Hey loves, what's the address and when? A dress code? (I don't want to get kicked out before I scarf!)

How about cupcakes? Brownies?

I second the brownies.

It's a perfect occasion for croquembouche!

Fruit topped custard tartlets

Pfeffernüsse

Gingerbread

Apricot boats (dried half apricot with a cream or nougat and a pecan half on top, or stood up as a sail if you're daring)

Turtles and/or alligator

Rosewater cookies

Apple spice cookies

Pineapple upside down bars because it's so retro trendy

Dipped long stem strawberries and orange rind curls

Spice roasted nuts

Roller balls (hazelnut rolled in peanut butter rolled in cocoa powder rolled in almond meal (or coconut))

Dcarch's molded Florentine fruit leather

Spun caramel birds' nests with chocolate eggs and/or mini-peeps

Blondies

Mini custard eclairs

I also think brownies would be good, or gild the lily and dunk the brownies in white and dark chocolate. Tiny pecan pie tarts would be good, or tartlets filled with caramel or some lime curd, as would mini-muffin sized muffins or cupcakes, then either glazed or topped with just a rosette of frosting.

You could also add more candy type choices, like truffles or chocolate covered cherries, little "one bite" portions, two at the most.

It sounds delicious, I'd be happy!

Annie

Anna, great suggestion. How did I miss brownies?

pllog, come on over. Last time I made a croquembouche, it was divine in taste but once the guests attacked it, it completely broke apart. Do you have a recipe for the pineapple upside down bars?

Westsider, not servicing this party but next time...

Annie, how would I make the tartlets if I only have 12 tins? Won't it take forever to make enough for 50?

The lemon cream cheese balls sound like they could be pretty similar to the cheese cake. I would definitely like a lemon choice, but I'd make it a lemon cookie (have a lemon cornmeal slice and bake cookie that is very good if you want the recipe), a madeleine, a meringue or a macron, lemon bars, lemon tart.

Biscotti are a maybe in my book -- assuming they are made smaller and not too hard (requiring dunking) they might work.

For a party, I'd try to do more variety and choices that seem a little more special. Pllog's suggestions are more in the direction I would be thinking. In addition to the strawberries and orange peel, you could do dried apricots and other dried fruits)

Finger foods can easily include cake bites (sheet cake cut into bite sized squares) as well as mini cakes, pies, tart, brownies, etc. made in mini muffin tins, I've made a crumb topped pumpkin spice cake for crowds and served it cut into small squares set into cupcake liners -- easy to pick up and easy to eat. Any snack cake, pound cake or quick bread is a possibility as well as cake bites with a cute dollop of frosting or whipped cream.

I would like to see a cookie with a jam center (apricot, strawberry, raspberry) (thumbprints, a strip cookie, sandwiched cookie or a crumb topped bar. etc.)

How about a coffee flavor (coffee meringues, mocha macrons, an espresso brownie)?

Gale Gand's Just a Bite might give you some inspiration (I keep trying to find an occasion for making her vacherins with raspberries and cream -- tiny meringue shells with whipped cream topped with one perfect raspberry and a mint leaf -- gorgeous!). She also has creme brulee done on a spoon -- just a bite! Works with finger foods and gives a fun presentation. The ruby raspberry jellies are also on my must try list.

Flo Braker's Sweet Miniatures is another book you might want to look at.

Consider fudge, caramels or marshmallows -- poured into a pan and cut into squares. Put the square in a mini cupcake liner and you just upped the presentation. Or take the spoon cue and serve by the spoonful -- who doesn't like to eat fudge from a spoon?

I think you are getting to the time of year when you can add pumpkin, spice, apple, and cranberry flavors and people will be ready for them.

The pumpkin pie reminds me of a pumpkin dessert dip (made with cream cheese, in case that's too much like cheese cake) and served with sliced apples, ginger or orange things.

Do some of those ideas work?

I'm sorry, I don't have a recipe--I've never made the pineapple upside down myself. It's very in though. :) Here's a bloggist with a recipe using canned crushed pineapple. These are smaller than normal too. Usually they're made with the mini pineapple rings and candied cherries (sometimes red hot or other, sometimes maraschino). Here's a cupcake from a TV station that looks pretty good, and might translate to bars. It's amazing how many recipes are out there for take offs, but not the real thing. Usually they're rectangular or square cuts, with the ring in the middle (i.e., turned out before cutting).

Making a regular pineapple upside down cake with the mini rings, in a bigger pan (shorter cake), and maybe a little less liquid to stiffen it, might do the trick.

I'm sorry to have said something you liked and be so unhelpful!!!

I take your point about the croquembouche. Maybe it needs a trained server. How about just a big ol' bowl of profiteroles and spun sugar? Croquembouche with a safety net?

Re the tartlets, if they're solid, like pecan pie, you could cut them into wedges and make pretty patterns with them. Or you could do one bites. Do you have mini cupcake pans? After the shells are made (or bought from the restaurant supply), you can just line them up on a baking sheet, fill and bake them. For this purpose, you want a dough that's stiffer than a good pie crust. so people can pick them up.

You can also do filo cups (or buy them) and fill with sticky nut paste (nuts and dried fruit chopped up with a little simple syrup and spices).

Baklava! Halvah! Dentist on call!

Do you have anything with jam? Linzers are easy and so pretty...

