A Bite Sized Thanksgiving Delight

This year for Thanksgiving Pete’s family is hosting, which in this Irish Catholic neck of the woods means 28 some odd bellies under one roof. His Mommala, being the savvy hostess she is doesn’t fret and instead delegates duties to the various attendees.

My job?

Appetizers.

I would be freaked out as cooking for the family is a pretty big rite of passage, but I have THE perfect recipe. And any of you can do it, I swear. It requires only 3 ingredients, a little prep, and 15 minutes of cook time, and you will look like a rockstar. I tested them out for my girlfriends when I was in Houston, and they were such a success Kathleen then made them for her office where they were equally well received. So here we go…

Brie Cranberry Puff Pastry Bites

Ingredients

Brie

Cranberry Sauce (I use the ocean spray canned jelly, because Pete prefers it, but homemade is recommended for those with more discerning guests)

Pillbury Puffed Pastry Sheets

Equipment

Muffin Tins (The smaller muffin size is preferable, but either will do)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400° and let the puff pastry dough defrost
2. Coat muffin tins with non stick spray
3. The puff pastry sheets will sort of be divided into thirds from how they were folded, cut along those lines so the dough is in 3 long strips, then divide each strip into 3 equal squares.
4. Fill each well of your muffin tin with a puff pastry square so that they make a little cup. The edges will stick out on the muffin tin unevenly but that is ok
5. In each puff pastry cup put a dollop of brie (do not overfill, the cheese will make the dough soggy, I would say about 1/3 of the cup should be filled with the brie) and cover with a dollop of cranberry sauce (another 1/3 of the dough cups volume)
6. Once each muffin well is filled with the brie and cranberry pop into the oven for 15 minutes
7. Remove and let cool for a minute, it may be a bit tricky to remove the brie cranberry bites, use a knife to loosen the edges and pop them out if necessary.
8. Voila!

It’s not the BEST photograph, they are much prettier in person, but either way they won’t stick around long enough on a tray to be admired, in my experience they are eaten immediately. Try it out and let me know how it goes!