Take two of my favorite things to gorge on and put them together as one delicious bite-sized appetizer? You’ve just won me over! I’m talking spinach artichoke dip stuffed into a crispy wonton wrapper…I know, I know…it’s damn near perfection. These little beauties are an excellent addition to any party….any tailgate….any backyard get together or even a fancy girls cocktail hour! As a matter of fact, I made a whole mess of these (yes…that’s Southern for A LOT) and took them to my girlfriends on the golf course one day! They are best when they’re right out of the oven but you can totally serve them room temperature and they’re still a hit! I decided to pair them with a shandy – but we used ginger beer instead of a traditional lemonade for an extra zip, great combo! I will give fair warning: these little wontons are addicting!! (Thank you for the recipe Peas and Crayons)

Ingredients List

• 24 chilled wonton wrappers
• 9 oz creamed spinach (frozen or freshly made)
• 3-6 oz marinated artichoke hearts* (approx. 1/4-1/2 cup chopped)
• 2 oz softened cream cheese (cut into 6-8 cubes)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/8 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• spray oil (avocado, olive, etc…)

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 365 degrees F.
2. Warm creamed spinach using package instructions. Drain your artichokes and chop into small pieces. Combine with spinach.
3. Gently place won-ton squares in a mini-muffin tray sprayed with spray oil. For extra crunch, you can also lightly spray the wonton wrappers themselves with a little oil.
4. Bake for 5 minutes to lightly crisp.
5. Combine creamed spinach with your trio of cheeses and season with garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
6. Spoon spinach mixture into lightly baked won-ton cups and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the edges of your wonton cups are toasty and golden brown with a hot, melty spinach dip center.

Live Cooking Demo

The Cocktail

Summertime Shandy -with ginger beer

I thought a light, bright shandy would be a great pairing with this heavy-ish appetizer. While bite-sized, the spinach dip center is extremely rich and decadent so it needed a cocktail that would balance that out. Plus, shandies are super easy to make and fun to customize. You could use the traditional lemonade mixed with beer – but using ginger beer adds a bit of a bite -almost like a palette cleanser!

Ingredients:

• 6oz lager or IPA
• 4-6 oz ginger beer (we used Fever Tree)

Pour lager or IPA in chilled beer glass, topping with ginger beer. Enjoy! It’s that easy!