Three must-have healthy New Year’s Eve appetizers

Make your cooking the talk of the New Year with these must-have appetizers from blogger Carly Wood!

Not only are all of these appetizers delicious and gluten-free, they're also super cute too so they're sure to be the talk of any party. Check out the recipes below!

Cranberry Salsa 

Ingredients:

• 12 oz bag fresh cranberries, washed
• 2 jalapeños (adjust according to taste)
• 1/2 cup green onions
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 8oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature

1. Place everything in a food processor (except the cream cheese) and process until fine. Chill in the refrigerator for about 2 hours or more.
2. To serve, spread cream cheese evenly on a shallow serving dish or platter. Spread cranberry salsa on top and serve with crackers (These or these) or tortilla chips.
3. The cranberry salsa keeps very well in the refrigerator. Often times, if you can`t eat the whole batch in one sitting, Carly only uses 1/2 the batch of salsa and one block of cream cheese and saves the rest for later.

Gingersnap Dip

Ingredients:

• 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup confectioners` sugar
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (*homemade recipe below)
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine and mix the cream cheese, confectioners` sugar, and pumpkin pie spice until smooth. In another bowl, beat whipping cream and vanilla until medium peaks form.
2. Mix whipped whipping cream with cream cheese mixture and refrigerate until serving.

Stuffed Blue Cheese Bacon Wrapped Dates

Ingredients:

• 6 Bacon Strips, cut into thirds
• 18 (Medjool) dates, pits removed
• 2/3 cup crumbled Blue Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Cut each bacon strip into thirds. In a large skillet, cook bacon in batches over medium heat until partially cooked but not crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain; keep warm.
3. Carefully cut a slit in the center of each date, remove pit; fill with blue cheese, and push closed. Wrap a bacon piece around each stuffed date (seam side up); secure with wooden toothpicks.
4. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet (line with parchment for easy cleanup) for 10-12 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Best served warm.

For more fun recipes and tips, visit Carly's blog at www.thegardenspotblog.com