In the past few years, I’ve enjoyed bringing small appetizers to holiday gatherings or filling our festive table with small bites when we host. The beauty is that they’re customizable based on what you have handy or enjoy eating, and can be simplified with a few shortcuts if you’re low on time.

The Base:

• Homemade or store-bought pie crust
• Muffin tin (full sized or mini)
• Cooking spray or butter

Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out the crust and cut circles slightly larger than your muffin cups (a drinking glass works as a cutter or just wing it with a butter knife). Press gently into greased muffin tins, letting edges come up the sides. Pre-bake for 8-10 minutes until just starting to get a hint of golden-brown color.

Savory Variations:

Gruyère & Wild Mushroom

• 8 oz mushrooms, sautéed with garlic and thyme
• 1 cup shredded Gruyère
• 3 eggs beaten with ½ cup cream
• Salt and pepper

Spinach & Feta

• 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• ¾ cup crumbled feta
• 3 eggs beaten with ½ cup cream
• Pinch of nutmeg

Caramelized Onion & Goat Cheese

• 2 large onions, slowly caramelized (20-30 minutes)
• 4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
• 3 eggs beaten with ½ cup cream
• Fresh thyme

Spoon filling into pre-baked crusts about ¾ full. Bake 20-25 minutes until set and golden. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from tin. Don’t like eggs? Just use the other ingredients on their own and eyeball the bake time.

Sweet Variations:

These are especially good in mini-muffin tins.

Nutella & Banana: Spread Nutella in pre-baked crusts, top with banana slices, bake 10 minutes

Apple Cinnamon: Sauté diced apples with butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar until soft; spoon into crusts and bake 15 minutes

Chocolate Ganache: Pour warm chocolate ganache (equal parts chocolate and cream, melted) into crusts, chill until set