What Makes This Recipe So Good
Cranberry brie bites are the perfect holiday appetizer. Buttery pastry dough. Rich, tangy brie. Tart cranberry sauce. Sweet honey. Crunchy toasted pecans. Can you imagine anything more amazing?! The texture on these little finger-food showstoppers is unbelievable. Flaky, crisp shells envelope a warm, melty cheese and a gooey cranberry sauce, and THEN you top them with crunchy toasted pecans and a drizzle of honey? Whoa, mama. This is one of those danger foods where, if you’re not careful, suddenly you’ll look down and realize you ate a whole plate of cranberry brie bites in minutes. This is one of those handy recipes that you can prep a day or so in advance and pop in the oven at the last minute. You are WELCOME.
Key Ingredients
Pastry Dough – You can use a tube of crescent roll dough or a sheet of puff pastry! You’ll want roughly 8 ounces of dough so you can get 18 brie bites out of it.Brie – If you’ve ever had baked brie or my cranberry brie dip then you already know how incredible and decadent this amazing cheese is. If you’re not a fan, you can use camembert, or even a basic cream cheese. For a dairy-free version, try making this with cashew cream cheese.Cranberry Sauce –Any homemade cranberry sauce will work here! For a super easy recipe, check out my Whole30 Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce. Just keep in mind that these cranberry brie bites won’t be Whole30-compliant! Another mind-blowingly delicious option would be bacon jam instead of cranberry sauce, and pepper jelly or orange marmalade would work well, too.
Chef’s Tips
You can prepare the cranberry brie bites in advance, so then all you have to do day-of is add the sauce and bake! Follow the instructions below, up to the point where you place the brie and cranberry sauce in the dough cups. Fill all the cups with cheese but don’t add the cranberry sauce yet. Cover the muffin tin with plastic wrap and refrigerate it up to 24 hours. When you’re ready to serve them, just uncover them, add the cranberry sauce, and pop the muffin tin into the preheated oven! You may need to increase the bake time a little since they’re cold. Just keep an eye on them and don’t let them burn! Brie is pretty creamy so it’s not always the easiest to slice. If you have trouble cutting the brie into cubes, chill it or freeze it for 10 minutes or so. You don’t need to worry about removing the rind, either. You won’t notice it after you’ve baked the brie bites, and it’s completely safe to eat! Cranberry brie bites are best served warm. Try to time it so they can be eaten almost as soon as they come out of the oven and get their honey drizzle. If you’re snacking on leftovers, I recommend reheating them in the oven for a few minutes first.
More Holiday Recipes I Know You’ll Love
Sweet Potato Pancakes Paleo Peppermint Hot Chocolate Christmas Confetti Cookies Sous Vide Prime Rib with Au Jus Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Caramel Sauce Addictive Hot Crab Dip (Low Carb, Keto, Gluten Free) Stuffed Artichokes Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms Cranberry Salsa Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies Bacon Wrapped Dates Recipe Ruth’s Chris Sweet Potato Casserole Glazed Pecans
