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Cranberry Brie Bites are a delicious handheld, bite-sized appetizer that is just perfect for the holidays. Sweet and tart cranberry and orange flavors on top of creamy brie cheese all piled into a buttery, flaky crescent dough cup.
Cranberry is my favorite holiday flavor. I love combining it with orange like in these Cranberry Orange Scones, Cranberry Bliss Bars and Homemade Cranberry Orange Sauce. But it really takes these brie bites over the top!
Cranberry Brie Bites Appetizer
These little beauties are the perfect handheld bite. They’ve got everything a good finger food should have – sweetness from the cranberry and orange sauce, creamy cheesy brie and a crunchy vessel made from bread dough to hold it all in!
The brie melts very nicely but holds its shape, making it perfect for holiday snack recipes. One way to enjoy it is Baked Brie with Jam – baking an entire wheel of cheese in a pastry crust, topping it with jam, and using crackers to scoop up the melted goodness.
The best thing about these Cranberry Brie Bites? You bake bite-sized pieces of brie in small squares of crescent dough and top with cranberry orange sauce for individually sized appetizers!
How To Make Cranberry Brie Bites
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
Prep: To start, you’ll need a mini muffin pan, the one with 24 cups. Spray them really well with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat your oven – it will be ready to bake once you finish prepping the ingredients.
Prepare the Brie Cheese: Cut up 6 ounces of brie into small squares that will fit into the mini muffin tin cups. Mine were about 3/4-inch to 1-inch in size. You can find a wheel of brie in 6 ounce wheels at my grocery store, but If you need to buy a larger one, just eat the rest! Feel free to leave the rind on because it’s edible. Keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to assemble the bites.
Mix Topping: Combine cranberry sauce and orange marmalade and set that aside as well.
Prepare the Dough: Roll out crescent roll dough and cut it into 24 squares. Use flour on your cutting board to keep it from sticking. Press the cracks in the dough together and stretch the dough out into a square shape so you can cut evenly. Press those squares into each muffin cup.
Assemble the Bites: Grab the brie squares and set one into each muffin cup. Drizzle a little of the cranberry sauce mixture on top and around the cheese square. Sprinkle on some chopped pistachios or pecans.
Cook: Bake for 10-13 minutes. Oven temperatures can vary so watch closely after 10 minutes so your cranberry brie bites don’t burn. Just before serving, top with a sprig of rosemary.
Serving Suggestions
Let the bites cool slightly then serve immediately; it’s best to eat them warm. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days. Reheat in the oven to melt the cheese. I don’t recommend freezing them.
Storage and Freezing
Can cranberry brie bites be made in advance? Because we’re using Pillsbury crescent dough to keep it super simple, these are best baked and served immediately. If you want to make them in advance, I’d recommend using puff pastry dough instead.
How do you reheat cranberry brie bites? Place the bites on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes or until heated through.
How do you store leftovers? Place leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months and reheat from frozen in a 350 degree oven.
Expert Tips
- To really spice things up, try mixing a pepper jelly with the cranberry sauce instead of orange marmalade.
- You can definitely use puff pastry if you prefer. I like the crescent roll because it’s just a little easier to work with. If using puff pastry, roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper.
- To make the dough glisten, brush just the edges with a little egg wash (whisked egg with a tablespoon or so of water.
More Appetizers You’ll Love
- Beer Cheese Dip
- Chicken Crack Dip
- Buffalo Chicken Nachos
- Cranberry Meatballs
- Bruschetta
- Stuffed Mushrooms
- Sausage Rolls
- Fried Ravioli.
Cranberry Brie Bites
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounce tube crescent roll dough
- flour for rolling out the dough
- 6 ounces Brie cheese
- ¼ cup orange marmalade
- ¼ cup whole cranberry sauce
- ¼ cup chopped pistachios, pecans or walnuts
- fresh rosemary or candied orange pieces for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 24-count mini-muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Cut the brie into small, about 1-inch (or a little less) squares and set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- In a small bowl, mix together orange marmalade and cranberry sauce. Set aside.
- Lightly flour a flat surface, like a large wooden cutting board, and roll out the tub of crescent dough. Stretch slightly to form an evenly sided rectangle and pinch seams together. Cut into 24 even sized squares.
- Place the squares into the prepared muffin cups. Top with brie cheese square and a teaspoon (or a little less) of the orange-cranberry mixture. Top with a few of the chopped nuts and a small sprig of rosemary.
- Slide the muffin pan into the oven and bake for about 10-13 minutes, or until golden brown and dough is cooked through.
- Let cool 5-10 minutes and serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
I made these for one of our Christmas celebrations and they were a hit! I doubled the recipe and used puff pastry with my homemade cranberry sauce, homemade peach jam, and chopped pistachios. There wasn’t a single one left! They are easy, delicious, and make a beautiful looking platter of appetizers. This was the one thing I really wanted to make this holiday season. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
You are so welcome Lisa! Thank you so much for stopping by to share.
The crescent roll dough expanded too much which resulted in the brie melting outside the cups making a real mess. Most of the mini cups didn’t have mch left in them when they were golden brown.
I made these for our Thanksgiving celebration and they were a MASSIVE hit…I should have doubled the recipe! I love in South Africa so I had to make some substitutes based on what we have here – puff pastry instead of crescent dough and a cranberry fig jam instead of cranberry sauce, but it was still so good! The little sprig of rosemary really made a big impact.
That’s so awesome Gabby! Awesome feedback, thanks for stopping by to share.
Ok, I know I’m the problem here. The cheese keeps melting all over the place. Any tips? They taste so good but I can’t get it right.
It’s hard to know what’s happening because I’m not in the kitchen with you, but I’d try cutting smaller pieces of cheese, and make sure to keep the rind on the cheese. A higher quality cheese might help too. Feel free to email me and I can try to help troubleshoot.
I made it too many times and it turned out so so good thanks for sharing your recipe
That’s so awesome Loubna! You are so welcome.
I don’t know if you got my comment, but I only have a twelve cup pan, can I double the recipe? And, if I do, will it come out like it’s supposed to?
Hi Christine, I answered your other question but didn’t realize what you are asking. A 12 count pan will have larger cups so they final result won’t really be bite sized. A mini muffin pan would be best, but a 12-cup could work (but isn’t the best option, if that makes sense).
Can this recipe be doubled?
Yes it’s very easy to double. Just click the “2x” in the recipe card.
What can I substitute instead of Marmalade. I don’t like the taste of orange in cooking.
You could substitute with another jam or just use the cranberry by itself.