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You’ll be pleasantly surprised with these delicious and easy Cranberry Brie Bites. They are the perfect appetizer with a bit of sweet, a bit of savory and a lot of crispy, flaky deliciousness.
Puff pastry brie bites are the best Christmas appetizer, but you can serve them for New Year’s Eve or any other time you like!
Cranberry Brie Bites Ingredients
To make this brie appetizer, you will need the following ingredients (scroll down to the recipe card below for exact amounts and directions):
- Puff pastry: You can also use refrigerated crescent dough or even premade pie crust if necessary, though they may not be as flakey.
- Brie cheese: You can try this recipe with mozzarella cheese, gouda, or even a white cheddar cheese if you are hesitant about using brie or don’t have it on hand. Brie is the star of the show, so I recommend using it for this recipe.
- Cranberry sauce: If you have a homemade cranberry sauce you like to use, feel free to do so, otherwise canned cranberry sauce will work well.
- Walnuts: Pecans, almonds, or cashews are options for this recipe as well.
- Thyme leaves: Fresh rosemary or parsley are substitutes that will work well for these bites.
Special Tools Needed
Two muffin pans
Cooking spray
Rolling pin
Measuring tools
Small spoon or Tablespoon
Knife and board for cutting cheese
How to Make Cranberry Brie Bites
- Spray two muffin pans with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. (If you only have one muffin pan, you will need to make this recipe in two batches).
- Sprinkle flour on a hard, clean surface and lay one of the sheets on it. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a 10×15 inch rectangle (it is originally 9×9 inches).
- Create 12 even squares by cutting the rectangle into three strips lengthwise along the two ready-made folds. Then, cut the squares out by making three cuts, perpendicular to the first cuts, and evenly spread out, to make 12 squares total.
- Lightly press each of the squares into the mold of one muffin pan. If you have two muffin pans you can prepare the other puff pastry sheet and muffin pan in the same way. Otherwise, leave the extra pastry in the refrigerator and prepare it after this pan is finished and cooled.
- Grab the brie cheese from the refrigerator and cut it into 24 small, bite-size pieces.
- Place one piece of brie into each pastry square in the muffin cavity.
- Scoop a small spoonful (a little less than 1 Tablespoon) of cranberry sauce onto each of the brie cheese pieces.
- Top each muffin cavity with a sprinkle of walnuts and one thyme leaf.
- Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until the bites start to bubble and the pastry turns golden brown.
- When finished, take out of the oven and let cool for about five minutes. If you need to make two batches, carefully remove the brie bites to use the muffin pan again. Otherwise, plate and serve warm.
Storage Instructions
Put these in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. To reheat, place one of these in the microwave, wrapped in a paper towel, for 20 seconds. You can also freeze these bites for up to two months. Use the oven to reheat these at 350 degrees if you decide to freeze them.
Recipe Tips
Here are a few tips and tricks to make sure your recipe turns out excellent.
- Thyme leaves are an excellent addition to these bites and add a beautiful and savory component. However, you generally just want the leaves and not the entire stem of a thyme sprig. If you place the thyme into the oven, like directed, the stem will cook and be easy to eat. But, eating the thyme leaves fresh is also a wonderful option, and if you decide to go that route, you will need to separate the leaves from the stem to make them more edible. You can either use a small paring knife to cut off the leaves or gently pull the leaves from the stem.
- You can make these bites much smaller by using a mini muffin pan and slicing each pastry sheet into 24 squares instead of 12. This would make 48 total bites after using both pastry sheets, which means you will need to slice the brie into 48 pieces. Use about a ½ Tablespoon of cranberry sauce and a smaller amount of walnuts. You will also need less amount of time in the oven, so check the bites after 12 minutes or so to see if they are finished.
FAQs
Your first instinct may be to remove the rind, but you don’t need to worry about it. It will melt and disappear into the rest of the cheese and is completely edible. Just cut up the brie wheel like normal, including the rind.
Cranberry Brie Bites
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour for dusting
- 2 frozen puff pastry sheets thawed and refrigerated
- 8 oz brie cheese wheel refrigerated
- 1 ¼ cups cranberry sauce
- ⅔ cup walnuts finely chopped
- 24 fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
- Spray two muffin pans with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. (If you only have one muffin pan, you will need to make this recipe in two batches).
- Sprinkle flour on a hard, clean surface and lay one of the sheets on it. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a 10×15 inch rectangle (it is originally 9×9 inches).
- Create 12 even squares by cutting the rectangle into three strips lengthwise along the two ready-made folds. Then, cut the squares out by making three cuts, perpendicular to the first cuts, and evenly spread out, to make 12 squares total.
- Lightly press each of the squares into the mold of one muffin pan. If you have two muffin pans you can prepare the other puff pastry sheet and muffin pan in the same way. Otherwise, leave the extra pastry in the
refrigerator and prepare it after this pan is finished and cooled. - Grab the brie cheese from the refrigerator and cut it into 24 small, bite-size pieces.
- Place one piece of brie into each pastry square in the muffin cavity.
- Scoop a small spoonful (a little less than 1 Tablespoon) of cranberry sauce onto each of the brie cheese pieces.
- Top each muffin cavity with a sprinkle of walnuts and one thyme leaf.
- Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until the bites start to bubble and the pastry turns golden brown.
- When finished, take out of the oven and let cool for about five minutes. If you need to make two batches, carefully remove the brie bites to use the muffin pan again. Otherwise, plate and serve warm.
Nutrition
The nutrition information is calculated using online nutrition calculators and may not be accurate. It is provided as a general guide only.
The recipe and photos contained herein are the property of Emily Enchanted© and may not be copied.
Emily Enchanted
Saturday 14th of January 2023
This little bites are the perfect savory and sweet appetizer for the holidays.