Since my family won’t be together for the bb Jebus’ birthday, I hosted a surprise dinner last weekend-mostly for myself as I’ll be having a vegan dinner on the day and wanted my fix. The traditional main course is a no brainer so it was just a starter and dessert to think of. This Christmas Tree breadstick is all over Pinterest via the It’s Always Autumn blog, so decided to give it a go.

I got a pack of ready to roll pizza dough from Tesco, which made a neat size that fits on any oven tray. The ones I saw on Pinterest were large ones but being limited with oven space this was fine. If you’re hosting a party for more than six people it won’t go very far. I was feeding five, and this was a grand little bite, although not a real starter, but I planned on stuffing everyone with the main, so is a good option if your guests aren’t too fussed by a starter or not.

I’d also planned on a cheat’s dessert by buying a choc swiss roll and covering with choc icing to make an easy Yule Log, but I’d used all the cream for the potato dauphinoise and frankly, couldn’t be arsed to look up another icing method when it came to it. But there you go, perhaps I’ve saved you a few steps for a festive dessert. The mother came with a tin of her mince pies so we didn’t miss out on a treat.

I recreated the recipe from It’s Always Autumn, minus the grated cheddar because I forgot to add it, but it wasn’t needed in my opinion.

Also, I think the 2 tablespoons of butter is excessive below. Two teaspoons of butter melted is sufficient for brushing over the tree.

I made my tree ahead of baking time, covered it in foil on the counter and it was grand. I wouldn’t think it would be too happy hanging around in the fridge prior to hitting the oven. It doesn’t last once it’s baked and you’ve brushed the herbed butter over it though, you’d want to bake and brush right before serving.

For shaping, the vid link here is really helpful. I just cut a christmas tree triangle, spread the spinach dip to the edges and plonked the reamining parts over it as you can see below. So not as neat but it’s finger food for gin sake, just whack it together and get it in the oven.

 

Other commenters have substituted the spinach dip with pesto and all sorts, but the spinach dip is DELICIOUS. Give it a go. It was my first time making it, and it takes seconds to thaw in the microwave, squeeze the water out and blend with the cream cheese etc. I always thought frozen spinach would be a pain in the arse to squeeze the excess water out of, but nein. Don’t waste paper towels or your tea towel, use your hands. Go for it!