These Cranberry Brie Puff Pastry Bites only have 5 ingredients, and they can be ready in less than 30 minutes, which makes them the perfect last-minute holiday appetizer. They're a great finger food for Thanksgiving and Christmas parties, but they're also easy enough to be made any day of the week!
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Why You'll Love These Cranberry Brie Bites
The easiest appetizer - These little bites are made with just 5 ingredients in under 30 minutes! It's an easy last-minute appetizer and a great way to use up any leftover cranberry sauce!
Versatile - You can think of this recipe as your base and modify it based on what you have. If you don't have cranberry sauce, it would be delicious with fig or apricot jam. You could also add goat cheese instead of brie, or top it with walnuts instead of pecans.
Ingredients
- Puff pastry - I like to buy frozen puff pastry sheets so that it's always fresh and ready when I need it. The better the pastry, the better these bites will be! Look for all-butter dough. You can always make your own puff pastry dough as well if you prefer.
- Brie cheese - You can use either brie or camembert. The main difference between the two is the flavor. Brie is milder.
- Cranberry sauce - I highly recommend using homemade cranberry sauce, but store-bought can be used in a pinch. Try my Orange Maple Cranberry Sauce! It has orange zest, which complements all the flavors in this recipe really well.
- Pecans - Make sure you're using raw pecans, not roasted ones to avoid them burning.
- Fresh rosemary - It's baked with the bites and adds extra flavor. You can also add more fresh rosemary on top before serving as a Christmas-themed garnish! I don't recommend dried rosemary for this because it's too spikey.
Variations and Substitutions
- Sauce or jam - You can use fig jam or preserves, apricot jam, onion jam, or caramelized onions for a more savory twist.
- Nuts - Chopped walnuts would also be delicious in this recipe if you don't have pecans.
- Herbs - Add fresh thyme if you don't have rosemary, or you can combine the two for more flavor.
- Different dough - You can sub crescent dough for the puff pastry in a pinch.
- Honey - Add a drizzle of honey to the finished bites for more sweetness or use hot honey to add some heat!
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F and spray a 24-cup mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
- Roll out your puff pastry dough into a 4-5mm thick sheet on a lightly floured work surface if not already rolled out.
- Cut your puff pastry into 24 squares (approx. 3 inches).
- Place each square in the muffin pan and pierce the bottom of each with a fork.
- Add a small square of brie cheese to each square and top with a teaspoon of cranberry sauce.
- Add chopped pecans and 1-2 rosemary leaves to each bite.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden. If the cheese bubbles up and sticks to the pan, use a butter knife to gently get it off the pan.
- Serve warm, sprinkled with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
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Tips & Tricks!
- Keep the rind on - Brie likes to spread a lot, and the rind prevents it from doing that a little bit, so I highly recommend keeping it on. It also adds more flavor.
- Freezing the brie - You don't need it to be rock solid, but transferring it to the freezer for 30 minutes before slicing may make it easier to cut into. I usually forget to do this, and it's fine, but it does make it spread much more in the oven. You'll get the best results if you cut your brie into squares and then freeze it. This will slow down its melting process in the oven, and it won't spread as much outside of the cups.
Serving and Storing
Serving: Serve the bites hot or at room temperature. Add them to a serving plate, garnish each bite with fresh rosemary, drizzle with a little bit of honey or hot honey, and sprinkle with flaky sea salt before serving.
Storing: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. I don't recommend freezing these bites because the cheese might not have the same smooth texture after defrosting.
Reheating: While these are delicious cold as well, I recommend reheating them in the oven or at least letting them come to room temperature after storing them in the refrigerator. Preheat your oven to 300°F, lay the bites on a baking sheet with parchment paper, and reheat for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven.
FAQs
Was your oven hot enough? It should be set to 400°F (or higher) for puff pastry to rise properly. Your dough should also be cold from the fridge.
The main ingredient in puff pastry is butter, which is what makes it so flaky, so finding vegan dough might be difficult. You can, however use vegan brie or vegan soft cheese for a dairy-free filling.
Other Puff Pastry Recipes
If you want to try other recipes made with puff pastry, check out the four below! I included one sweet recipe as well, it's one of my all-time favorites for the summer! To see all the latest ones, search for 'puff pastry' or head over to Appetizers for similar recipes!
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Have you tried these Cranberry Brie Puff Pastry Bites? Please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
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Print📖 Recipe
Cranberry Brie Puff Pastry Bites
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6-12 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These Cranberry Brie Puff Pastry Bites only have 5 ingredients, and they can be ready in less than 30 minutes, which makes them the perfect last-minute holiday appetizer. They're a great finger food for Thanksgiving and Christmas parties, but they're also easy enough to be made any day of the week!
Ingredients
- Avocado oil in a spray (or other cooking oil)
- 1 sheet of puff pastry (10x10”)
- 3-5 oz brie or camembert cheese (make sure it’s cold, see notes)
- ½ cup cranberry sauce
- ¼ cup raw pecans
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
- Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Hot honey for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F and spray a 24-cup mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
- Roll out your puff pastry dough into a 4-5mm thick sheet on a lightly floured work surface if not already rolled out.
- Cut your puff pastry into 24 squares (approx. 3 inches).
- Place each square in the muffin pan and pierce the bottom of each with a fork.
- Add a small square of brie cheese to each square and top with a teaspoon of cranberry sauce.
- Add chopped pecans and 1-2 rosemary leaves to each bite and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden.
- Serve warm, sprinkled with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
Brie: It’s important to keep your brie extra cold. From the fridge is fine, but you can also place it in the freezer for 15 minutes before slicing. This makes it easier to cut even pieces and it will spread less in the oven.
Storing: You can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.
Reheating: Reheat the bites in a preheated oven at 300°F on a small baking sheet for 8-10 or until warmed through.
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We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
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