Cranberry Brie Bites

These easy yet impressive Cranberry Brie Bites will make a delicious addition to your party spread. Melted Brie cheese stuffed inside a crispy puff pastry shell and topped with cranberry sauce and candied pecans make the perfect salty-sweet appetizer.

What is your favorite part of a holiday meal? I always look forward to a platter full of splendid appetizers. Half the fun comes from their bite-sized advantage, and the other half comes from the room for creativity.

Cheese boards, charcuterie boards, veggie trays, you name it – there are plenty of exciting options to choose from! BUT, for an impressive yet unbelievably easy appetizer, you’ll have to make these Cranberry Brie Bites.

Here you get buttery puff pastry filled with creamy Brie cheese, then topped with the seasonal favorites of cranberry sauce, candied pecans, and walnut pieces. Baked till golden crisp all around the edges, every morsel of these Brie Bites screams of merry deliciousness! Trust me, it’s going to make an impression.

Why You’ll Love These Cranberry Brie Bites

• Amazingly tasty! Each bite offers a mix of savory and sweet crunch that no one can resist.
• So easy yet so elegant – Oh, how festive and inviting these little bites will look on your holiday tray! Best of all, it takes little skill to make them. Fancy but easy!
• Ideal for make-ahead. That’s the best kind of appetizers because we don’t need the extra stress on the big day.
• Easy to customize – You can easily change up the nut toppings or the sauce.

You’ll Need Just 5 Ingredients

1. Frozen Puff Pastry – I’ve made so many holiday appetizers and desserts by using puff pastry! From my dead simple cheese tarts to apple tarts, puff pastry can really do magic! It’s seriously convenient and fail-proof. You can find puff pastry in the freezer section at your local grocery store.
2. Brie Cheese – The soft, creamy cheese has a mild nutty and buttery flavor. Once baked, it melts beautifully against the golden puff pastry cups.
3. Cranberry Sauce – The sweet & tangy cranberry sauce complements the Brie cheese flavor. I used my Homemade Cranberry Sauce, but you could also use store-bought apricot jam, strawberry sauce, blackberry jam, fig jam, or chutney.
4. Candied Pecans or Walnuts – A little touch like the candied pecans and crushed walnuts add a sweet tantalizing crunch to the brie bites.
5. Flake Sea Salt – A sprinkle of flake sea salt intensifies the flavor.
6. (Optional) Fresh Thyme – Not just for the look, but fresh thyme adds a nice fragrance. You can sub with rosemary too.

Tips on Working with Frozen Puff Pastry

• Thaw puff pastry, cover with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for about 3-4 hours, or just set it on the counter for 20-30 minutes (depending on the room temperature).
• Don’t unfold the pastry right away while frozen; wait a bit longer until the pastry unfolds easily.
• Gently roll out the pastry and avoid pressing hard, or it will not puff as nicely.
• Puff pastry works best when cold so it doesn’t stick and melt into your hands. If it comes to room temperature, put it back in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or until it feels firm but pliable enough to work with.
• Chill the prepared pastry in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce & Substitutions

In this recipe, I used my homemade Easy Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce. It’s our family’s favorite and really easy to make, so I make this sauce frequently as long as fresh cranberries last in the store. You can also make a big batch and keep it in the fridge (for 2 weeks) or freezer (for 3 months).

Substitutions – You can use your own cranberry sauce recipe, or substitute cranberry sauce with fig jam, apricot jam, blackberry jam, chutney, or any sauces/jams you have in your mind.

Can I Make Them Ahead and How to Store Them?

Do I get a YES when I say you can make these pastries ahead of time? There are two ways to do this:

1. Once you assemble the brie bites in the muffin pan, cover it with plastic, and leave them in the refrigerator unbaked for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, just pop the pan in the oven and bake.
2. Assemble and bake the brie bites as the recipe instructed. Let cool, then arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet, and leave them in the freezer until harden. Then store the frozen pieces in an airtight container or ziplock in a single layer. They will be good for 2 months.

To reheat – just place the brie bites back in the muffin pan and bake 350ºF (177ºC) for about 10-15 minutes, or until nicely warm.

