Baked Cranberry Brie Cups with Candied Pecan Topping – Including a Super Quick Option
My daughter and I got an invite to a wine and appetizer party. Everyone was to bring an appetizer to share. I had so much to do (’tis the season), and fitting in creating an appetizer added to the craziness. I did, however, want to bring something that was festive and fun. Something that was pretty, yet tasty. While scrutinizing my fridge Brie and Cranberries were the definite standouts. I pulled out some puff pastry from the freezer and went to work. These lovely Baked Cranberry Brie Cups with Candied Pecan Topping were born. They are super easy – even easier if you choose the super quick option. You can make a day ahead and refrigerate them until you are ready to pop them in the oven.
What makes these so easy is the fact that you are really just assembling simple ingredients on store bought puff pastry. The presentation definitely would fool anyone as to how much time and effort was spent! You will purchase the puff pastry and brie. You can either make the cranberry orange filling, or choose to purchase a jar of preserves. Blueberry, raspberry, fig, etc. could definitely be used in place of the cranberries. If you choose to stick with cranberries and purchase cranberry sauce, make sure not to get “jellied” sauce. You will want whole cranberries in the sauce. Any one of these lovely fruit spreads from Northwest Wild Foods would be fabulous in this application: https://nwwildfoods.com?sca_ref=9552109.f8susya3ZW8K Another substitution option to make these quickly would be to buy toasted or candied pecans, instead of toasting and candying them yourself.
These Baked Cranberry Brie Cups with Candied Pecan Topping are definitely a “must try”. They are the perfect pretty appetizer for the season. Enjoy.
Baked Cranberry Brie Cups with Candied Pecan Topping
Equipment
- Muffin tin
Ingredients
Brie Cups
- 1 Sheet Puff Pastry, thawed
- 8 Oz Brie Cheese
Cranberry Orange Sauce
- 6 Oz (1 2/3 cup) Fresh Cranberries
- 1½ tsp Orange Zest, finely diced
- 1/4 Cup Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice (about one orange)
- 1/4 Cup Water
- 3 Tbsp Honey
- 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar Taste for sweetness – potentially add another Tablespoon
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
- Pinch Ground Cloves
- Pinch Salt
Pecan Topping
- 3/4 Cup Pecans, roughly chopped
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- Pinch Salt
Quick Option:
- 1 Sheet Puff Pastry
- 3/4 Cup Cranberry Sauce, Raspberry Preserves, Blueberry Preserves, Fig Preserves, Etc. Make sure it is not a "jelly" type product, but one that has pieces of fruit.
- 3/4 Cup Pecans, chopped
Instructions
Brie Cups
- Roll the thawed Puff Pastry into a 14" x 10½" rectangle. Cut into Strips
- Measure out twelve 3½ x 3½ inch squares.
- Place Puff Pastry squares into muffin tin, forming little cups.
- Cut Brie into 1" squares that are ½" thick. Place Brie squares in bottom of each muffin tin cup.
**For Quick Option, Skip to Assembling Step**
Cranberry Orange Sauce
- Zest Orange, and finely chop the zest. Once zested, juice your orange.
- Add Cranberries, Orange Zest, Orange Juice, Water, Honey, Brown Sugar, and Spices to medium sauce pan. Stir to combine.
- Simmer, stirring often, until the cranberries break down and the sauce thickens.
- Taste, and add additional brown sugar if necessary.
Candied Pecan Topping
- Roughly chop Pecans.
- Melt the Butter in frying pan. Add chopped Pecans. Stir often until pecans smell toasty and are browned. Sprinkle with pinch of Salt.
- Add the Brown Sugar. Stir until sugar is melted and the pecans are coated.
- Quickly remove from the heat to a tray to stop the cooking, so they won't be overly browned.
Assembling and Baking the Cups
- Preheat oven to 350℉
- Top each Brie Cup with 1 scant Tablespoon of the Cranberry mix (or other topping if using quick option) and 1 Tablespoon of the candied Pecans.
- You can either pop them in the oven at this point, or cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate (up to 24 hours) before baking.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the puff pastry is golden brown.
- Remove from oven. Cool for about 5 minutes before using a fork to carefully loosen the cups from the edge of the muffing tin. The cheese will have melted, and seeped down the cups in places, but careful fork work will persevere, and they will pop out in the end.
- Arrange with Rosemary Sprigs for nice presentation. Enjoy!
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