Cranberry Baked Brie

This Cranberry Baked Brie is the easiest snack you can make in 10 minutes and uses up leftover cranberry sauce. Make it for entertaining Thanksgiving or Christmas guests or for catching up on your favorite TV shows.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner For Two yesterday! Now that it’s over, the countdown to Christmas Dinner For Two is on.

How many of you enjoy hosting family and friends for the holiday? Even if you cook for two, sometimes you may have guests over, so you’ll need a little more food than usual.

It’s always thoughtful to serve a homemade dessert, but sometimes you don’t have the time.

You still work a full time job on top of the usual Christmas tasks – decorating the tree, shopping for gifts, wrapping said gifts, watching your favorite Christmas movies, taking in the lights downtown while it’s still December.

There are times where even I don’t have time to make dessert.

When that happens, I put out snacks in pretty bowls and dishes. There’s nothing as disappointing as having a guest over only to find out there’s nothing to eat.

One way to make the snacks more presentable is by building a cheese board. It’s no secret I love dessert, but I also equally love cheese boards.

I’ve always said I have discipline not eating too many sweets, but when it comes to snacks, all bets are off.

I may only eat 1-2 cookies, but I can eat a whole sleeve of butter crackers in the blink of an eye.

When building my cheese board, I like to have one star cheese on the plate. Today that’s Cranberry Baked Brie with cranberry sauce on top.

Brie melts so easily that in 10 minutes, you can have ooey gooey melted cheese for your crackers.

On top I added some sweetness with homemade cranberry sauce and texture with chopped pecans.

Even if you don’t have time to make dessert. Even if you are stopping at the store after work and only have 15 minutes to prepare something, Cranberry Baked Brie is your answer to quick entertaining.

Ingredients For Cranberry Baked Brie

Baked Cranberry Brie is so easy to make, you only need three ingredients:

• Brie Cheese Round: Brie comes in two shapes – round and triangle. Round is easier to serve as it has more surface area on top for your sauce or jam.
• Cranberry sauce: I chose cranberry sauce because it’s cranberry season, but you can use any variety of jam.
• Pecans: Adds a crunchy texture to an otherwise really soft recipe. However they’re optional if you need a nut-free recipe.

Want to go more savory than sweet? Check out my Savory Baked Brie with olive oil.

Don’t want cranberry sauce? Use one of the following small batch jams:

• Raspberry Jalapeno Jam – This is probably my favorite because the sweet and spiciness reminds me of pepper jelly.
• Raspberry Jam Without Pectin
• Strawberry Jam Without Pectin
• Blueberry Jam Without Pectin
• Peach Jam Without Pectin
• Sour Cherry Jam

How To Make Baked Brie With Cranberry Sauce

To make your cranberry brie, add your brie round to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil (in case of any leaks). Bake at 350F for 5-8 minutes.

You also use an oven-proof bowl (I’ve seen baking dishes dedicated to baked Brie) or even a cast iron skillet. Really any oven-safe vessel that can fit your cheese.

Very carefully transfer it to a serving plate (do not break the outside rind!) then top with cranberry sauce and pecans. Serve immediately with crackers.

Do you take the rind off before baking?

The rind is edible, so you definitely want to keep the rind on when baking brie as this helps hold its shape. Otherwise you’ll just have a pile of melted cheese!

Should brie be at room temperature before baking?

No need to wait for your brie to come to room temperature! You can bake your brie straight from the fridge, making the process even faster.

Baked Brie Board

Although you can serve your cranberry baked brie on its own, you can turn it into a snacking cheese board for holiday entertaining.

I wanted to go for a sweet and salty cheese board, so I added the following items:

• Crackers: Most stores now sell crackers where one box contains six different shapes and sizes, adding variety to your board without buying six separate boxes of crackers.
• Nuts: Choose from pistachios, almonds, pecans, cashews, peanuts, or even mixed nuts.
• Chocolate: Some sweetness to balance the salty nuts and crackers. I used chopped chocolate bars as well as chocolate covered pomegranates.
• Fresh fruit: Trust me – your body will thank you for some fresh fruit after eating all that chocolate and cheese. Some favorites are grapes, strawberries, apples, and oranges.

You can also use cookies, dried fruit, and even some meats to turn it into a charcuterie board.

Seriously. There’s no right or wrong answer (except fresh cranberries. Please don’t use those as they are very tart when eaten raw).

I bought all my snacks at ALDI because they have everything I need for holiday entertaining without breaking my budget or sacrificing quality.

If you’re stuck for inspiration, browse their snack aisles for ideas. I guarantee you’ll fill up your cart quickly.

What To Serve With Cranberry Baked Brie

Of course no cheese board is complete without drinks! Pour a glass of your favorite wine or make one of the following recipes:

• Cranberry Sangria
• Red Apple Cider Sangria
• Pomegranate Punch (with or without alcohol)
• Thick Hot Chocolate
• Pear Ginger Mocktail by Kiip Fit

First published December 5, 2016