Sweet & Spicy Cranberry Brie Bites
These Sweet & Spicy Cranberry Brie Bites are the perfect start to a special dinner. Served right out of the oven, these little bundles of sweet, tart, and mildly spicy flavor will bring a smile to your face. The traditional recipe was pimped up by combining my Cranberry Topping, orange zest, fresh rosemary, chopped pecans, and some cayenne pepper. These ingredients are baked atop brie cheese and puff pastry to give these delicious little appetizers a flavorful boost. They can easily be customized to your preference to make them milder or more spicy.
My Sweet & Spicy Cranberry Brie Bites are delightful appetizers that pair well with a lovely glass of chilled champagne. They make wonderful hors d’oeuvres for a holiday dinner, or an evening with that special someone. Read more about how to Pimp My Recipe in our Blog Comments & Tips.
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Step by Step Instructions
PREPARATION
Organize all your tools and ingredients before you begin. Getting all your ingredients in one place at the beginning will shorten your prep time.
Note: Oops, we forgot to include the orange and Himalayan salt in this photo!
STEP 1a
Place an 8 ounce wheel of Brie cheese (or wedge of Brie) into the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes, while you continue with next few steps. Place a large piece of parchment paper on your work surface. Unwrap 1 sheet frozen puff pastry which has been thawed according to package instructions, and place it on top of parchment paper. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the puff pastry.
Note: It’s important to keep puff pastry chilled to ensure it retains its flaky layers. Be sure to move quickly when working with puff pastry so it stays chilled. If it starts to warm up, just place it back in the fridge for about 15 to 30 minutes until it has chilled again.
STEP 1b
With a rolling pin, roll out the pastry into a 10 x 14 inch rectangle. Lift the paper and pastry onto a baking sheet pan. Chill the pastry in the refrigerator (covered on the baking pan) for at least 15 to 30 minutes.
STEP 2
Finely chop ½ cup pecans, and set aside. Finely chop ½ teaspoon fresh rosemary, and set aside.
STEP 3
To a small mixing bowl, add ½ cup Cranberry Topping (see Note A below), ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste - see Note B below), ½ teaspoon fresh orange zest, and ¼ teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary. Stir to combine, and set aside.
Note A: My Cranberry Topping is more tart than most traditional cranberry sauces, which works well with this recipe. You can make my quick and easy Cranberry Simple Syrup & Topping recipe in advance, or use your favorite cranberry sauce, or a store bought cranberry sauce. Keep in mind they may be sweeter than mine, which means you might have to adjust the salt and cayenne according to taste.
Note B: The amount of cayenne pepper in this recipe will produce a mildly spicy flavor, which hits your taste buds a few seconds after your first bite. If you like it more spicy, then add ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper instead, or more according to your taste. If you like it less spicy, then add just one pinch of cayenne pepper.
STEP 4
Remove Brie cheese from the freezer, and leaving the rind on, slice into 24 pieces of approximately equal size (each piece of Brie should be about ¾ to 1 inch), and refrigerate until ready to assemble.
Note: It’s important to use a very sharp knife. For this photo session, we happened to use a 1 pound wheel of Brie cheese, which is why you only see half the wheel being cut in this photo.
STEP 5
Place oven rack in the middle of your oven, and preheat oven to 375°F. Remove baking sheet pan with pastry from the fridge, and slide the paper with pastry off of the baking pan and onto your counter. Place a silicone mini muffin pan on top of the baking sheet pan.
STEP 6a
Cut chilled pastry into 24 squares/rectangles (they will not be exact squares). Press one square of puff pastry into each muffin tin, and prick the bottom of each pastry with a fork.
STEP 6b
Add one piece of Brie in each muffin tin, and top each piece of Brie with 1 teaspoon of the cranberry mixture. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary over the cranberry sauce, season with ⅛ teaspoon Himalayan salt, and chopped pecans. Place baking sheet with muffin tin in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes, or until ready to bake.
STEP 7
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and puff pastry is light golden brown and puffy. Remove from oven, and cool for about 3 to 5 minutes before removing from muffin tins and serving.
SERVING
Serve warm from the oven for the best texture and flavor!
