Brilliant Bites: 75 Amazing Small Bites for Any Occasion, written by Maegan Brown, features a fantastic collection of sweet and savory treats for holiday entertaining and special events throughout the year. A few highlights include Charcuterie Board Cracker Bites, Mummy Meatballs, Avocado Toast Bites, BLT Grilled Cheese Bites, and Apple Pie Bites. I will also be sharing her recipe for Pumpkin Pie Bites following the review.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Rock Point in exchange for my honest review. All comments and opinions are my own.
Maegan Brown
Maegan Brown is a food blogger and cookbook author. She created her website, The BakerMama, in 2012 to share recipes and meal ideas that she makes for family and friends. It is now home to over 700 recipes with a focus on creative meals and memorable spreads.
Maegan is also the author of Spectacular Spreads and Beautiful Boards. She is currently based in Dallas, Texas with her husband and four children.
Brilliant Bites
Maegan begins Brilliant Bites with a short introduction. She goes over kitchen tools and supplies to help get started and describes the best ways to prepare, serve, and even transport the included bite-size creations.
Chapters are divided according to the following: Party Bites, Holiday Bites, Breakfast Bites, Snack Bites, Dessert Bites, and Savvy Sips. The contents have a list of the recipes with page number for easy reference.
The photography is provided by Kelsey Foster. Every single treat is paired with a full page photo of the finished dish.
Measurements are listed in US Customary and Metric. Titles are written in English. Each recipe has a short headnote with background information, yield, and notes.
Pumpkin Pie Bites
Maegan’s Pumpkin Pie Bites are the perfect Thanksgiving and fall treat formed into adorable little packages. They are also no-bake with no knives required, so a great kitchen activity for all ages.
Softened cream cheese is blended with powdered sugar, canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and graham cracker crumbs, then refrigerated for at least an hour to chill.
Half of the mixture is formed into pumpkins and the other half into wedges for the pumpkin pie slices. To finish, they are coated in even more graham cracker crumbs.
I especially love adding chocolate chips to the pumpkins for the stems and white chocolate chips to the pie slices for the whipped cream. So fun!
A Few Pumpkin Pie Bites Tips
For the best texture, allow the formed pieces to chill for about 30 minutes before serving.
Maegan states these Pumpkin Pie Bites can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks in advance. Ours disappeared within a couple of days, so they definitely did not make it that long.
Bring the cream cheese to room temperature before mixing to easily blend with the other ingredients.
This recipe uses pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin puree simply contains cooked and pureed pumpkin.
Pumpkin pie spice is a spice mixture often comprised of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. It can be found in the spice section of most American grocery stores, particularly in the fall.
Finely crush the graham crackers before adding to the cream cheese mixture. I like to use a food processor to quickly create a fine texture. If unavailable, you can also place them in a ziplock bag and hit with a rolling pin until completely crushed.
More Bites
I also made Cacio e Pepe Bites, Deep-Dish Pizza Bites, Chocolate Cheesecake Strawberry Bites, and Espresso S’more-tini.
The Cacio e Pepe Bites were such a fun variation of this classic dish. The al dente pasta is coated in cheese, arranged in mini muffin tins, then baked until crisp around the edges. They can also be prepared in advance!
The Deep-Dish Pizza Bites were a favorite with the kids. This easy treat comes together with simply flour tortilla rounds, pizza sauce, mozzarella, and mini pepperoni. We made half with pepperoni and half with only the cheese.
Maegan calls the Chocolate Cheesecake Strawberry Bites “simple and stylish” and they definitely are! Fresh strawberries are halved and filled with a chocolate cream cheese mixture. To finish, they are topped with a few mini chocolate chips.
Along with all the treats, Brilliant Bites also has 11 unique sips for pairing. I was immediately drawn to the Espresso S’more-tini. This decadent drink brings together the flavors of a s’more and an espresso martini all in one sip. It is served with a graham cracker rim and toasted marshmallow for garnish.
Brilliant Bites is a wonderful pick for those interested in entertaining or just having fun at home with bite-sized treats. There is an incredible variety of options for every occasion. Many can even be prepared ahead of time for easy serving.
Most of the ingredients are readily available in larger American grocery stores. A few items that may require further searching include fig jam, sashimi-grade salmon, queso fresco, specialty candy, key lime juice, and tomatillo.
Pumpkin Pie Bites Recipe
Excerpt from Brilliant Bites
Pumpkin Pie Bites
Ingredients
- 1 package (8 ounce, 227 grams) cream cheese softened
- 3/4 cup (95 grams) powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup (55 grams) canned 100% pure pumpkin
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups (300 grams) fine graham cracker crumbs divided
- 20 semisweet chocolate chips
- 20 white chocolate chips
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar on medium until well combined and smooth. (You can also use a hand mixer.)
- Add the pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla and beat on medium until well incorporated.
- Stir in 2 cups (240 grams) of the graham cracker crumbs, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the mixture for at least 1 hour.
- Place the remaining 1/2 cup (60 grams) graham cracker crumbs in a shallow bowl.
- Scoop half of the chilled mixture into twenty 1 tablespoon-size balls for pumpkin shapes, then roll each ball in the graham cracker crumbs to coat.
- Use a toothpick to make lines around the balls so that they look like little pumpkins, then press a semisweet chocolate chip into the top of each one for the stem.
- Shape the remaining mixture into twenty 1 tablespoon-size wedges that look like pie slices, then roll each wedge in the remaining graham cracker crumbs to coat.
- Top each pie-slice bite with a white chocolate chip for the whipped cream.
- Return the bites to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, until ready to serve.
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