Crisp Cucumber Dill Bites

Summer is fast approaching and if you’re in the South like I am you might as well consider it here! The sun is blazing in the afternoon, you’ve had to dig through the depths of your dresser to find that long forgotten clothing item called shorts, and the last thing you want is something to add to the heat.

My desire for a crisp, cool, and refreshing afternoon snack culminated in the creation of these simple cucumber dill bites. Easy to make, easy to eat, and easy on the calorie budget! I call that a summer triple threat.

No complicated concoctions over here, sometimes the simplest recipes are the best.

Here’s what you’ll need:

4 cucumbers.
4 oz. cream cheese or neufchatel cheese, softened.
1/4 tsp garlic salt or garlic powder.
1/4 tsp onion powder.
1/2 tsp dill
Salt & Pepper, to taste.

Notes on the ingredients:

I prefer the smaller seedless cucumbers, or pickling cucumbers, because they pack a REALLY satisfying crunch. They’re also a little more compact creating a perfect snack size cucumber cup, regular cucumbers would probably work just as well.
You can use full fat cream cheese or neufchatel, that one is totally a personal preference.
Full fat cream cheese can definitely be creamier, and for some tastier, but for most store bought brands the carb count is on average 2g per serving (though I’ve found a few that come in at 1g carb).
Neufchatel is a little lighter on the calories and usually averages >1g carb per serving. If you’re not sure what this is but you’ve seen the Philadelphia brand 1/3 fat package, that’s not cream cheese, that’s neufchatel. It can be harder to mix but if you heat it for a few seconds in the microwave you shouldn’t have a problem.
Garlic salt, garlic powder, or fresh garlic will all work. Use what you have, no need to make things complicated.
Onion powder is optional, but in my opinion it improves the flavor.
The dill can be fresh or dried, I used dehydrated dill from my fridge.
I LOVE dill, I could easily do 1 tsp in this recipe. If you’re not a huge fan you could get away with 1/4 tsp.
Salt & Pepper is up to you. I actually like to add the salt & pepper to the cucumber cups before adding the filling!
This recipe can easily be doubled if you want to share.

The cucumbers are the serving dish for this one! Take your little cukes and cut them into 1/2″-1″ sections, I didn’t really pull out a ruler for this part so it’s more of a guesstimate.

I’ve found that my inexpensive little metal 1/4 tsp measuring spoon is the perfect tool to scoop out the middle. Remove the center of each cucumber medallion so it forms a little cup, that’s where the filling will go.

If you’re not into wasting food save the scooped centers of your cukes. You can make a nice summer salad by mixing them with halved cherry tomatoes, a little olive oil, salt & pepper. BOOM. Two recipes, one post. Heck if you add some fresh mozzarella balls in there you have yourself a picnic, maybe even some parsley and Italian seasoning… you get the idea.

For the filling add the rest of your ingredients into a bowl and mix until smooth.

Once mixed to your preference you can add the filling directly to the cucumbers with a spoon or you can make a piping bag from a ziplock. The second method is super easy and usually a lot cleaner.

I like to put my ziplock in a cup then fill it so the top stays clean. Once filled try to remove the excess air and cut off one small corner. Voila, you have a cheap piping bag and your cucumber dill bites look professional!

Once filled allow the bites to chill in the fridge for about ten minutes then wow your friends and family. I don’t know if this will really wow YOUR friends and family but mine devoured the tray in record time!

I highly recommend serving these chilled, leave any excess bites covered in the fridge and refill your serving plate as needed. They lose a little bit of their crunch if left out in the heat too long.