I can’t tell you how much my family enjoys these Cranberry Brie Bites. So be sure to make more. They will likely steal the show!

Other Holiday Appetizers You Might Enjoy:

• Cheese Tarts
• Japanese Sweet Potato Pie
• How to Make a Cheese Board
• Easy Apple Pie
• Burrata Crostini with Ikura and Yuzu Pepper
• Popovers with Strawberry Butter

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Cranberry Brie Bites

4.91 from 11 votes

These easy yet impressive Cranberry Brie Bites will make a delicious addition to your party spread. Melted Brie cheese stuffed inside a crispy puff pastry shell and topped with cranberry sauce and candied pecans make the perfect salty-sweet appetizer.

Print Pin

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Chilling Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Servings: 24 pieces

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 4 oz Brie cheese (½ (8-oz) round Brie cheese)
• ▢ 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (or substitute 1 (8-oz) tube crescent rolls)
• ▢ ½ cup cranberry sauce
• ▢ ¼ cup candied pecans
• ▢ ¼ cup roasted walnuts
• ▢ cooking spray

For the Garnish

• ▢ flake sea salt
• ▢ fresh thyme (optional; you can substitute it with rosemary)

Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

• Gather all the ingredients.
  
• Cut the Brie cheese round in half if you haven’t already. Place 4 oz Brie cheese in the freezer for 20 minutes (and store the other half in the refrigerator for another use). Chilling the Brie cheese in the freezer makes it easier to cut. Meanwhile, generously grease a mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
  
• Take out 1 sheet frozen puff pastry and place it on your work surface sprinkled with a bit of flour. Leave it out for 10 minutes or so (depending on the room temperature). When the puff pastry sheet becomes a bit softer, unfold it and continue to let it thaw.
  
• Roll the puff pastry sheet out into a 10 x 14-inch (25 x 36-cm) rectangle.
  
• Cut the sheet crosswise into 6 even strips.
  
• Then, cut the sheet lengthwise into 4 even strips. You should have 24 squares per 1 pastry sheet (each square will be about 2½ inches on each side).
  
• Separate the squares and press them gently into the muffin cups.
  
• Remove the Brie rind from the outer edges only (I keep the top and bottom). The rind is edible and barely noticeable once the Brie is baked. However, I like to remove the side edges so the corner pieces don’t have too much rind.
  
• Cut the chilled Brie cheese into 24 pieces. It’s easier to cut the creamy Brie into cubes when it’s chilled and has a firm texture.
  
• Place 1 piece of Brie inside each pastry-lined muffin cup. Top each cup with 1 tsp of the ½ cup cranberry sauce.
  
• Chop ¼ cup candied pecans and ¼ cup roasted walnuts.
  
• Top with a teaspoon of chopped nuts. Chill for at least 30 minutes. The cold temperature will firm up the pastry, which will help the butter in the dough melt more slowly. Tip: If you are making this ahead, you can wrap them in plastic wrap at this stage and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
  

To Bake

• Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Bake the bites in the preheated oven until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and the cheese and cranberry sauce are bubbly.
  
• Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes. Transfer the bites to a serving plate and garnish with flake sea salt and fresh thyme (optional). Serve warm or at room temperature.
  

To Store

• You can store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If you‘d like to freeze them, let them cool completely. Then, arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and leave them in the freezer until they harden. Then, store the frozen pieces in an airtight container in a single layer or a ziplock bag for up to 2 months.

To Reheat

• Place the bites in a mini muffin tin or on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350ºF (177ºC) until warmed through. For frozen bites, reheat directly from frozen at 350ºF (177ºC) in the oven until warmed through.

Notes

Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.

Nutrition

Calories: 95 kcal · Carbohydrates: 8 g · Protein: 2 g · Fat: 6 g · Saturated Fat: 2 g · Cholesterol: 5 mg · Sodium: 61 mg · Potassium: 20 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 3 g · Vitamin A: 31 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 12 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Author: Namiko Hirasawa Chen

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Brie cheese, cranberry, nuts

©JustOneCookbook.com Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any website or social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.

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