Baked brie is an entertaining staple for me and this Cranberry Baked Brie is absolutely perfect for the holiday season! Cranberry Baked Brie is incredibly easy to make and will definitely impress all your guests with its beautiful appearance and definitely, it’s irresistible flavor.
I absolutely love putting together cheese platters when entertaining. I love the versatility of platters and how there’s always something for everyone on a platter. Platters are also super easy to put together and look very aesthetically pleasing. I posted How to Make Your Own Cheese Platter on my Instagram Stories if you want to check that out and I also plan on going more in-depth on a Cheese Platter blog post in the near future if you want to subscribe and stay up-to-date with my blog.
In my opinion, Baked Brie just takes your cheese platter to the next level. There are many different toppings that you can add to your baked brie depending on the season, event, or your mood. You can take the instructions from this Cranberry Baked Brie recipe and apply it to just about any other topping!
Of course, when it comes to the holidays, cranberry is a staple and I’m someone who personally loves cranberry sauce during The Holidays so incorporating it with my Baked Brie was a no-brainer.
As I mentioned, this recipe could not be easier. What you’ll need is Brie, Puff Pastry, Cranberry Sauce, and an egg. You’ll have to get the size brie that makes the most sense for the number of people you’ll be entertaining. I always opt to get a larger size block because this Baked Brie definitely goes fast!
I also recommend making your own cranberry sauce from scratch– which also could not be easier. I made my own cranberry sauce in my Thanksgiving for Two blog post which you can check out here. It’s simply frozen cranberries, the zest and juice from an orange, and sugar, in a saucepan until combined. I would have made the cranberry sauce from scratch, but for some reason, I can’t find cranberries anywhere here in Australia at the moment, which is why I opted for cranberry sauce from a jar. However, if you’re really in a time crunch, or would just like to make your life so much easier, canned cranberry sauce will work just as well with this recipe and no one will be complaining!
To get started with making your Cranberry Baked Brie, you’ll want to set your puff pastry out to defrost for about 5-10 minutes until it’s bendable and won’t crack.
Then, you’ll want to decide the location of where your brie will be on the puff pastry. I always put it in the middle to make folding easier. Once you’ve determined the position of your brie, you’ll want to add a good amount of the cranberry sauce on top of the puff pastry where the brie will go. I add a couple spoonfuls- the more the merrier in this case, however, you just don’t want to get too crazy with the sauce as you don’t want it to seep through during the cooking process.
After you put the sauce on the puff pastry, simply set your brie on top. I know some people remove the top of the brie, as some people don’t like the casing, but I personally always leave it on and no one has ever complained. You can do what you think will be best for you and your guests.
After the brie is placed on top on the cranberry sauce, follow up with some more cranberry sauce on top. Once again, more is more in this step, but just make sure not to go too crazy with the sauce.
Once you are satisfied with the amount of sauce on your brie, it’s time to fold the puff pastry in the middle. This is when it’s really important that your puff pastry is properly defrosted, otherwise, it’ll crack and won’t work.
Start by folding all four corners in the middle of the brie and then tuck the other sides in. It doesn’t have to be super pretty or anything since the side with all the folds will be the bottom of the brie anyways- so don’t stress too much about making it perfect!
Once everything is folded, now it’s time for your egg wash. Egg wash is simply just an egg whisked up and brushed on the puff pastry to give it that golden color. I normally add just a splash of water to my egg wash and then brush it on the puff pastry until its all covered. I’ve found that it’s nearly impossible to get that beautiful golden color on the puff pastry without using egg wash so it’s definitely a step that I wouldn’t miss! If you don’t have a cooking brush, you can use a spoon to spread the egg wash all over your puff pastry.
After that, put the brie in the oven for about 10-15 minutes at 325 degrees. It depends on the size of your brie and how golden you want your brie to look for determining how long you should cook it for. I normally just keep an eye on it while it’s in the oven and take it out when I’m satisfied with the color.
When you’re satisfied with the color of your brie, now it’s time to plate it! This time I added my brie to a cheese platter with a variety of meats, cheeses, sweets, crackers, and more of that cranberry sauce. However, this Cranberry Baked Brie is also a star on its own and you can happily serve it with some bread or some crackers and it’ll be just as amazing!
I topped off the brie with some toasted pistachios to add an extra crunch and I think they pair nicely together. Also adding some fresh herbs such as rosemary and thyme definitely add a festive touch and some beautiful complimentary flavors.
The final step is cutting the baked brie and exposing the dreamy, melty, cheese that you’ll guests will be dying over. I always make sure to cut cheese when serving it on a platter to encourage guests to dig right in.
Entertaining and creating beautiful dishes doesn’t have to be extremely hard, and can actually be incredibly easy! I hope this Cranberry Baked Brie showed you just how easy it can be and gave you some inspiration for The Holiday season! Have you ever made a baked brie before? Let me know in the comments down below!
