Sandwich tray with tiny rolls. Meat,cheese,olive tray.

If you want to bake something maybe cheese straws. Lots of recipes online for those. They are a southern speciality.

Ina garten has several homemade "cracker" recipes. They are really more like savory shortbread. Serve them with a few cheeses and some grapes. Maybe some cured meats and nuts and olives. All can be served at room temp. I have done the jalapeno cheddar ones and they are good. She also has a blue cheese/walnut and parmesan/thyme, among others.

There is the old homemade chex mix stanby. My mom made hers with butter,worcheshire sauce and a little hot sauce.

Homemade potato chips are easy and can be made in different flavors. So can popcorn. Both are easy to transport and can be eaten at room temp.

Wraps are always good. Large, burrito sized tortillas (I like the flavored ones, like spinach or sundried tomato) spread with seasoned cream cheese or a spicy hummus, then layered with a sliced meat and/or veggies. Rolled up, refrigerated and then sliced into 1/2" thick coins.

We do weekly evening picnics in the park for summer concerts with a group of friends and often include these little nibbles as part of our necessary snack items :-) I change up the ingredients depending what is on hand - chicken caesar, hummus and veggies, turkey with chutney, smoked salmon with capers, etc.

My quilting group does that -- I often bring pimento cheese spread which everyone loves and this month I brought a cream cheese, pecan and olive spread that was the HIT of the table. I serve both with crackers although I have brought celery to stuff the cheese in. Both transport well. And depending upon what you use to put it on, it is a little heartier and could be considered a light meal.

A selection of English tea sandwiches, use a good quality bread, or even a couple types (ie, pumpernickel and so forth).

Shredded cuke mixed with cream cheese, seasoned with a little watercress (or fresh dill, basil, or such) atop the cuke mix.

OR

Smoked salmon with cream cheese (or soft goat cheese) atop. Put in a few chopped sprigs of fresh dill and several capers.

ANYHOW:

Cut the sandwiches into small semi-bite sized pieces. Remove crusts if you want to be authentic, but really isn't necessary.

There are a bunch of other English tea sandies out there to add to the above, but those were always my favorite growing up.

These were one of my mother's standbys when she hosted bridge parties, or had to bring something not needing cooking, to an event.

(I get smoked salmon, if you go with that, from Costco or BJ's... much more affordable.)

We call that eating "crap on your lap"...assorted cheese and crackers, various meats, salami, pepperoni slices, hummos and veggies or pita...or even pretzel sticks...home made breadsticks, I make a chedder/swiss cheese spread that works as a dip with bread sticks,, washed apples and take one of those things that cuts the core out and makes wedges. Olives, pickles, broccoli, carrots, celery....nuts, popcorn....

Someone mentioned Ina Garten's savory shortbread...it's very good!

These Spinach Balls are tasty, can be made well in advance (they freeze nicely), and are great served at room temperature. I sometimes serve them with cherry tomatoes stuffed with a garlic-herb cream cheese filling, but they're fine on their own.

Spinach Balls

2 (10 oz.) pkgs. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 eggs, beaten
2 c. herb stuffing mix
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 tsp. dried thyme
3/4 c. butter, melted
Salt and pepper, to taste

Squeeze the liquid from the spinach ( I use a ricer). Mix all the ingredients well and chill for 2 hours. Roll into 1" balls. Freeze on cookie sheet, and then store in plastic bags till needed. Thaw before baking. Bake at preheated 325 for 25-30 mim. They're great warm or room temp.

Note: It can be a good idea to make one ball after mixing to bake and taste in order to check seasoning.

BTW, this is the garlic-herb spread. Also great with crackers or toasted baguette slices. Easy to cut the recipe in half, if necessary.

Garlic-Herb Cheese Spread

Best made a day before serving.

2 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese, room temperature
2 small cloves garlic, minced
2 T. minced green onion
2 T. chopped fresh basil (or 1 1/2 to 2 tsp. dried)
2 T. chopped fresh dill (or 1 1/2 tsp. to 2 tsp. dried)
Pinch of salt (or to taste)

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. lemon pepper (such as Lawry's)

Combine all ingredients; mix well. Cover and chill. Bring to room temp for serving.

Caveat: I am dead lazy when it comes to cooking. I buy those little phyllo cup tart shells and fill with store-bought spinach dip and top with half water chestnut. Does not keep well. Always a hit. For something simpler, serve the dip with some kind of crackers. If you want to impress, make your own crackers. The taste is out of this world. It's a big pain though. I did it once . . .

You can also season pita chips in all kinds of interesting ways, and make in advance from fresh pita. Serve with whatever spreads you like.

