About This Recipe
These small pastry cups hold a piece of brie and a spoonful of honey-cranberry filling. The sauce is made first and cooled while the pastry chills. Bake the cups until the edges are golden, then give them a few minutes to firm up before lifting them from the pan.
Recipe
Honey Cranberry Brie Bites in Puff Pastry Cups
Bake 24 small puff pastry cups with brie and a quick honey-cranberry filling. Start with thawed, chilled pastry; two bites make one serving.
5Ingredients
Yield: 12 servings
- 250 g frozen ready-to-bake puff pastry, thawed and chilled
- 150 g brie cheese
- 150 g fresh cranberries
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 30 g fresh orange juice
Ingredient amounts scale; instructions show the original batch. Cooking times and pan sizes may need adjustment. Season to taste. Honey grams use US measures at 20°C and 17.5% moisture, a density estimate; weigh your honey for precision.
Instructions
- 1Start with thawed pastryThaw the puff pastry according to its package directions before starting; the 65-minute recipe time begins with thawed but cold pastry. Keep it refrigerated while you make the filling. Use a nonstick mini muffin pan with 24 wells, or line the wells with small pieces of baking paper.
- 2Cook the honey-cranberry fillingPut the cranberries, honey and orange juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring, until some berries have burst and the mixture is thick enough to mound softly on a spoon. Transfer to a shallow bowl and let cool while you prepare the pastry.
- 3Cut the pastry squaresHeat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Roll the chilled pastry between baking paper to a rectangle about 30 by 20 cm (12 by 8 inches). Cut into twenty-four 5 cm (2 inch) squares. Press one square into each mini muffin well, leaving the corners above the rim.
- 4Fill and chill the cupsCut the brie into 24 small pieces and divide between the pastry cups. Divide all the cooled cranberry filling between them. Refrigerate the filled pan for 10 minutes before baking so the pastry stays cold.
- 5Bake until goldenBake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the pastry edges are well risen and golden and the filling is hot. Check the base of one cup carefully; if it still looks wet or translucent, give the pan a little more time.
- 6Rest before liftingLet the bites stand in the pan for 5 minutes, then lift them out with a small spoon or spatula. Serve warm. The recipe makes 24 bites, counted as 12 servings of two bites each for the nutrition calculation.
Estimated nutrition per serving
174.06 calories · 11.42 g fat · 14.1 g carbohydrate · 4.21 g protein · 130.91 mg sodium
Serving: 1 of 12 servings
Calculated from ingredient weights and USDA FoodData Central: 172790, 172177, 171722, 169640, 169098. Estimates use ingredient input weights; actual portions, brands and cooking losses vary. Omitted nutrient values are unavailable, not zero.
Make a Small Filling Batch
The honey-cranberry mixture is sized for these 24 cups. It should be thick enough to stay near the brie rather than run straight through the pastry. Stir while it simmers and stop when it mounds softly on the spoon.
This is an appetizer built around pastry and cheese, rather than a bowl of cranberry sauce served as a condiment. Let the filling cool while you cut the dough so it does not warm the pastry before baking.
Flavor intensity uses an editorial culinary scale: 1 is mild and 5 is bold. These are tasting suggestions, not laboratory measurements.
Sources: UC Agriculture and Natural Resources: Honey flavor and cooking; USDA FoodData Central: ingredient composition.
1 = mild, 5 = bold. Editorial pairing guidance, not laboratory measurements; jars vary.
- Clover
- Creamy brie
- Wildflower
- Cranberry filling
- Buckwheat
- A stronger cheese bite
Get the Honey Buyer's Cheat Sheet (free PDF)
16 varieties on one page — color, flavor, best use and what a fair price looks like — from the 304 honeys we track.
Cold Pastry Is Easier to Handle
The recipe starts with puff pastry that is already thawed and chilled. Follow the package instructions for thawing before you begin. Different products need different waiting times, so that step is separate from the 65-minute preparation and baking schedule.
Roll between sheets of baking paper to avoid adding unmeasured bench flour. If the pastry gets soft or sticky, put it back in the refrigerator before cutting or filling. The ten-minute chill after assembly is included in the recipe time.
Divide the Filling before Adding Extra
Cut the brie into 24 pieces first. That makes it easier to give each pastry cup a similar amount. Divide the cranberry mixture across all the wells before deciding that one cup needs a larger spoonful.
Each square should form a little cup with its corners visible above the pan. Do not press the corners flat against the rim. A nonstick pan or small baking-paper liners will help you lift the baked cups without tearing the soft cheese filling away from the pastry.
Serve Warm, after a Short Rest
Five minutes in the pan lets the pastry and cheese settle enough to handle. Lift one bite carefully and check that its base is baked through before moving the rest to a platter. The pastry should have golden edges and a set base.
For a cheese-board meal alongside the warm bites, the honey and ricotta guide and honey roasted walnuts offer other textures. Honey cornbread works for a larger holiday spread.
Two Bites per Serving
The displayed estimate divides the whole recipe into 12 servings, each containing two pastry cups. It includes all the brie and honey-cranberry filling. Eating one bite is half of the stated serving.
The puff pastry figures come from the USDA generic frozen ready-to-bake record. Your package can have a different formula, so the numbers are an ingredient-based estimate, not a label calculation for every brand.
Choosing the Honey
Use Clover Honey or Wildflower Honey for the flavor described in this recipe. See our honey selection guide for other culinary choices.