Notes:
Make Ahead Instructions: Can be assembled up to 6 hours in advance. Just assemble through the end of Step 6b, then carefully cover brie bites in baking pan with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to bake. When ready to bake, remove plastic, and bake directly from the fridge, according to instructions in Step 7. Please note baking time might take a little longer if the baking sheet is really cold from the refrigerator.
Storing & Reheating Instructions: Once cooled, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 350°F. Place brie bite on a baking sheet, and bake until piping hot (about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your oven).
Makes 24 Sweet & Spicy Cranberry Brie Bites = 8 servings (3 per serving).
VIDEO
How to Make these Easy Sweet & Spicy Cranberry Brie Bites!
Blog Comments & Tips
Deliciously Sweet & Spicy!
If you have ever tried cranberry bites and wondered what all the fuss was about, then you are like me. They are a nice appetizer overall, but in my opinion, they can be pretty bland. Well, at PMR we set out to change that. Our Sweet & Spicy Cranberry Brie Bites are delightful appetizers with a hint of spice and some herbiness, and have so much more flavor than many of the standard cranberry brie bite recipes.
We tested multiple versions of this appetizer recipe on multiple occasions and received good reviews. That wasn’t good enough for us, we wanted them to be great! So after a few attempts we finally settled on this recipe. We think our Sweet & Spicy Cranberry Brie Bites have the perfect balance of spice, tart, and sweetness to satisfy your taste buds in one bite.
For those that are sensitive to spiciness, there is no need to worry. This recipe has a subtle hint of spiciness that hits your palate a few seconds later. And, to cut down on the sweetness, I used my Cranberry Topping recipe, which provides a predominantly tart flavor to let the cranberries shine. Combined with some seasoning, finely chopped fresh rosemary, and a sprinkling of chopped pecans, these Sweet & Spicy Cranberry Brie Bites offer a delicious bite of textures and flavor.
They are the perfect one bite size, which makes them a great choice to serve as an hors d'oeuvres for elegant dinner parties. They pair well with a lovely glass of chilled champagne, or any cocktail. They are small enough that they won’t fill up your guests before dinner, but substantial enough that they won’t leave your guests with an empty stomach during cocktail hour.
Whether you are hosting a holiday dinner, making dinner for that special someone on Valentine’s Day or any day of the year, or sharing them with your besties on Galentine’s Day, I think you will enjoy these bite sized appetizers! Make them early in the day and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Now you have the recipe, ingredients, and equipment, but how do you ensure the best results from our recipe?
My 5 tips to making extra special Sweet & Spicy Cranberry Brie Bites:
High quality ingredients are key as there are few ingredients in this recipe. Use my homemade Cranberry Topping, and a good quality ripe Brie cheese.
Make your cranberry sauce ahead of time, so it’s cooled down and ready to go.
Defrost your puff pastry according to the package instructions. Also, keep your puff pastry chilled. Place the puff pastry in the fridge as often as needed as you are working through the recipe steps. The important thing is to keep your puff pastry cold so it will puff up and the layers will be flaky.
If the Brie cheese melts outside of the puff pastry, just use a small teaspoon to scoop it back into the pastry bites while it’s still warm and pliable. Just make sure you do this right out of the oven.
For best flavor, serve them warm from the oven, but let them cool for about 3 to 5 minutes in the tin before serving. That melted cheese can get super hot!
Have any dietary preferences that won’t quite work with our recipe? It’s time to customize and Pimp Our Recipe.
Pimp Our Recipe:
Make it Spicy: If you like it more spicy, increase the amount of cayenne pepper to ¼ teaspoon. ⅛ teaspoon gives these appetizers a subtle heat, so doubling the amount should give it a kick. If you like it off the charts spicy, add more to taste. Just don’t add so much that it cancels out the other flavors.
Make it Milder: These are mildly spicy, but if you can’t take any spiciness, just omit the cayenne pepper.
Make it Sweeter: To my Cranberry Topping, add agave syrup to taste. Or use your favorite homemade cranberry sauce that likely uses more sugar. As a store bought option, Trader Joe’s makes a great Cranberry Orange Sauce that has more sweetness.
Enjoy and let us know what you think by commenting below, rating our recipes, subscribing, following, and liking us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube! Don’t forget to subscribe to get updates on new recipes and tips & tricks.
Happy Cooking!
Mich
Footnote: Remember to keep your puff pastry chilled throughout all the steps to ensure a flaky and puffy pastry.
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