141 party recipes

Filled lemon cookies sandwich thin, buttery shortbread rounds with a bright lemon filling. Slice-and-bake icebox dough with a tea party finish dusted in powdered sugar.

Shrimp puff pastry loaf wrapping a buttery shrimp, tomato and red pepper filling in golden flaky pastry. Elegant make-ahead seafood centerpiece for dinner parties and holidays.

Gift cake: a birthday sheet cake decorated to look like a wrapped present, with coconut "paper," strawberry preserves filling, and a gumdrop bow. Perfect kid's party centerpiece.

Peanut butter cookie pops made with a buttery peanut butter dough, rolled thin and cut into shapes, then sandwiched with candy melts on lollipop sticks. Great for kids' parties and bake sales.

Elegant cranberry twist on Peach Melba with poached peach halves, vanilla ice cream, and a pureed cranberry-kirsch sauce. A stunning dinner party dessert served in stemmed glasses.

A fun yeast bread shaped like a crab, complete with legs, claws, raisin eyes, and lemon peel antennae. A showstopping centerpiece for seafood boils or beach-themed parties.

An elegant vegetarian plate of couscous, basmati rice, and quinoa timbales served over a silky roasted sweet corn coulis. Restaurant-worthy presentation for a dinner party grain course.

Lollipop sugar cookies on sticks, a kid-friendly baking project with paintable egg yolk designs or pressed-in decorations. Fun party cookies that bake in under 10 minutes.

Seafood pasta salad with rotini, shrimp, bay scallops, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, and olives in an anchovy-Parmesan vinaigrette. Crowd-feeding cold salad for parties and picnics.

Slow-cooker sweet and sour cocktail franks simmered in chili sauce, currant jelly, mustard, and pineapple chunks. Retro mid-century party appetizer that holds warm in the crock for serving.

Famous Bundt rum cake made with yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding, and dark rum in both the batter and a buttery rum glaze. A boozy, moist party cake with chopped pecans.

Vegan pesto tofu manicotti: shells stuffed with mashed soft tofu, basil pesto, scallions, peppers, and mushrooms. Topped with marinara and shredded soy mozzarella, baked until bubbly. Plant-based dinner-party comfort food.

Layered Tex-Mex dip with bean dip, guacamole, taco-seasoned sour cream, tomatoes, olives, and sharp cheddar. A no-cook party platter that feeds a crowd in 15 minutes.

Mexican chocolate mousse with flambeed Jamaican rum that burns off the harsh edge and leaves deep, smoky-sweet flavor folded into clouds of whipped cream. A make-ahead dinner-party dessert.

Chilled green bean salad shaped into a nest, filled with butter-sauteed bay scallops in a creamy lemon-sour cream dressing. A stunning platter for dinner parties and brunches.

Texas-shaped peanut butter star cookies with peanut halves at the points and melted chocolate writing on top. A Country Living roll-out cookie for Lone Star themed parties.