Suzie, I'm not able to offer much help in the dessert category but I can tell you that if I were your neighbor, I'd love to come for a little dessert, but I would most definitely appreciate something 'not sweet' and 'not dessert'. That's just me, and maybe I'm not alone. Personally, I like a little something sweet once in a while, but not too much and not too often. So, I'd be delighted to come to your party for the friendship and camaraderie, but I'd be really happy if you had something simple like chips and salsa to offer also. (Doesn't need to be a lot or anything fancy, just something to cut the sweetness.) One of my favorite savory 'cookie' is: BLUE CHEESE WALNUT BITES (BHG 2000) 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour 2-3 teaspoons cracked black pepper 8 ounces blue cheese 1/4 cup butter 1 cup chopped walnuts 2 egg yolks, slighty beaten In a medium mixing bowl combine flour and pepper. Using a pastry blender cut in cheese and butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add walnuts and egg yolks. Stir until combined. Form the mixture into a ball; knead until combined. Divide dough in half. shape each half into a log about 9 inches long. Wrap logs in plastic wrap, chill at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 425* Cut each log into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until bottoms and edges are golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temp. Store tightly covered. Something else that is seasonal and easy and all you need is some chips or crackers with it: Posted by: Elvis (My Page) on Tue, Dec 3, 02 at 21:45 Here's a stunning looking, easy-easy dip. Almond Pinecones: 1 1/4 c. Almonds 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 1/4 c. mayo 10 bacon slices, crisp and crumbled (fake will NOT do) 2 T. minced green onion 3/4 t. dill weed 1/4 t. freshly ground pepper, any color Roast almonds till slightly browned (VERY slightly). Combine all other ingredients and chill several hours or overnight. Form the dough into 1 pinecone shaped (flat on serving platter side) mounds. Starting at pointy end of cone place overlapping almonds in a scaly fashion to make them resemble cones. Garnish top ends of cones with pine, if available in your area. Simply adorable, and delicious. Serve with crackers. Very seasonable. Tip: Don't store with the almonds in place for more than several hours, as they will become soggy from the dip.

Chocolate Trifle 2 packages of brownie mix 4 Skor bars, crushed 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese cup sugar 1 large tub of Cool Whip Bake brownies according to package directions. Mix the cream cheese with the sugar until well combined. Fold in the large tub of Cool Whip. In a large bowl, do alternate layers starting with (1) crumbled brownies, (2) crushed Skor bars, then (3) cream cheese mixture. Decorate the top with crushed Skor bars and refrigerate. Deadly Chocolate Trifle Serves a crowd unless real chocolate lovers get started at it. Brownies may be prepared hours ahead of time with Kahlua if desired. 1 Fudge brownie mix (or your own), prepared 1/3 cup kahlua (or sweetened black coffee) 3 Instant chocolate mousse dessert mix, prepared (3.1 oz., 87 g each) 8 chocolate-covered crispy toffee bars (such as Heath or Skor), 1½ oz., 39 g each, crushed (about 1-1/3 cups) 4 cups frozen light whipped topping, thawed Make holes, using a fork, all over top of brownies. Drizzle Kahlua over top. Let stand for 10 minutes. Chop brownies into small pieces. Divide into 2 piles. Put 1 pile into glass trifle bowl. Layer ½ of mousse, ½ of crushed candy bars and ½ of whipped topping over brownies in bowl. Repeat layers, beginning with remaining pile of chopped brownies. Chill. Garnish with shaved chocolate and a sprinkle of crushed chocolate-covered crispy toffee bars over the whipped cream, if desired. Serves 20. **You can use 2 instant chocolate pudding powders (4 servings size each) instead of the instant chocolate mousse dessert mix. Beat pudding powders with 4 cups milk until smooth but not thickened. Pour ½ of pudding over brownie in bowl, and proceed as directed above. Black Forest Trifle This quick-and-easy Black Forest Trifle is a variation of the traditional English trifle. It is made of layers of chocolate pudding and cherries, laced with cookie crumbs  either