That late in the evening, how about oatmeal crackers or oatmeal scones or plain oatmeal muffins. Banana oatmeal bread with some cream cheese spread. Not really sweet, just a little. Oats are good for digestion and promoting sleep. Or how about go second childhood and do popcorn and apple slices dipped in chocolate or caramel.

If you have a cookie press, cheese daisies- like a very short cheese flavoured spritz cookie, with a centre of poppy seeds.

Or artichoke dip with a selection of crackers.

What is a crowd? 15, 25, 35? Guys and Gals or just the ladies?

Seems like most offerings are just nibbles. Maybe just a napkin needed. Not a light meal. Just a social appetizer.

I like recommendations above like the tea sandwiches. But might be a bit brunch/luncheon. Cheese straws and puff pastry pinwheels are super easy. One package can make three choices. Twisted cheese straws, pesto/parm, sun-dried tomato/olive/parm pin wheels.

I make fresh spring rolls pretty much every event. 20 years now. Prep night before and can make 8-12 rolls that cut to 64-124 sushi type bite size pieces. Big problem is they are so desired that I get pleading requests for every birthday, every bridal shower, every everything. Even more important now since they are vegan, gluten/dairy free, ....all diets/all sensitivities. friggin-free-free, lol. And super cheap. Just the very initial self-training so it is now second nature.

(I just invented a BLT/avocado one for the fellas)

I love 'Chex' mix, but make my own custom blend with my preferred cereal, pretzels, mini cheese crackers and chunks of brazil nuts, and use Dijon mustard and hot sauce in the seasoning.

I like the idea of using cups for serving. I like being neat.

And who doesn't like cheese straws or wafers?

Veggies and dip are a bit more refreshing than just cookies, sweets and salty crackers, etc.

And then there's seasoned popcorn. My fave is a 'Cajun' style: butter, Cajun spice blend and Parmesan cheese.

FWIW though, I appreciate things that don't get my fingers messy when I'm eating in public.

Nuts, either spiced, or coated with seeds, are great.

For the veg sticks and dips, an improvement I've found is disposable bomb shot glasses. There's a well in the center for the dip, and you stand the sticks in the outer cup.

Amylou mentioned savory shortbread: Chloebud posted a recipe for blue cheese shortbread cookies. I made a slightly modified version because I was using a slightly different blue cheese, but they were really good and unusual.

Don't forget out of style ideas. Oldie but goody are things like filled endive leaves and canapes. Lot's of fillings travel well and don't have to be refrigerated immediately. Just whir some complementary things (vegetables and spices) in a blender with cream cheese or hummus or cooked eggplant puree or cooked pumpkin puree. Add some nuts, seeds, chopped hard boiled egg, etc., for texture. Maybe a dash of hot sauce. Think of a topping like olive slice, almond sliver, dill sprig. Use traditional little round toasts you buy at the store, or crackers, or sliced cucumber, zucchini, bell pepper, endive, even celery sticks. Pack the filling in a pastry bag, wrapped well so it won't leak or dry out, and it's five minutes on site to assemble fresh. :)

Or, if you want to get fancy, you could go full on old fashioned French picnic. Terrines. Savory pastries. That kind of thing. Very portable. Difference between lunch and nibble is how thinly you slice them.

One of my favorites is "cheese thumbprints". They are like really good cheese crackers, easy to make and can be filled with whatever you like. I usually fill half with hot pepper jelly and half with apple butter or half an olive. I use this recipe:

Savory Cheddar and Jalapeno Jelly Cookies from Rick Rodgers

Makes about 4 1/2 dozen

8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 1/2 cups)

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup jalapeno jelly, or sub apple butter or chutney

Place cheese and butter in a food processor (could be creamed by hand or mixer); add flour and process until the mixture forms a soft dough. Gather up the dough and divide into two flat disks. Wrap in wax paper and freeze until chilled, about 45 minutes.

Position two racks in the center and top third of the oven and preheat to 400°. Line two baking sheets with parchment or use nonstick sheets.

Using 1 teaspoon dough for each, roll the dough into small balls and place 1 inch apart on the sheets. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from the oven. Using the handle of a wooden spoon or 1/2-inch-thick dowel, poke an indentation in each cookie. Place the jelly in a small plastic bag and force it down into one corner. Snip off the corner of the bag to make a small hole. Pipe the jelly into the indentations.

Return to the oven and bake, switching the positions of the sheets from top to bottom halfway through baking, until the tops are very lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

I've found that a small melon baller works well for making the indentations, and I use my home made Habanero Gold to fill them, but Tomato Marmalade or whipped cream cheese with some pesto or flavored cream cheese is nice too.

