty, delicious Puff Pastry Baked Gruyere appetizer in just 30 minutes. With fig jam & rosemary, it's a perfect savory bite.

Check out this recipe

Easy Apricot Jam & Gruyere Cheese Puff Pastry Bites

For a quick and impressive appetizer make these Apricot Jam & Gruyere Cheese Puff Pastry Bites! All you need is 6 ingredients & 30 minutes!

Check out this recipe

Puff Pastry Baked Brie with Fig Jam Appetizer Recipe

This baked brie with fig jam recipe is the perfect holiday appetizer! Quick & easy to make with 4 key ingredients, guests will love it.

Check out this recipe

Delicious Desserts

And we can’t forget one more sweet to end the evening with! These are two of my favourite chocolate desserts because neither of the recipes are too sweet. Both the chocolate bark and brownie cookies are the most delicious bite to share with friends and family!

5-Ingredient Snickers Chocolate Bark (viral recipe!)

This 5-ingredient date chocolate bark tastes just like a favorite snickers candy bar but it's a healthier version that's much easier to make!

Check out this recipe

Fudgy Chocolate Brownie Cookies

These easy Fudgy Chocolate Brownie Cookies are everything you love about brownies BUT in cookie form! Chewy & decadent & hard to resist!

Check out this recipe

The post 30 Recipes to Make for New Year’s Eve appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

I love a bubbly sip to cheers with on New Year’s Eve.

Whether you are looking for a cocktail or a non-alcoholic drink, I’ve got you covered to celebrate!

I am forever creating new cocktails, especially using seasonal ingredients. So, here are some of my favourite for the season to cheers with on New Year’s Eve!

Sparkling & Festive

You can never go wrong with a sparkling, fizzy cocktail.

Cranberry Rosé Fizz

Pomegranate Vodka Cocktail with Rosemary Simple Syrup

Lavender French 75 Cocktail

Minty Cucumber Gin Spritz

Winter Cranberry Aperol Spritz

Cocktails for Sharing

These cocktails are perfect to make for a crowd. Easily double the recipes to make larger batches or serve as a welcome cocktail for guests.

Spiced Winter Punch

Easy Mulled Wine

Pear Cider Sangria

Minty Cucumber Lime Sangria

Winter Rosé Sangria

Non-Alcoholic Drinks

It’s always good to have a non-alcoholic option and these are my absolute favs!

Ginger-Honey Sparkler

Citrus Vodka Crush (just omit the vodka and add more ginger soda or ginger beer)

Winter Spiced Kombucha Punch

Kombucha Cranberry Bourbon Smash (can be made non-alcoholic by just adding more Ginger Kombucha)

And, if you’re looking for savoury and sweet recipe ideas to celebrate with, check out my New Year’s Eve Party Menu!

Or I’m showing you how to make the perfect Holiday Sharing Board over on one of my latest Reels!

Cheers to the New Year friends!

More New Year’s Eve recipes from the blog

15 Recipes to Make for New Year’s Eve

A Sparkling New Years Eve Party Menu

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post Cocktails & Mocktails for New Year’s Eve appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

Whether you’re hosting a your family and friends or you’re having a small, cozy New Year’s Eve at home, this menu is perfect for both.

I’ve created this entire menu with YOU in mind; keeping recipes easy to you can enjoy time with family & friends while celebrating 2018 – I promise there is something for everyone to enjoy as you ring in 2018!

When I think of New Year’s Eve the words ‘pop & clink’ always come to mind. I think back to my favourite New Year’s Eve parties and they were always just a ton of FUN! So with those words in mind, this colourful décor and menu were created.

Your party will start off with a refreshing mocktail, the Ginger Honey Sparkler!

The combination of honey & ginger with sparkling water creates the most delightful sip! Plus, I cannot get enough of the ‘frosted’ rosemary sprigs – they are so festive!

Ginger Honey Sparkler

Total Time: 15 minutes
Equipment: small pot, strainer
Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh ginger, peeled & cut into pieces
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 mint leaves
1-2 bottles sparkling water, chilled

Garnish:

6-8 rosemary stems (cut to fit nicely as a glass garnish)
1/4 cup sugar

Instructions:

Put all ingredients in a small pot and bring to a boil. Once simmering, turn to medium-low to keep at a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes.

