Why Toast Points Are Every Southerner's Go-To Recipe

A crisp toast point is a Southerner's favorite sidekick to accompany everything from chicken salad to pimiento cheese recipes. Toast points is a freshly baked dish that belongs on appetizer trays everywhere. These toasted triangles, made from crustless slices of buttered bread, are versatile as you can customize them with various seasonings. Some favorite seasonings include black pepper, garlic salt, or cayenne pepper. In addition to appetizers, toast points pair with soup and seafood and work as a breakfast dish. Here's what you need to know about these classic Southern staples.

They Go With Everything

Toast points are the perfect vehicle for your favorite Southern spreads. Classic salads—egg, chicken, and ham—are delicious topped on top of this buttered baked bread. Pimiento cheese is the perfect complement to these crusty slices of bread, making the dish even more Southern.

This dish pairs well with savory or sweet foods, including fruit preserves and dips. Toast points are flavorful but never fussy and never showy. You could always eat one on its own, especially if made from a delicious bread rendered crisp and buttery in the oven, but its real calling is to be a stage upon which other appetizers can shine.

They're Texturally Ideal

Crunchy and tender with just a sliver of crust, the toast point has it all. Its texture is the optimal foundation for all spreads. We should also be aware of its form. It comes in different shapes and sizes, all ideally suited for scooping. Toast points are usually triangular, trapezoidal, or rhombic shapes that offer flat surfaces and—as the name would suggest—pointed edges, which are suited to digging ever so elegantly into a cheese ball or a dollop of chicken salad. On the other hand, their cousin, the crostini, is a slice of toasted baguette with a rounded shape, already topped with delicious foods.

They're The Perfect Size For Appetizers

A slice of toast is too challenging to serve with most appetizers. It's too big to fit on an appetizer plate and too much to maneuver while conversing over a coffee table. Appetizers should be bite-size, and that's where toast points come into play. They're everything you love about a slice of toast, only whittled down to a more manageable size. They complement every app.

They're Easy To Make

If you're craving toast points—try making some to accompany your favorite Southern spreads. Add seasonings like Parmesan or black pepper, or keep it classic and simple. They couldn't be easier to make. Most only call for a handful of ingredients (some only call for two!), and prep is a breeze. A quick crisping in a hot oven leaves you with a toasty batch of appetizer spreads.

How To Make Toast Points

Making toast points is as simple as you want it to be. You can add seasonings or keep things simple, depending on your preferences. Here is how to make toast points:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. In a small dish, melt the butter so it's just becoming a liquid.
3. Remove the crust from the bread slices, then divide the bread into your preferred shape—triangles, etc.
4. Use a pastry brush to cover one side of the bread with melted butter. 
5. If preferred, add whatever seasoning you like—black pepper, Parmesan cheese, etc. 
6. Place the sliced bread on a baking sheet, but keep the seasoned butter side up.
7. Cook for six to eight minutes or until the bread is golden brown. 
8. Remove slices of bread and cook on a baking rack. 

Are you a master of toast points, or do you reach for boxed crackers first? Let us know your favorite appetizers to serve with toast points.