A tiny sweet potato biscuit with a sliver of good ham and some honey mustard is always nice. I've also made tiny crustless quiche in muffin tins, and I've made little two bite cream puffs and filled them with chicken salad or reuben type filling.

And, of course, there's the good old "block of cream cheese covered with shrimp cocktail or hot pepper jelly" kind of thing, but it's kind of messy and not easy to carry around with just a napkin.

I love the appetizer type snacks, I could make an entire meal out of a bite of this and a bite of that.

Most of all, have fun!

Annie

I think the best type of thing for this sort of event is a savoury cake. Its easy to transport and eat. Requires no cutlery like terrines and wont dry out like sandwiches.

Here are some ideas. I think they're easier to serve when cooked in a loaf tin.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/apr/09/savoury-cake-recipes

Wow, I'm glad I asked!!! Thank you all for the great ideas!!! I'm making a list... I've been baking gf/wheat-free for so long that I've forgotten about a lot of the old favorites. And sometimes I really miss baking/cooking with normal flours/ingredients so this is my perfect opportunity to go wild. :o)

Sleeve, the group has more than 60 members with a full mix of men and women. More than half show up for every meeting (even in bad weather) and there can easily be more than 100 for an opening reception. For me, that's a "large group".

amylou, I completely forgot about chex mix! Homemade crackers would be interesting... I'll look.

gardengal, yes, those filled pinwheel things are always a hit and so easy to make!

Martha, can you share the recipe you used for the pimento cheese spread?

artemis, tea sandwiches would be great for an opening.

lindac, yes to all the basics. My kind of food there.

Madonna, that's a super idea. I need to check for supplies at a dollar type store.

chloebud, o m g, that's a blast from the past! My parents always made those spinach balls for parties!!! They're also good served w/ a hot mustard dip. :) Thank you for posting the recipes, I will definitely try that cheese spread.

lpink, I like that quick-bread idea. Although it's sweet, I was thinking of making caramel popcorn. I haven't made it in ages and it's a good recipe. Maybe for an opening.

colleenoz, I do have a cookie press and those sound so tasty and pretty! What do you mean by very short? lol!

sleeve, I said "large group" and estimate 30-100, so although I love spring rolls, I'm not making all those spring rolls for them. :O) You're the third (I think) to mention cheese straws, so that's a definite!

carolb, that would make you 4th to mention cheese straws. All good ideas! I need to check for 'snack serving supplies'....

plllog, thanks for the link, and I like the canapes idea.

Annie, thank you for posting that recipe! I've wanted to try it for years and I think they would be awesome for an opening. Those 'block of cream cheese' things are so good, but I'm afraid they might be too messy for these gatherings.

Islay, those savory cakes are a great idea. I'll do some research.

Thanks again everyone!

I wasn't really suggesting spring rolls. It's just what I do having mastered them to make quickly. Also mentioned they are dangerous being so often requested. Super cheap though. Each roll makes 10-12 kappa/sushi pieces. (I don't make the big hand rolls). I made them for a town centennial. That was nuts. I think we made 30-40 rolls so nearly 400 pieces but my BIL helped. I always have the ingredients and the only shopping list is avocado and Persian cucumbers.

Puff pastry cheese straws are super easy but the pastry can be expensive. I cut each 'straw' into thirds before baking. Tripples the recipe.

So far I like Annie's recipe. A lot of bang for the buck making from scratch. Many options for her indent in the biscuit. (is it biscuit-like?). Could make that without shopping having lots of ingredients in fridge/freezer.

plllog, I forgot about the blue cheese shortbread. Definitely good!

I have a lower sugar banana oat quick bread recipe I could post. It's usually a hit. A lot of banana "breads" are just banana cake baked in a loaf pan. We eat baked goods with bananas a lot. My dad likes to eat bananas but if they get the slightest bit of brown on them, he won't eat them and my husband and I can only eat so many before they go bad so I often end up with a brown banana coming from dad's house or ours. I freeze them and then make muffins or bread usually when I get to three bananas.

Yes, lpink, I'd like that recipe -- it sounds good.

sleevendog, the cheese thumbprints are more like shortbread than biscuits, and I make them small so they are just a bite or two, but they're kind of addictive. My favorite way is baked plain, then pipe a bit of cream cheese, add a little habanero gold and I can eat way too many and "spoil my dinner" entirely, LOL.

lpink, I also have a ziplock bag of bananas, when I get enough I make muffins, bread or Ashley's favorite Cordon Rose banana cake from Rose Levy Berenbaum.

Annie

I’ll post the recipe for the cheese daisies when I get home tonight. The recipe includes optional cayenne so they have some zip :-)