If you need an award-winning appetizer to serve at your Oscar party, try these pastry-wrapped olives stuffed with walnuts and raisins. This combination of flaky pastry, piquant olives, crunchy walnuts, and golden raisins adds up to one delicious appetizer. Easy to make, they also provide an off-the-chart “wow” factor that can come in handy when you want to make something special for guests — or even yourself on Oscar night (or anytime).

I’ve adapted this recipe from an even easier version in Quick-Fix Vegetarian, where I use large green olives that are sold already stuffed with either almonds or jalapeños. The pre-stuffed olives are then wrapped in little squares of pie crust pastry and baked. These tasty bites look fussier to make than they are, and the texture and flavor combination is out-of-this-world delicious.

For my latest version, I use puff pastry instead of pie crust pastry for added richness and flaky goodness. The puff pastry is also easier to work with. I stuff the olives myself with various ingredients. Some of my favorite stuffing combinations are: sweetened dried cranberries with pecan pieces; jalapeño with smoked tofu; roasted garlic with sun-dried tomato; and (this time) golden raisins with walnut pieces. I've tried it with different kinds of olives, including kalamata, but the ones I like best for this are the large pitted green olives from the olive bar at the supermarket.

If you like the idea of stuffed olives and flaky pastry all in one bite, give these a try. And if you come up with more stuffing ideas for them, I’d love to hear about it.

Pastry-Wrapped Stuffed Olives
To save time, use bottled green olives that are already stuffed with almonds or jalapeños. Adapted from Quick-Fix Vegetarian.

25 to 30 large pitted green olives
25 to 30 golden raisins or sweetened dried cranberries
25 to 30 small walnut or pecan pieces (small enough to fit inside the olives)
1 sheet vegan puff pastry, thawed

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Stuff each olive with 1 raisin and 1 walnut piece (or your stuffing of choice). Set aside.
2. Roll out the thawed pastry. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to divide the pastry into 25 to 30 (2-inch) squares.
3. Press one square of pastry around each olive to enclose completely, pinching to seal, and rolling between your palms to shape into smooth spheres. Place on a baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or until ready to use. (You can cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, if you want to make them ahead.)
4. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes, turning once, about halfway through. Serve warm or at room temperature.