Friday, November 21, 2014

{recipe | brie and cranberry puffs}

What are you thankful for?
Today, I'm thankful for good food and even better coworkers!



I have a fun recipe for y'all today! Please excuse the crappy iPhone photos and instead laugh at my amazing cooking utensils like a glass as a rolling pin and a shot glass as a cookie cutter. Creativity at it's finest. Don't ya think?

CRANBERRY BAKED BRIE PUFF PASTRY BITES:

for the cranberry filling…
-1 cup fresh cranberries
-3 tablespoons orange juice
-2 tablespoons water
-1 tablespoon honey
-1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-pinch of salt

for the puff pastry…
-2 10x10-inch sheets puff pastry, thawed
-1 large egg, beaten
-4 ounces Brie cheese


RECIPE:

1. Prepare the cranberry sauce: combine the cranberries, orange juice, water, honey, cinnamon, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 10 minutes, until the cranberries break down and thicken. Let cool.


you can see the cranberries beginning to "pop" and the oj thickening

this is what the final "thickened" cranberry sauce will look like!

2. Unfold the thawed puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface. With a rolling pin (oh hello, tall glass that I drink water out of…), gently roll the pastry so that it is even and you can't see the seams anymore. I tried to make it as thin and large as possible so I could get more "bites" out of it.


3. With a 1.5" round cookie or biscuit cutter (ugh, and again… enter the ever popular SHOT GLASS), cut circles out of the pastry.

Cut as many circles as you possibly can. I balled up the remaining dough and re-rolled it to cut more but I found that those bites weren't as flaky as the others cut from a sheet. So I wouldn't recommend that! If you need more I would simply use another box of puff pastry!


4. Beat the egg in a small bowl, then lightly brush each pastry. Top the pastry rounds with a dollop of cranberry sauce and a small piece of Brie (rind included). Keep in mind that you need to be able to seal these closed… it's tempting to want to put a chunky piece of cheese in there but it may not fit!

this was my set-up and process!

5. Carefully place the remaining pastry rounds on top of the Brie and cranberry, brushed egg side down (this helps them stick together). Pinch the ends closed, then gently crimp the edges with a fork to secure. Prick each pastry with a fork to allow the air to escape.


6. Lightly brush the top of each pastry with the beaten egg again. This will give them a pretty sheen and help them turn golden brown.


7. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 12 to 16 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature!


The final product!! Ta-da! Bite sized puff pastry yumminess :)


I made these little puff pastry balls of Thanksgiving happiness for an office potluck today. They're relatively easy (with the exception of me taking time to photograph on my iPhone and making it more tedious than it actually is). The bites are cute but if you're in a pinch make the sauce, pour it over the chunk of brie, wrap it all in puff pastry and bake it. It'll be a lot faster and taste exactly the same. But, since this was a potluck I wanted my coworkers to be able to grab one and go if needed - we're busy working bees ya know ;) Plus the little bites are just so cute!! Confession: I slightly overcooked mine… I swear I never heard the timer go off!!! But they were still delicious :) here's hoping my coworkers love them as much as I do.

Let me know if you guys make these or have any recipes you can't live without!
Does anybody have any cool family food traditions for Thanksgiving?

Love Always,

4 comments:

  1. Those sounds so good!! I might have to add those to my list of things to make for Thanksgiving!

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    Replies
    1. Yes!! I highly recommend it :) Just listen carefully for the timer hehe at least they turned out well still... Whoops!! Never claimed to be a pro baker on here ;) But it's always fun to share recipes that I try out and love!
      I have a sangria recipe coming next week... THAT'S something you will definitely need to add to your list for thanksgiving :D
      Thanks for reading, love!

      xoxo, Jennifer

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  2. So sad I missed this recipe before the Thanksgiving holiday! I'm adding this to my Christmas baking list though. Thanks for posting. You're too cute!!

    xo min
    www.amixofmin.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. Let me know how the baking goes!! They're so perfect and bite sized :) Thanks so much for reading, Min!

      xoxo, Jennifer

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