This easy Cranberry Brie Bites recipe is the perfect holiday appetizer. These 3-ingredient cheese bites are baked in a puff pastry shell.
If you need an easy appetizer for this season’s holiday parties and social gatherings, these Cranberry Brie Bites are perfect! These cute bites are made with buttery puff pastry, creamy Brie cheese, and tangy cranberry sauce. They take less than 20 minutes to bake, which is ideal for this time of year. All you need is an oven, a mini muffin pan, and the ingredients.
These delicious appetizers are perfect for a holiday party because they combine sweet cranberry sauce with savory Brie in a perfect little golden brown pastry cup.
What Makes These Cranberry Brie Bites the Perfect Holiday Appetizer?
- 3 Simple Ingredients – Nothing beats a simple but delicious recipe, especially during the holiday season! This cranberry and Brie appetizer only requires three simple ingredients, frozen puff pastry, cranberry sauce, and Brie. All of these ingredients are available at your local grocery store.
- Ready in Less Than 20 Minutes – Aside from thawing the frozen puff pastry, this recipe is simple and quick. Assembling the bites only takes a few minutes, and baking takes less than 15 minutes. It’s perfect for last-minute holiday guests, or a holiday movie night snack.
- Bite-Sized, But Full of Holiday Flavor – Handheld, bite size snacks are ideal for Christmas parties or other holiday gatherings because guests can eat them as they mingle. But just because these bites are small doesn’t mean they aren’t flavorful! Brie Cranberry Bites are buttery, sweet, and aromatic, and have a slight crunch from the flaky puff pastry.
Ingredients Needed for Cranberry Brie Bites
- Puff Pastry – Frozen puff pastry sheets are available in the freezer section of your local grocery store. They make baking these bite-sized appetizers so easy!
- Cranberry Sauce – The flavor of cranberry sauce is a holiday staple, whether it’s Thanksgiving dinner or a Christmas party. It’s perfect for this festive snack! Purchase a can of whole berry cranberry sauce or use your favorite homemade cranberry sauce recipe. Just don’t use the jellied cranberry sauce! It doesn’t have the right texture for this recipe. Another option is to make these the day after a holiday and use your leftover cranberry sauce!
- Brie Cheese – Brie is a mild and creamy soft cheese with a firm rind. It has a smooth and buttery flavor, which pairs well with sweet sauces, like jams or honey. Brie holds its shape when baked, but does melt into a gooey and delicious texture. It’s perfect for a warm, cheesy appetizer.
- Rosemary – The peppery, aromatic flavor of rosemary perfectly complements the Brie and cranberry in this recipe. The fresh rosemary may be baked into the bites, or used as a garnish after baking.
How to Make Cranberry Brie Bites in the Oven
These delicious little bites are the perfect festive appetizer. The combination of melty Brie cheese, sweet cranberries, and fluffy, buttery pastry dough is a crowd pleaser.
Step One – First, thaw the frozen puff pastry at room temperature for an hour. Then unfold the pastry dough and cut it into 12 3-inch squares using a pizza cutter.
Step Two – Next, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a mini muffin tin. Place a square of puff pastry dough into each space on the muffin tin. Press the dough square down to form little cups.
Step Three – Then, place a small cube of Brie cheese into each pastry cup. The rind on a wheel of Brie is edible, so you may leave the rind. Or you can cut it off if you prefer.
Top each piece of cheese with a spoonful of cranberry sauce.
Step Four – Bake for 15 minutes until the edges of the pastry turn golden brown. Remove the little Brie Bites from the muffin pan and garnish each one with a sprig of rosemary.
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FAQ’s
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
I don’t recommend freezing these bites because the pastry shell doesn’t hold up well with freezing and reheating.
Place the bites on a baking pan and bake for 6-8 minutes at 350 degrees. Be sure the bites are warmed through and the cheese is slightly melted before serving reheated bites.
These Brie bites taste best served warm, so I don’t recommend making them in advance. If you need to prep ahead of time, assemble the bites without cranberry sauce and store them in the refrigerator. Then top them with cranberry sauce and pop them in the oven just before your guests arrive.
If you don’t like the flavor of Brie, you could substitute it for a small square of feta cheese or Boursin cheese instead. These both have a bolder and saltier flavor than Brie, but they pair well with the sweet and tart cranberry sauce.
Substitute Crescent Roll Dough for the puff pastry if you prefer. You’ll need to smooth out the perforations in the Crescent Roll Dough to cut the small squares instead of the large triangles. You may also use Phyllo Shells. But the texture is less desirable than a flaky puff pastry.
This easy recipe for Cranberry Brie Bites is the perfect combination of sweet and savory. Your holiday guests and family will love them, either before the holidays or as a simple snack to go with leftovers!
More Delicious Holiday Appetizer Ideas
Cranberry Brie Bites
Equipment
- mini muffin pan
- Pizza Cutter
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
- 8 oz Brie cubed
- 1/4 cup cranberry sauce
- fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Thaw the frozen puff pastry at room temperature for an hour.
- Unfold the pastry dough and cut it into 12 3-inch squares using a pizza cutter.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly grease a mini muffin tin. Place a square of puff pastry dough into each space on the muffin tin. Press the dough square down to form little cups.
- Place a small cube of Brie cheese into each pastry cup.
- Top each piece of cheese with 1 tsp of cranberry sauce.
- Bake for 15 minutes until the edges of the pastry turn golden brown.
- Garnish each bite with a sprig of rosemary.
