These Christmas Stuffing Cups taste just like that, Christmas in a cup! In this case, a biscuit cup! Made with rosemary, craisins and sausage, they are a festive holiday appetizer or side dish! Best part, they can be made ahead of time and popped in the oven before guests arrive!
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It’s the beginning of November and I heard Mariah Carey’s, “All I Want For Christmas” on the radio this morning.
I wasn’t sure whether to curse out the radio station or start singing.
Either or, it’s OFFICIAL! Break out the wreaths and eggnog!
Or in this case, break out these stuffing cups!!!
My mother-in-law makes a version of this stuffing every Christmas and I just love it!! The first time I had it, I immediately wanted to know what was in it. Ever since, I have tried tweaking it over the last few holidays to make it ‘finger food worthy’…because as you know, I don’t post ANYTHING that requires forks here. 😉
Anyway! Since stuffing or “dressing”, as some call it, is definitely NOT a finger food, I wanted to figure out how to MAKE it a finger food perfect for your next holiday cocktail party!
My favorite part about these stuffing cups are the craisins. If you have not yet had craisins in a savory dish before, you’re missing out! They just add such a pop of flavor and sweetness. I will forever be a craisin lover.
Then you throw in the sausage, rosemary and maple syrup and holy moly. Guys, the flavors are just out of this world!
You don’t want to leave out any ingredients for this recipe. They all serve a purpose and are all absolutely necessary. So go to the food store today and pick them up. THEN you can make these bites of Christmas heaven for your family this holiday season!
An Easy Christmas Cocktail Party Appetizer
This recipe will for sure begin a new family tradition!
As of now, our only Christmas food tradition is my Ridiculously Moist Christmas Cake Balls. I make them every Christmas and love giving them away in clear plastic baggies tied with a bow! So beautiful and so fun to eat!
We are throwing our first Christmas/Holiday party this year and I am SO excited! It’s actually an ‘UGLY SWEATER’ party. I love theme parties so what could be a better theme?! From young to old, everyone can participate!
As for food and drinks, I am going lighter on the food and heavier on the drinks. I want the party to be more about mingling then eating.
With that said, I am definitely debating making a ton of these cups!! They are just too delicious to turn down, especially for a Christmas party.
My Faves!
One more thing! Here are some containers I love using to either store or transport many of my hot appetizers that need reheating later on! The oven-proof glass container is everything. The lids lock in place and the carry bag is perfect for transporting super hot food!
And this people, is my new baby. It is a Betty Crocker Stainless Steel Buffet Server and Warming Tray! It is something I just recently purchased from Amazon to use for my son’s baptism party.
I loved it so much I bought another one. Then my mom got TWO for herself! If you love hosting, this is such a great way to serve food! No water baths or sterno cans needed! And they look so fancy! 😆
Pin this recipe using the image below so you don’t forget it!
These Christmas Stuffing Cups taste just like that, Christmas in a cup! In this case, a biscuit cup! Made with rosemary, craisins and sausage, they are a festive holiday appetizer or side dish! Best part, they can be made ahead of time and popped in the oven before guests arrive!
- 1 16.3 Can Pillsbury Biscuit Dough (8 count)
- 12 oz. Pork Sausage
- 4 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- 1 1/4 Cups Diced Yellow Onion
- 1 Cup Diced Celery
- 1 Cup Craisins (Dried Cranberries)
- 2 Tbsp. Chopped Rosemary
- 1/2 Tsp. Salt
- 1/3 Cup Maple Syrup
- 2 Tbsp. Flour
- 1 1/4 Cup Chicken Stock
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Remove the casing (outer skin) from your sausages by slicing lengthwise with a knife and peeling it off using your fingers. Add the olive oil to a saute pan and over medium-high heat, brown your sausage while chopping it up using the flat end of a wooden spoon or spatula.
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When the sausage is nicely browned, turn down your heat to medium and add the onions allowing them to saute for another 5 minutes. *Make sure the bottom of the pan is NOT dry. You should see the oil. If you need to add another tbsp, do it.
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Add your celery, rosemary craisins and salt to the pan and saute for two more minutes.
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Turn your heat up to high and add your flour stirring it around so the flour coats all of your ingredients. After a minute, add the chicken stock and stir it up until you get a nice thick filling. The filling should thicken after about 5 minutes. The consistency you want should be STEW-LIKE not soupy! If it is too thick, add more stock. Too soupy? Whisk in another teaspoon or two of flour and let it simmer until it thickens to the right consistency.
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Finally, mix in your maple syrup, turn off heat and set aside.
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
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Open your canned biscuits and separate each one. (You should have 8.) Cut each into quarters and using the palm of your hand, flatten each quarter as much as you can into rounds. You should end up with 8 x 4 = 32 flattened biscuits. Place each biscuit into a mini muffin tin pressing it into each tin making sure the dough comes all the way up the sides (If not, the filling will fall out!) Finally, fill each cup with your sausage filling and pack it in nice a firm.
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Bake for 12-15 minutes or until your biscuit cups are golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving!
Serving ideas*
- Place on a flat serving platter and drizzle more maple syrup on top and sprinkle rosemary and craisins around so everyone knows what's in them!
- If you want to make these ahead of time, I suggest, baking them for about 10 minutes (instead of 12-15) and then take them out and freeze them in a sealed Tupperware container OR place them in the fridge for 2-3 days before you finish baking them off.
Substitutions
- You can use any Pillsbury canned biscuit dough.
- You can also use any sausage you prefer although I recommend a sweet Italian sausage that is still in its casing. It just cooks up nicely for these cups.
- Do not use dried rosemary, it does not taste the same! You could substitute with sage if you desire.
