Around the holidays, I always like to keep some simple, crowd-pleasing recipes on hand. Appetizers don’t always need to be fancy. People want small tasty bites to hold them over until the main attractions. When I was growing up my mother would wrap Gouda cheese in crescent roll dough and serve fresh baked wedges as an appetizer. It took no time to make and everyone loved it. What’s not to love about oozing cheese and flaky dough?
That was my inspiration for this appetizer. Well, that and the adorable mini brie bites I recently found at Trader Joe’s. All you need for this recipe is puff pastry, brie bites, and a fruit spread of your choice. If you want to be fancy you can certainly make everything from scratch. But trust me, this tastes wonderful and is an easy holiday appetizer that you can even take on the road. If you swap out the fruit spread for chocolate, you have an easy dessert!
If you’ve never worked with puff pastry before, you should be able to find it in the freezer section of your grocery store. My tips for working with puff: roll it out evenly and don’t let it get too soft. Puff pastry is full of butter and as that butter melts the dough becomes difficult to handle.
Ingredients
- Puff Pastry
- Trader Joe's Mini Brie Bites (or something similar)
- Fruit spread of your choice (I used Dalmatia Dried Fig Spread)
- Egg wash (1 egg yolk, beaten with a pinch of salt and splash of water)
Instructions
- Roll out a thin square of puff pastry. The thinner the dough, the prettier the final result will be.
- Place a mini brie bite in the center and top with a small dollop of fruit spread (1/2 - 1 teaspoon).
- Wrap the puff pastry tightly around the brie, pinching the ends together and smoothing them out a bit. Cut away excess dough if necessary. This will be the bottom so it doesn't have to be very pretty, but you want to seal any holes. Place the dough facing pretty side up on a sheet tray.
- Repeat this process until you've made all the bites. (***see note)
- Use a small knife to poke 3-4 decorative holes in the top, then brush the top and sides with egg wash.
- Bake at 430 degrees F for 20 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
*** If you're planning to take these to a party, stop here. Wrap the bites individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate them. Transport the uncooked brie bites and egg wash in a cooler. Then follow the rest of the recipe 20 minutes before serving.
Simple. Easy. Beautiful! Can’t wait to try them!!
Ok this one I might just have to cave and try…it looks DELICIOUS and pretty fool-proof to make! Sign me up!!
Geez, cheese Louise! Why for you gotta make me so bummed out about not having Trader Joe’s in Canada? These look delectable!
Check out some stores in your area that have quality cheese selection. I bet you’ll find something!
So simple and elegant! I am so incredibly sad there is not a Trader Joe’s anywhere near me :(
I bet you can find something similar in your grocery store, take a look around!
Now I am craving brie. These look so good! They are going to be at my next party!
I often make an appetizer similar to this with a large wheel of Brie but I love the idea of this individual bite-sized version!
I know I’m in the minority as a not-crazy-about-Brie person, but my husband loves it and these little appetizers are just too cute! I’m sure I could try a different type of cheese, and the fig jam would be scrumptious!
Ditto – I was just thinking that, too, that I’m not a fan of brie either, no matter how hard I try to be! But these are so cute and could probably be modified with another type of cheese. My mouth is watering, regardless!!
I can’t believe I’m in my mid-40′s and I’ve still NEVER had brie! I’m the cheese QUEEN for goodness sake! This dish looks absolutely divine and I can’t wait to try it!
I love that you shop at Trader Joe’s. When I’m in the States, I always buy something from there to bring back with me.
Lovely brie bites and great napkin.
Beautiful pic
What a brilliant idea – thanks for sharing it with us all and so pretty!
:-) Mandy
These sound gorgeous! Don’t have that store in the UK as far as I know but will improvise. Not sure I’ll be sharing though. Me, a plate and the tv…
Looks very, very yummy!
what a coincidence..I happen to have all the ingredients for this! hehe normally I have the bri with marmalade on a normal piece of wheat bread-but this sounds more delicious. Will definitely give this a go!
What’s *not* to love about flaky pastry and oozing cheese? I have a very real urge to call off work in favor of baking and then eating these. Looks irresistable. :)
oh man, these look delicous! you had me at puff pastry, but brie just happens to be my favorite cheese. :)
These look fantastic – literally amazing. The photo is great. I don’t know what Trader Joe’s is, but I assume it’s a massive chain of supermarkets?
It’s not as big as some of the others, but it’s a great store. Smaller than other supermarkets and mostly the Trader Joe’s brand. At first I didn’t like that until I realized how delicious their products were for a really good price.
Sounds delicious ;-)
YUM! What a great and easy idea for a party!!! I’m thinking cranberry and Brie would be divine. Mmmmmm thanks for the inspiration!
Perfect for Thanksgiving!
Delicious!
This looks terrific! And I love the addition of thefig spread. What a wonderful idea!
You had me at PUFF! ;) Love it, what a great simple little recipe for a quick appetizer. x
Yum. You had me at brie.
Wow, what a great way to greet guests, yum!
I’m craving these right now! YUM!
I think home baked goodies like these make entertaining special. They don’t take too much effort, but they are far more personable then serving the usual chips and dip or cheese platter. I also like your inspiration: your mom! These are the traditions that ground us and keep us connected to where we came from. Great post!
Oh how perfect for parties!
