Celebrate New Year's Eve with hot honey fried chicken and cherry-goat cheese hand pies

Chef Will Coleman is joining TODAY to share two of his go-to entertaining recipes that are perfect for a New Year's Eve celebration. He shows us how to make sweet and spicy hot honey fried chicken bites with mustard dipping sauce and flaky hand pies will with dark cherries and creamy goat cheese.

Hot Honey Fried Chicken with White Cheddar-Coconut Grits by Will Coleman

This spread has been a game-changer for entertaining at home. If I'm looking to host a soul food-inspired dinner, I make this incredible fried chicken and hot honey mustard dipping sauce with grits and tomatoes. The creamy, decadent grits are prepared with coconut milk and white cheddar, then topped with fatty roasted tomatoes. It's a meal that's perfect for any weekend brunch, Sunday supper or even served as an appetizer spread.

Cherry and Goat Cheese Hand Pies by Will Coleman

When the holidays come around, I always crave these hand pies, which are packed with a sweet cherry and goat cheese filling and topped off with a savory salt-pepper-sugar coating. The filling is made using both frozen and dried cherries, which adds a complexity of texture and tartness. The best part is that you can easily double the filling and store it in the freezer for a later time. It can even be made up to five days ahead of time and baked off the day of. One of my favorite things about this recipe — other than the fact it's packed with notes of cardamom and almond — is that it relies on my baking sidekick, puff pastry. Using store-bought pastry saves a ton of time and ensures a fantastic hand pie, no matter how professional a baker you are.

If you like those fun, festive recipes, you should also try these:

Italian Pigs in a Blanket by Mary Giuliani

Fancy Gougères by Ashley Holt