Baked Cranberry Brie in Puff Pastry

A festive and easy appetizer for the holidays

Baked brie is such a crowd-pleasing appetizer, and this version with cranberry sauce is super festive for the holidays. In college, one of my roommates would always make a version of this dish for our Christmas party and I remember all of us girls huddling around the plate as soon as it came out of the oven. The puff pastry forms a flakey crust around the molten brie, which mixes with the sweet-tart cranberry sauce as it bakes. When you cut it open, the cheese oozes out and is perfect to spread onto a cracker, while the edge pieces of pastry are nice bites on their own. The best part of this dish is how simple it is - you only need a few ingredients and less than five minutes to prep it. You can even assemble the brie package earlier in the day and keep it in the fridge until you're ready to put it in the oven. It's a no-fuss dish that looks impressive and that everyone will love.

Note: You can swap out the brie with another similar cheese, such as camembert.


Related Recipes:
- Poached Cherries with Goat Cheese
- Baked Honey & Walnut Brie
- Great Grandmother's Cheeseball


Baked Cranberry Brie in Puff Pastry:

• Preheat the oven to 375F.
• Roll out 1 sheet of de-frosted puff pastry to 1/4"-1/8" thick.
• Place one 8 oz. wheel of brie cheese in the middle of the pastry, then spread 1/4 c. of cranberry sauce* on top of the cheese.
• Fold the ends of the pastry over the cheese and crimp to secure it in a little package. Trim extra pastry if needed.
• In a small bowl, whisk together 1 egg and a splash of water. Brush a little of the egg wash over the pastry.
• Bake the cheese in a baking dish for 30-35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.
• Let cool slightly, then serve with crackers, sliced fruit, etc.

Serves six-ten (appetizer)

*I used a chunky fresh cranberry sauce that gave it some texture.