Cranberry Brie Bites

Name: Cranberry Brie Bites
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 280 g puff pastry; 130 g brie (cut into 12 equal pieces); 100 g cranberry sauce; rosemary ((optional))

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These Cranberry Brie Bites are the ultimate festive party food or appetiser, but so simple to make. Golden and flaky puff pastry wrapped around delicious gooey melted brie and a generous dollop of chunky cranberry sauce. They are little bites of perfection, and cooked in just 15 minutes.

Brie and cranberry bites on a serving board next to some glasses of red wine and a board with cheese on it.

These Cranberry Brie Bites look far more fancy and complicated than they actually are. Just 3 ingredients and less than 5 minutes prep time, so they can be thrown together at the last minute.

Easy to adapt with a few "hidden veggies", these are a must on any party food table or simply indulge and eat them yourself!

Looking for some other things to serve up at a Christmas party? Why not try our Cheese Straws, Ultimate Prawn Cocktail or Grazing Platter.

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Why should you try it?
What you will need
Step by step
Brie and cranberry
Variations
FAQs
Extra tips
More Christmas recipes
Recipe
Feedback

Why should you try it?

The ULTIMATE Christmas party food - Brie and cranberry just scream Christmas and these little bites are perfect for serving up at a party.
Easy to adapt - You can use a different cheese and sauce/chutney to make them a different way every time.
Just 3 ingredients - That's all it takes to make these delicious bites. Just pastry, brie and cranberry sauce.
Cooked in just 15 minutes - These are so quick to make too and it only takes 15 minutes for the pastry to puff up and get nice and crispy.
Can be made in advance - You could do all the prep in advance and then put the baking tray in the oven until you are ready to cook them. They may need a little longer in the oven if they are coming out cold from the fridge.

What you will need

Puff pastry - Yes, we cheated and used store bought, ready rolled puff pastry. We rarely make our own pastry, as the store bought stuff is so easy and even top chefs use store bought. This recipe is all about a quick and easy party food, and store bought pastry saves lots of time. If you are using frozen pastry, make sure you defrost it first.
Brie - You want to use a really good quality brie, not the cheap supermarket stuff (although that will still work as a last resort). The gooier the brie, the better.
Cranberry sauce - Again, quality is important. We like a chunky cranberry sauce that still has whole cranberries in it. But you can use a smooth cranberry sauce if you prefer.
Rosemary - Just to add a little decoration to the top!

The ingredients needed for this recipe laid out with a text overlay on each item.

Step by step

It really couldn't be any easier to make these brie bites. You simply add squares of puff pastry to a muffin tin, add brie and cranberry sauce and then bake. Then, most importantly, eat and enjoy!

One: Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Grease a muffin tin and add a square of pastry to each hole, gently pressing in.

A muffin tin with squares of pastry in each hole.

Two: Add a slice of Brie, two teaspoons of cranberry sauce and a small sprig of rosemary.

A muffin tin with pastry, brie and cranberry sauce in each hole.

Three: Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Brie and cranberry

Brie is a must during the festive season, and always features on our Christmas cheese board. However, there is SO much more that you can do with brie. If you have ever baked a whole brie and dipped bread in to it, then you will know how amazing melted brie is - these are like little bite sized versions.

You could even use this recipe as a way to use up leftover brie from the cheese board, and any leftover cranberry sauce from Christmas dinner.

When it comes to the ingredients used, you want to go for the best quality possible. Whilst it might be tempting to use a cheap wedge of brie, even when melted it is pretty tasteless. Try to get something that is pretty gooey to begin with, even uncooked.

The cranberry sauce matters too, as it gives these little bites so much flavour. We like to go for a sauce that still has chunky cranberries in it to give lots of texture, rather than a smooth sauce. But that really is a preference thing.

You also don't have to use brie and cranberry if you fancy a change. Controversial for a brie and cranberry recipe. These puff pastry bites are really versatile thought. Swap the brie for camembert or a rinded goats cheese and then swap the cranberry sauce for a chutney.

A small sprig of rosemary on top of cranberry filled puff pastry.

Variations

We love any kind of food that we can add some vegetables to, especially during the festive season when our diet can be a little lacking in vegetables and a little too heavy on cheese and chocolate. Whilst you have to be careful not to over stuff these and make them too heavy, there is room for a little veggie boost.

Finely chop half a mushroom (depending on the size) and add on top of the brie before the cranberry sauce. You could also do the same with a little spinach and finely chop it. Don't add anything too watery, as it can make the pastry soggy.

Puff pastry cranberry bites on a wooden serving board.

FAQs

Are cranberry brie bites healthy?

In a word, no. These are deliciously indulgent and just want you need at Christmas time. There are loads of health benefits of cranberries though, as they are a good source of vitamin C, E and K1 as well as fibre. You can also add some vegetables to these bites for an extra nutrient boost.

What muffin pan to use?

We used a Mini Muffin Tray to make these, as these are the perfect size and the smaller size helps the bites to get nice and crispy. A larger muffin tin won't work for this recipe.

Do you have to cut the rind off the brie?

No, you don't have to cut the rind off the brie for this recipe. Once everything is cooked, it melts together and it is all soft and gooey. In fact, removing the rind will make these harder to make, as you won't have anything to hold on to and the cheese will be pretty sticky.

Brie or cranberry in first?

We have tested this both ways and we find that adding the brie first is best. If you add the cranberry sauce first, because it is wet it can make the pastry really soggy. Also, the cranberry sauce is pretty heavy, so it falls in to the melted brie and gives this amazing colour combination when finished.

Can you make cranberry brie bites in advance?

Yes, you can assemble these in advance and then just pop them in the oven before you are ready to store them. That's why they are the perfect party food, as you can get them ready hours before your guests arrive. You can assemble them in your muffin tin and then keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days. You will need to add some time on to cooking if they have come out cold from the fridge.

How to store brie and cranberry bites.

If you have any leftovers of these (unlikely, they are amazing and usually go within seconds of us putting them on the table) then you can store them in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Can you freeze them?

Yes, you can freeze them. They won't taste quite the same when defrosted, but they are still tasty. You can either freeze them unbaked or once cooked wait for them to cool and freeze them. Simply put them on a single layer on a baking tray and freeze until solid. You can then put them in a ziplock bag and then will be good for about a month.

How to reheat.

You can reheat these from the fridge or freezer. Simply put them on a lined baking tray and then loosely cover with foil. Put them in a preheated oven at 180C and cook until warmed through (around 10 minutes from the fridge).

Extra tips

Whilst it might be tempting, don't overload the pastry with brie and cranberry as it will all ooze out as the pastry rises.
If you have a really gooey brie to begin with (which is the best tasting in our opinion), then you can put it in the freezer for 15 minutes before cutting. This will make the cut squares of brie easier to handle and add to the pastry.
Only get the pastry out of the fridge just before you are about to cut it in to squares. If you leave it out too long and it warms up, it's really hard to work with and get in the muffin tin.
We topped out brie and cranberry bites with a sprig of fresh rosemary before baking. This adds lots of delicious flavour to the brie. You could swap it for thyme, or leave it out completely. You could also just add them before serving for decoration.

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