Excellent suggestions, people. Hostess didn't want anything too fancy. She's making the rest of the food herself, and as far as I know, there is no theme and my stuff will be the best presentation there.

Definitely going to do the vacherins with raspberries and cream.

And I think I'll do a disassembled Croquembouche - just pile the profiterolles in a huge pile and cover with spun sugar.

What do you think of Petit fours? That's pretty easy to make and impressive to serve.

I have a great recipe for pumpkin bars. I think I'll add those as well.

What about some fruit for those who don't eat sweets. I'm thinking grapes or strawberries or apple slices just to name a few. Whatever is in season.
Mary

Mary, the fruit is a very good idea, I forget that not everyone loves dark chocolate and cookies.

Sorry, L2CF6, I didn't know you had a single mini muffin pan, that would indeed take a while, although not that long, they bake quickly. I have several because I made those mini quiches for 600 at my stepson's "appetizer reception", so it never dawns on me that people would have just ONE, LOL.

Annie

Moasses? Seriously? Just kidding. I cannot top the suggestions already given.

Wow, you're going for it! good luck!

I don't see anything with mint, yet it's always very popular with my guests. For something simple, I'd just put out a dish of Andes' creme de menthe candies -- I think they're pretty in those green foil wrappers. :) For mint cookies, I like really like a thin crispy chocolate-mint cookie or a rounded/drop sugar-type cookie w/ choc. mint chips that's been rolled in sugar before baking. Eye candy. :)

Do you have a basic recipe for pineapple upside down cake? Gale Gand has a recipe for Peachy Upside Down Cakes in Just a Bite (saw it yesterday when I was looking). She uses a regular muffin tin. That might be a little large for finger food servings. You could do the cake in a 13x9 or jelly roll pan and use crushed pineapple instead of rings -- or cut the rings into small wedges and space them out so that you can then cut the cake into bite sized squares that each have one segment of pineapple.

Do you have a Marshall's or Home Goods? They often have the 24 cup mini muffin pans, I had a 12 cup one (still do), but I came to realize that 12 tiny muffins is just not enough for doing anything except possibly using up extra batter. Anytime you want to make little somethings, you need the larger pans. I probably paid less than $10 for mine and two of the larger ones nested and standing on their side in my cabinet take very little more room than the single one did but they can accomplish four times as much. This might be a good reason to make that investment/splurge and then have fun with them.

Something else to consider -- since you are doing mini's, you can do one basic recipe with variations. For example -- the meringue shells for the raspberry vacherins -- pipe out more shells and fill some with lemon curd, chocolate mousse, you name it. And most of htem will be gluten free -- an increasingly important choice in every crowd these days. Same thing for those mini muffin tins and some pie shells (you can buy those frozen too -- if you aren't up to making the dough and forming them) . One crust recipe could have pumpkin, pecan, chocolate, apple, lemon -- any fillings you wanted. Whether you do pastry or crumb crusts, a tart tamper would be another worthwhile purchase if you don't have one.

If timing is an issue for you, meringues can not only be made ahead and kept airtight for days, the forgotten cookie version can be left in the oven overnight. I use some variation on those any time I need to bake an assortment of cookies for a crowd -- I mix the slice and bake and chill, do bars and brownies, let the forgotten cookies bake overnight and then bake the drops and slices.

If you need one of those recipes, let me know.

For the people with allergies to gluten and eggs (ID'd with a little sign perhaps) may I suggest Coconut Macaroons - just a large can of sweetened condensed evaporated milk, 14 oz bag of sweetened coconut shreds, 2t vanilla extract, 1 t almond extract, can decorate with sliced almonds or mix in mini choc chips if you want to fancy them up; bake 350F @10-13 min - longer than that they are called Toasted Coconut Macaroons and still taste great! These keep for weeks plastic covered and separated by waxed paper at room temp. And, there are little easy things to do for the allergy guests and everyone else: whole date stuffed with pecan half and very light drizzle of honey or cane syrup and maybe a dash of spice (up to 6 or so weeks ahead), slices of apples dipped in lemon juice (up to 3 days ahead) and dunked in melted chocolate (white is my fav), a pile of candied ginger slices in a fancy bowl - no fuss, same with slices of candied orange peel, mix of seeds lightly stuck together with honey or cane syrup (hulled sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and some nuts if you want, such as walnuts or extravagant like pistachio's) and put in little paper cups which will be appreciated by the vegans (though not with honey) and paleo's, (and me). I use Lyle's cane syrup that is interchangeable with corn syrup and tastes better.

You have a very involved list of things to make which should take days, so the simpler the better. Remember that not every one of the 50 will take two of everything. My guide is total number of pieces divided by number of guests -- 50 in your case. Five is what I usually end up with so you don't have to have 50 of everything - you'd have 250 total pieces.

When platters get emptied people take whatever is there. They won't miss the brownies or the fruit kabobs if they aren't there.
Nancy

Hi Loves, Sounds like you have more than enough yummy treats but I thought I'd add my two cents worth. I did the dessert table for our daughter's wedding. Sugared Palmiers were a quick and easy dessert and they disappeared very quickly. I used frozen puff pastry and dipped part of each one in chocolate. They looked good and the fact that they didn't need refrigeration was a plus as I was running out of storage space.
Sounds like quite and undertaking. The hostess is lucky to have you in her corner!