Beautiful Ladybug Appetizers
Equipment
Instructions
Pre-Assembly
- A few hours before you'd like to assemble this appetizer, cut the tomatoes & olives. Place slides on paper towel and allow to soak up some moisture.10 oz Cherry Tomatoes, 3 oz Can Large Black Olives, Pitted
- Once the tomatoes are pretty dry, pat the tops with a paper towel. Using the sparkel gel, quickly dot the tomato and lift it up. I recommend 2-3 dots per each side of the tomato "wings".1 Tube Black Sparkle Gel
Assemble Ladybugs
- Spread each cracker with cream cheese.3 oz Chive & Onion Cream Cheese, 30 Ritz Crackers
- Top each cracker with tomato, and dab a small about of cream cheese on black olive and stick to the front of the tomato.
- Place assembled ladybugs on a serving tray of choice.
The nutrition facts provided on this site are only an estimate and are provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutrition facts for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Video
Angie’s Notes
- If you want to do a little extra, you can cut some chives and stick them inside the olive – they will look like antennae.
- Swap he cream cheese with your favorite savory flavor, or plain!
Why I Love This Garden Party Appetizer
Welcome back to my garden party series, this week I’m featuring a garden party appetizer! These were so fun to make, and my guests thought they were cute. They also taste great and are a one-bite appetizer.
I have a few tips & tricks to make these ladybug appetizers the best they can be. Believe me, you don’t want to serve soggy ladybugs. Read this week’s post to learn my tips!
Make A Drier Ladybug Garden Party Appetizer
A few hours before your party, start prepping your ingredients. Chop the tomatoes & black olives, place them on paper towels, and put them in the fridge until you are ready to use. Doing this will help get as much liquid as possible out. I tested making these appetizers and letting them sit for 2 hours, and they were soggy. Knowing when the party was going to start, I could work backward and determine when I should start making these. Opting to make these an hour before the party was a smart idea, though slightly stressful.
Having multiple “last minute” things to make before the party meant the hour before the party I was rushing. The alternative was to serve something I wouldn’t be happy with.
Read what I would do differently next time.
What Would I Do Differently Next Time?
If I made these again, I would put a small dot of cream cheese on the cracker, and place a basil leaf. Then, I would add the cream cheese to the top of the basil leaf. That could be prepped a few hours in advance and should eliminate the fear of being soggy. I’d still want my tomatoes & black olives to be as dry as possible, and I would still leave those to complete in the last hour.
One other thing I would do differently would be to add the dots to the ladybugs ahead of time. As long as the tops of the tomatoes are dry, you can add the dots. Doing that ahead of time would allow me to prep everything else, then pop those quickly.
As I made these I wondered if the black olives were really needed. They were a pain to deal with and placed in the right spot. I would like to see what these look like without it, and determine if I need the olives or not.
Overall, these were super cute and guests loved them, but there are definitely things I would try differently next time for less stress on my part.
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