My youngest niece was baptized in the Catholic church on Sunday. I took the opportunity to make some Christian themed food. I focused on the cross, dove, and church. It was fun to make something different and the party guests enjoyed my baptism themed side dishes.

Chocolate covered strawberries are always a hit at a party. We put them on the dessert table. I made the strawberries special by piping small white crosses on them. I melted chocolate chips in my microwave and it was easy to dip the strawberries. I had a bit of a struggle with the white candy melts. They did not melt enough. I googled it and tried adding a little shortening. It worked! I kept it simple and cut a small end off of a zip-lock bag to pipe the crosses. In this photo you can’t really see the paper doily I put under the strawberries but it was visible and attractive as people ate the strawberries.

Even though I have a large cookie cutter collection I actually did not have a cross or a school/church so I borrowed the cutters from my sister-in-law. I used this recipe to make the chips. I had limited time the morning of the party so my husband and I cut the tortilla shapes the night before and I kept them in a zip-lock bag in my refrigerator. I baked them the morning of the party. My sister-in-law made a corn and bean dip to go along with my chips but you could also serve them with hummus.

I kept this vegetable tray simple by only cutting the carrots in the shape of doves. I used the largest cutter from this set. Originally I was going to cut everything in the shape of doves but I had limited time. It was my Mom’s idea to only cut some doves. I love the contrast between the dove shaped carrots and the cucumbers. I always have trouble finding carrots large enough to cut with small cutters. My mother-in-law gave me carrots from her garden which were larger and easier to cut since they were fresh. But when cutting carrots with cookie cutters I do find it more comfortable to put a folded dish towel between my hand and the cutter.

I used the same concept with this cheese tray as I did with the vegetables. The doves were a contrast and by not cutting everything in shapes it was faster to make and I think ended up visually appealing. The doves are Cheddar and pepper jack, orange Cheddar surrounds the doves. I served crackers on the side.

Some of these items take a little time to cut but overall they would be easy to make for your party. Enjoy!