vanilla, shortbread or chocolate chip. 4½ cups milk 3 squares (1 oz each) unsweetened chocolate 1/3 cup cornstarch ½ cup sugar ¼ tsp salt 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 2 cups cookie crumbs (made from wafers, shortbread or chocolate-chip cookies) 1 can (20 oz) cherry pie filling Put 4 cups of the milk into a large, heavy saucepan. Add unsweetened chocolate and heat over moderate heat, watching carefully, until bubbles form on milk around edges of pan  milk is then scalded. Remove from heat and set aside. Put cornstarch, sugar, salt and remaining ½ cup milk into a small bowl. Use a small whisk to stir cornstarch mixture until all dry ingredients are moistened and no lumps remain. Be sure mixture is well stirred just before adding to hot milk. Using a large wire whisk, stir hot-milk mixture in saucepan while gradually adding cornstarch-milk mixture. Return saucepan to heat and cook over moderately high heat, stirring constantly, until milk mixture begins to boil. Boil 1 minute longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. (If you must stop for a short while, place a piece of plastic wrap on surface of pudding to prevent a skin from forming.) Spoon 1/3 of the chocolate pudding into a 2-quart soufflé dish or glass bowl. Top with 1/3 of the cookie crumbs. Set aside ½ cup cherry pie filling. Gently spoon half of the remaining filling onto crumbs in bowl. Repeat layering with another third of chocolate pudding, crumbs, the remaining cherry pie filling and the remaining chocolate pudding. Spoon remaining cookie crumbs around chocolate pudding to form a border. Top chocolate pudding layer with remaining ½ cup cherry pie filling, placing it in the center. Refrigerate trifle, covered, until pudding is well chilled  5 to 6 hours. Makes 8 servings.

Here's a bunch - I think they're all good! Amaretti Ice Cream Balls Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray, 2007 24 amaretti cookies 1/4 cup amaretto liqueur 2 pints vanilla ice cream Chocolate sauce Whipped cream Crush cookies by hand or in plastic bag. Place onto a sheet pan. Dampen the cookie crumbs with the liqueur. Scoop ice cream balls onto the sheet pan and roll around until covered. Place the balls into a serving dish and top with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. DAIQUIRI PIE This is a wonderful holiday dessert -- and soooo easy! Daiquiri Pie 1 package lemon pudding (not instant) 1 package instant lime jello (or strawberry, or whatever flavor you want - Use strawberry for Strawberry Daiquiri Pie, banana for Banana Daiquiri Pie, etc.) 1/3 cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 2-1/2 cups water 1/2 cup rum (more doesn't hurt it - I used dark rum and stuck to 1/2 cup) 2 cups Cool Whip (thawed) Graham cracker pie crust Mix the pudding, jello, sugar, add 1/2 cup water and two eggs. Beat well. Then add in the rest of the water and mix. Cook over medium heat until it comes to a full boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add the rum. Let it cool for two hours -- it will thicken. Then add the Cool Whip and mix well again. Pour into the pie crust. Chill until set. Source: Bacardi Recipe book The alcohol in the rum evaporates since it is added to the hot liquid. I decorate the strawberry one with sliced strawberries and the banana one with sliced bananas. They look real pretty. Barbara 52's Frozen Lemon Cream Sandwiches one 7-oz container chilled creme fraiche 1/4 cup lemon curd finely grated zest of one lemon 12 crisp butter waffle cookies 1/4 cup chopped unsalted pistachios Line a small baking sheet with wax paper. In a chilled bowl, beat the creme fraiche with the lemon curd and zest until firm peaks form. Arrange half of the cookies on the baking sheet and spoon the lemon cream onto the centers, letting it ooze gently to the edges. Top w/the remaining cookies, pressing down very gently. