Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Cranberry Pecan Brie Bites

Appetizers

Party season is finally here! I’ve been getting into the holiday spirit by having hot chocolate after dinner every night and singing along to Christmas carols in the car (I was in chorus in high school and know all the words!). But tomorrow things will get into full force with our first work holiday party! I’m a huge fan of appetizer-only spreads because you get to try so many yummy treats and these little cranberry pecan brie bites are one of my favorites.

These little guys are very tasty and super fast to throw together.  I just lined mini muffin cups with pie crusts (I usually use the refrigerated Pillsbury ones), stuffed them with chunks of brie, and then topped them off with a cranberry pear spread and chopped pecans.  So easy and they are always a hit!

Cranberry Pecan Brie Bites
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 box (15 oz) refrigerated pie crusts, softened according to package directions
1 large Bartlett pear, peeled, cored, and chopped (8 ounces)
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces brie, cut into 24 3/4×3/4-inch chunks
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:
Heat oven to 375˚F. Unroll pie crusts and place on a flat work surface. Use a 2 1/2-inch round cutter to cut 12 rounds from each crust. Press each round in the bottom of 24 cups of an ungreased mini-muffin cup pan and press dough up the sides to form cups.

Meanwhile, place chopped pear, cranberries, and salt in a food processor, and process for 1 to 2 minutes or until well mixed.

Place one chunk of brie into each mini-muffin cup and top evenly cranberry mixture. Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly on top. Bake at 375˚F for 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes and remove from mini-muffin cups. Makes 12 servings.

Nutrition: 231 calories, 14.6g fat, 1.7g fiber, 4.4g protein per serving
Cost: $0.63 per serving

Caramelized Onion, Apple, and Bacon Phyllo Cups with Gorgonzola

Is it phyllo or fillo dough? Whatever the spelling, I haven’t made anything with these crispy flakey layers of buttery deliciousness in a couple years, which is such a shame. But, last week when I was picking up some frozen puff pastry for an upcoming recipe, I...

Mediterranean Cucumber Appetizers

I was craving a nice light summer snack the other night while I was reading and really wanted to munch on some of these cucumber hummus appetizers. Unfortunately, there was no hummus in the fridge or chickpeas in the cupboard and I was about to make some boring old...

Mashed Potato Stuffed Mushrooms

The holiday party season is here! I tend to be more of a grazer in general (it’s actually sometimes a little embarrassing how often I reach for the goodies in our snack drawer at work!), so I love it when a plentiful appetizer spread at parties lets me try new bites...

Plantain Nachos

The Super Bowl is almost here! I love having the excuse to whip up a bunch of fun appetizers and if you’re not in the mood for football chicken cakes, I have the most mouth watering snack for you – plantain nachos! These are my absolute favorite nachos of all time and...

Manchego Stuffed Spanish Meatballs

Apolinaras and I enjoyed a fun Spanish themed dinner party last week. Elina hosted and made fideos with ham, shrimp, and clams, which was just delicious, and Shannon covered dessert and brought cupcakes filled with dulce de leche and topped with almond cream...

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Hummus

We have a serious hummus/pita bread ratio problem at our house. Whenever we get a tub of hummus from Trader Joe’s and a pack of pita, the hummus disappears before we’re done with the pita bread! Most of the time I discover the poor forgotten pita in the back of the...

Cheesy Mushroom and Leek Crostinis

We started our last day of our anniversary trip to Portland by indulging in a few sticky buns and croissants at the Standard Baking Company. Of course, we also filled up a bag with a few loaves of bread to bring home. The sourdough was excellent! Then we headed off to...

Cajun Shrimp Rolls

When I was in New Orleans several months ago, I ordered a Crawfish Roll on a whim from one of the food vendors. I didn’t really know what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a yummy eggroll filled with a crawfish/seafood stuffing. It was...