I live in a mountainous region where growing hot-weather crops is incredibly difficult, and among those crops are fresh berries. While I wouldn’t trade living in a heavenly place for anything, fresh berries are the only thing that might sway this claim. Well, the reason for this preamble is a new appetizer recipe: cranberry brie bites.
While these bites were heavenly, with mouthfuls of buttery goodness and sweet-and-tart cranberry sauce, it would have been absolute perfection if I could have gotten my hands on fresh cranberries. I didn’t even get frozen berries, so I had to use dried cranberries. You are always welcome to use store-bought sauce, but for the love of god, make it yourself to achieve maximum flavor.
Regardless, creamy brie smothered in homemade cranberry sauce, nestled inside a puff pastry cup, topped with toasted walnuts and rosemary sprigs, is nothing short of blissful. Each bite has a flavor burst in your mouth. Trust me, make this for your next gathering, and people will be raving about it. Use fresh or frozen berries if you find some, but dried ones also work wonderfully. You can also swap puff pastry for crescent dough and walnuts for pecans.
Note: Learn how to make puff pastry at home. Once you do, you’ll never go back to the store-bought stuff.
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 Minutes
- Difficulty Level: Incredibly Easy
Ingredients:
- 1 puff pastry sheet
- Cubed brie cheese – 200g (7oz)
- Cranberry sauce – 80g (1/3 cup)
- Toasted and chopped walnuts or pecans
- Rosemary sprigs, roughly chopped
Instructions:
- Prep the Puff Pastry: Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius (425 degrees Fahrenheit). Take a mini muffin tin and cut the puff pastry into 3×3-inch squares. Place each square into a separate muffin tin hole and gently press down to make a cup
- Fill the Pastry Cups: Fill each pastry cup with a cube of brie, topped with a teaspoon of cranberry sauce
- Bake and Serve: Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Remove the cranberry brie bites from the muffin tin and arrange on a platter. Top with toasted and chopped walnuts and rosemary sprigs. Serve hot
See? How easy and quick these cranberry brie bites are! All you need is 5 ingredients, 3 steps, and about 30 minutes. Once you make everything from scratch for this recipe, you will never want to rely on store-bought puff pastry or cranberry sauce. Trust me, homemade is always good. So give it a try and thank me later.