Once done simmering, take the pot off of the oven and strain out the ginger and mint leaves. Set the mixture in the fridge to cool for a few minutes.

When you mixture is cooling, make your garnish. Rinse your rosemary in water, shake to get excess water off and then roll through the sugar to coat – do this for each piece of rosemary.

Once the mixture is cool assemble your mocktails.  Add 3 tbsp of your ginger-honey mixture to a glass with 1/3 cup sparkling water. Then garnish with a rosemary sprig and add ice if needed.

Cook’s Note: As I was trying to come up with a cocktail my friend Gillian mentioned to me ‘why not try a mocktail,’ thus giving guests the choice of the mocktail OR transforming this drink into a cocktail. SO, if you want to make this drink alcoholic, gin, vodka or prosecco would be a nice addition.

To accompany your Ginger Honey Sparkler are Apricot & Pecan Brie Bites.

This recipe is a riff on what my girlfriend’s Steph & Pam call my ‘award-winning recipe,’ a recipe I created to win a Style at Home Magazine contest many, many years ago. To this day, the combination of apricot jam and brie never fails to impress!

Apricot and Pecan Brie Bites

Total Time: 30 minutes
Equipment: baking sheet
Servings: 20 bites (2-3 bites per person for 6-8 person party)

Ingredients:

1 square puff pastry, defrosted & rolled out OR 1 sheet puff pastry
175g brie, cut into 20 squares
1/3 cup apricot jam
20 pecans

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

If using a square of puff pastry dough, roll out to approximately 12inch x 12inch square. Then, cut your puff pastry dough into 20 squares and place onto your baking sheet, spaced apart.

Cut the brie into 20 squares, making sure the squares are just slightly smaller than your puff pastry squares.

Bake your puff pastry squares for 10 minutes. Then, remove them from the oven and top each puff pastry square with about 1/2 tsp apricot jam, a square of brie and one pecan. Put the squares back in the oven and bake for 6-8 minutes, until brie is starting to melt.

And you can’t have a party without something sweet, so my Party Chocolate Bark does just the trick!

Using both white & dark chocolate, plus a ton of sparkly sprinkles, my Party Chocolate Bark is the perfect sweet bite to accompany your New Year’s Eve evening.

Party Chocolate Bark

Total Time: 50 minutes
Equipment: baking sheet
Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

12oz/350g dark chocolate (approximately 2 cups dark chocolate chips)
12oz/350g white chocolate (approximately 2 cups white chocolate chips)
3 tbsp colourful sprinkles

Instructions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

First, melt your dark chocolate using a small pot on low heat, stirring constantly as the mixture melts. You can also melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments.

Pour the dark chocolate onto the parchment paper and spread out to about a quarter-inch thickness. Put the dark chocolate layer in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Once your dark chocolate has been in the freezer for 15 minutes, melt the white chocolate. Let the white chocolate sit for about 2 minutes and then remove the baking sheet from the freezer. Pour the white chocolate on top, smooth out and then sprinkle on the sprinkles. Freeze for 20 minutes.

Once your Party Chocolate Bark is set, break into chunks and keep refrigerated.

I hope you enjoy all of these recipes this New Year’s Eve; I’m sending you a virtual CHEERS from here in Calgary!

Thank you for visiting the Cooking in my Genes blog, I can’t wait to share with you so many new creations in the New Year!

More New Year’s Eve Recipe Inspiration from the blog

15 Food & Cocktail Recipes to Make for New Year’s Eve

Cocktails & Mocktails for New Year’s Eve

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post A Sparkling New Years Eve Party Menu appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

I’m out at the cabin with some friends to celebrate the New Year and we have all concluded this sangria is a must.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Equipment:  drink pitcher
Servings: 8-10

Ingredients:
1 bottle of Rosé
1 bottle (750ml) of lemonade (sparkling if you can find)
1 granny smith apple, chopped
1 lemon, halved & sliced
1 cup raspberries

Instructions:
Pour the rosé and lemonade into a drink pitcher.  Chop and slice the granny smith apple and lemon; add to the pitcher.  Add the raspberries to the pitcher, mix and put in the fridge for a half-hour.  Then its ready to serve!

Put ice into each of the glasses, pour sangria into each of the glasses and spoon out a bit of the fruit into each glass.

Enjoy & Cheers to 2016!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post Winter Rosé Sangria appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.