Love Brie, just about any way I can get it. A new favorite is with Chipotle Raspberry sauce … gotta love the holidays :)
wow! Judy, where are you finding Chipotle Raspberry sauce or are you making it yourself? Sounds fantastic!
What a great idea, Judy. Love that stuff with cream cheese and crackers. For Christina, here’s a link to Amazon which carries the same brand we enjoy in Texas:
http://tinyurl.com/RasberryChipotleSauce
Enjoying your blog – coffee and cheese puffs – epicurean bliss!
So simple and different from the usual large brie. I’m going to Trader’s today.
yum! I just made a bunch of apple butter, mmm how divine would that be with these =)
I love semi-homemade recipes like these because they’re simple, easy, and delicious. I don’t always have time to make everything for scratch. I’ll be adding this to this year’s holiday appetizers list. Thanks!
Beautiful! And equally tasty I’m sure!!
I’m sure you could cut a whole brie into small portions for this! Yeah, NZ doesn’t even know what Trader Joes is… :P I love your taste and very keen to try this over the holiday period. Now, time to be invited to some parties…
You can definitely use a whole brie. You could even use a small cookie cutter to get the round shape. I was just looking for an excuse to post the Trader Joe’s brie bites because I’m excited about them.
My mom made the exact same thing when I was young. Puff pastry with anything seems to be a huge crowd pleaser. Nice idea for the upcoming holidays.
This recipe would be perfect for my book club! Just love puff pastry!
That looks so mouth watering! Seems easy to make – will save you recipe for later! Thanks!
these sound so good. I’m gonna have to try them – I love cheese!
Yum!!!! Hill, party of 3, will be RIGHT over!!! ;)
i love simple recipes like this that have so much room for mixing things up! kudos!!
I have to be int he mood to want to eat Puff Pastry, but these Brie Bites look absolutely delicious. Very nice post and recipe
Yum! This looks so tasty. I am sitting at my desk now, craving one!
Love, love, love this idea! I even have some leftover puff pastry scraps balled up in the freezer right now, so it’s definitely going on my list to try. Only problem is, I suck at rolling stuff out… or maybe just my rolling pin sucks. Not sure. It always sticks to whatever I’m rolling out, blah. Maybe more ample flouring would do the trick, or a good old-fashioned wooden rolling pin instead of a fancy non-stick (ha!) one.
It could be a few things. I recommend French rolling pins because their shape gives you more control over the dough (in my opinion). I have one linked on my ‘Kitchen Essentials’ list. Don’t stick it in the dishwasher or even hand wash it. Scrape the excess dough off with a bench scraper, wipe it with a cloth and put it away. It will last longer. With the dough, I’m guessing you’re starting out with too much water if you’re making it from scratch. It’s better to add slightly less water to the dough and then drizzle some more on later if it isn’t coming together. Puff pastry will get sticky extremely quick (both store bought and homemade), so when I’m working with a lot of it I keep most of the dough frozen. It will thaw out in your hands or by sitting on the counter for a few minutes. If you start with puff chilled just from the fridge, it will melt in no time.
This makes me want some of my Mom’s home made Apricot Jam to try this out with.
I love it! I have tried this on a large scale with a whole round of brie, but never with bite size brie!!! How fabulously festive.
Those look soooooo good.
Purely creative!
I’ll have to try this for our big holiday party
With all of the holiday parties ahead, these will make a great addition to what I’ll be making.
Sounds delicious and perfect for the Christmas holidays
Those sound so simple but decadent! Now all I need is a Trader Joe’s in Colorado!
Oh my gosh! This has my mouth watering!! If only I still ate cheese I would be all over this recipe! :)
I am making these for the holidays for sure! -Beth Holz
I LOVE puff pastry & brie. I’ve never done individual servings, though. Such a great idea!
These seem so easy and perfect for guests. I love this idea. Thanks :)
So easy and delicious! Love it!
Ohhhh so good!!!
Now that looks yummy! I’m going to have to try this out, Thanks.
It’s always nice to have an easy, delicious appetizer on file for parties. I’ll definitely have to try this one next time!
Looks delicious, and beautifully photographed!
i LOVE brie and this looks easy and delicious! great idea.
I’m planning a canape party soon & this will be a perfect addition! I can’t wait to try it along with so many of your other recipes. Love your photos btw :)
YUM! Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier– your recipes look gorgeous, can’t wait to try this out!
I’ve got into puff pastry this year and love this idea; thanks for sharing!
You have inspired me with this idea!
It looks delicious and so cute! yummy
I’m always looking for delicious, easy appetizer recipes and these look great! Very pretty and tasty too!
My wife would absolutely love this!
god bless you for this recipe!
Elegant treats!
Oh good grief, this looks monstrously good and tailor-made for my kids coming home next weekend. Wish I still had some homemade goat brie:(. Will have to get Presidente from the store and try it! Have plum preserves in the fridge, so this is perfect! Thanks, SS, I just may have to feature our version on Savoring Goat Cheese:)
I look forward to reading it!
Wow these sound amazing. Def going to get my paws on some puff pastry n Brie in the next few days!!! pregnancy craving coming on strong (:
omg – great idea!
Those look delicious! I can’t wait to try the recipe!
They look wonderful! I am definitely going to try the recipe!