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer and freeze the sandwiches until firm, at least 4 hrs. Spread the nuts on a plate and roll the edges of the sandwiches in them. 6 servings (Can be frozen in an airtight container up to one week.) NOTES: Jules Destrooper Crisp Butter Wafers (from Belgium) are available from specialty shops in the US. They are, as their name implies, wonderfully crisp and buttery ... accept no substitute! Use any good brand of lemon curd. I used Nelson's, from England. GRASSHOPPER PIE 6 tablespoons melted butter 24 Oreo cookies (take out the middles) 1/4 cup Cre De Menthe 1 cup heavy cream 1 small jar marshmallow fluff Crush cookies and add melted butter. Press into 9 inch pie pan. In a bowl, whip the heavy cream. In another bowl, mix the marshmallow fluff and Crème De Menthe and add to the heavy cream. Spoon into pie shell and freeze until ready to eat. Decorate with Oreo cookie crumbs. JOYCE'S RICE PUDDING 1 quart milk 1 quart half and half dash of salt When mixture comes to a boil stir in one cup regular long grain white rice. Stir for about 40 minutes at medium high until mixture starts to thicken. Combine 2 eggs, 1 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Add to mixture and stir another 8 minutes. Pour into 9 x 13 pan and chill. Best if made a couple days ahead of time. Enjoy. STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE TRIFLE 2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced 1 cup sugar, divided 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened 3 tablespoons orange juice 3 cups heavy cream, whipped 1 loaf (10-3/4 ounces) pound cake, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 3 squares (1 ounce each) semisweet chocolate, grated Garnish - chocolate curls and additional strawberries In a bowl, toss strawberries with 1/2 cup sugar and set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, orange juice and remaining sugar until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream, set aside. Drain strawberries, reserving juice, set berries aside. Gently toss cake cubes with reserved juice. Place 1/2 of cake in a 4 quart trifle dish. Top with 1/3 cream cheese mixture, 1/2 of strawberries and half of grated chocolate. Repeat layers. Top with remaining cream cheese mixture. Garnish with chocolate curls and strawberries. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours (at least). 14 servings Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding Recipe courtesy Paula Deen 2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies 6 to 8 bananas, sliced 2 cups milk 1 (5-ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top. In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Oh yes, I'd go with the lemon cakes, I think I need to make another batch here pretty quickly. Barring that, brownies would be a good idea, or something you could just pick up and eat. Barring that, I'd make cobbler or blueberry crisp, if you have some berries available. I use Grandma's recipe and now I want some. Blueberry Crisp-GrandmaÂs ================ 3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, unsweetened 2 tbls lemon juice 2/3 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup quick oats 1/3 cup butter, softened 3/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt . Heat oven to 375. Arrange berries in ungreased square baking dish (8 inch) and sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine remaining ingredients until crumbly. (I use a pastry blender, grandma used two knives). Crumble topping over berries and bake until topping is lightly browned and berries are hot, about 30 minutes. Makes 4-6 servings. I double this and it still comes out good. Plus lueberries are low in calories, have lots of fiber and no fat, contain antioxidants C, E and beta carotene and have been found to be as helpful in urinary tract health as cranberries. That's why I need ice cream with them, they are just too darned healthy. LOL If you have pears and maple, this is also one of my favorites, and I make it in a big pan instead of individual servings: Individual Maple Pear Cobblers Courtesy of: Rebecca Rather, Chef, Rather Sweet Bakery and Cafe 6 servings 3 pounds pears, peeled, cored, quartered 2/3 cup + 9 tablespoons pure maple syrup 2 tablespoons + 1 1/2 cups flour 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder 9 tablespoons whipping cream melted butter sugar to taste nutmeg to taste For the filling, combine the pears, 2/3 cup syrup, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg in a bowl and mix well. Divide evenly among 6 custard cups or soufflé dishes. Place a pat of butter on top of each one. Bake at 425 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until heated through. Have fun tonight. Annie