Brie Cranberry Tarts are a quick and easy recipe! A 2 bite finger food that is perfect as a party starter, these cranberry brie tarts need only minimal effort. Using store bought pastry you will be able to whip up these brie and cranberry tarts in a short period of time even when the unexpected occurs!
Recipes like the Caramelised Onion Tarts, Roast Beef Roll Ups, Cheese and Bacon Pinwheels and the Mini Croissant Sandwiches are great recipes to look to when entertaining.
The Bacon And Cheese Cob Loaf, Spinach Cob Loaf Dip and the Ham And Cheese Toastie are cheese based recipes that go down a treat.
Jump to:
🤍 Recipe Highlights
I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the cranberry brie pastry tarts in the points below:
- Quick recipe: need a crowd pleaser to whip up in a hurry? This is your recipe.
- Easy recipe: want to make something to serve that is not only easy but can be made with minimal effort? This is your recipe.
- Only 3 ingredients: yes, that is right, we only need 3 ingredients to make the tarts. 4 if you want to use thyme leaves to garnish - this is optional!
- Finger food: these delightful tarts can be held in 1 hand and only take 2-3 bites to eat. That makes them the perfect food to serve when entertaining. Offer around a plate of them and watch how quickly they disappear!
- Versatile: these tarts can be a holiday party food, festive appetizer, addition to a thanksgiving table or holiday season baking project.
🥗 Ingredients
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the brie and cranberry tarts recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for the full list of ingredients, measurements and detailed instructions.
As you can see the recipe calls for:
- Cranberry sauce: you will easily find this in the supermarket aisle with the mint sauce and vinegars. It has a thick jam like texture, vibrant red color and tart flavor.
- Brie cheese: we need 1 standard 200 gram (7 oz) wheel of creamy brie cheese. This doesn't have to be the most expensive brand on the market. Look for one that appears firm with a thick white rind.
- Shortcrust pastry: you will find shortcrust pastry in the freezer section where the puff pastry is. It is sold in square sheets.
Tasty Tip: I like to provide you with a number of substitutions and variations giving you an array of options when making my recipes. If in doubt of any of the above ingredients for these brie tartlets, or wanting alternatives, read this section (below) before jumping into the instructions on how to make the recipe which you can skip down to if you wish 😉👌.
🍳 Instructions
Here are the step by step instructions to make the brie tarts. We start by preparing the baking tin. I like to use a patty pan tin. They are the perfect size for these tarts! You will need 2 tins as we making 24 tarts.
- Grease (2) patty pans with butter (Photo 1)
- Cut the pastry for the shells (Photo 2)
- Place the pastry onto the holes (Photo 3)
- Gently push the pastry into the pan (Photo 4)
👩🍳 How to Make Brie Cranberry Tarts
To make the brie cranberry tarts, prepare your tart tins and then cut the tart shells from the pastry.
Next place the pastry into the greased patty pans. Once done, teaspoon cranberry sauce into the tart shells.
- Spoon the cranberry sauce into the pastry shells (Photo 5)
Next, use a sharp knife and a cutting board to slice the brie into small pieces like you see in the photo below.
- Slice the brie into smaller pieces (Photo 6)
Cut the wheel of brie into pieces. The easiest way to do this is to cut the wheel in half, then the halves into another half (so that you have 4 pieces) then cut these 4 pieces into at least 6 pieces each or more to have smaller bits of cheese.
- Place a piece of brie on top of the cranberry sauce (Photo 7)
Next place the slices of brie on top of the cranberry sauce like you see in the photo above. Repeat this process for the 2nd tin also.
Once done, place the 2 tins onto the middle shelf of the oven. Let the brie and cranberry tarts cook for 12 minutes. Once the cook time is up, use oven mitts to remove the tart tins from the oven and place them onto a cooling rack.
Let the cooked tarts sit in the tins to cool for a couple of minutes and then use a teaspoon to gently remove them from the tin.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
When it comes to serving your baked tarts, a little fresh thyme adds the perfect finishing touch!
They add a pop of colour as well as having a fragrant taste that enhances the combination of the cranberry sauce and brie cheese.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
Let the tarts cool, then transfer them into a sealed, airtight container. They can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days.
How to Freeze
It is not recommended to freeze these tarts. They are best baked then consumed or leftovers reheated and consumed.
How to Reheat
The quickest way to reheat these tarts is to use the microwave. Place them onto a plate, use high heat and reheat in 10 second increments until they are warmed through. Or you can use the air fryer or oven.
😉 Substitutions and Variations
Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:
- You can use camembert in place of the brie cheese if you wish too.
- For the cranberry sauce, you can use raspberry jam or strawberry jam in its place.
- You can use puff pastry sheets in place of the shortcrust pastry if you prefer a flaky texture to the pastry.
- Or if you want to use store bought mini phyllo cups that will work too!
- Fresh sage leaves (torn) or rosemary sprigs can be used in place of the thyme if you are looking for an alternative.
- Want more texture? Add some whole crunchy pecans or crumbled pecans sprinkled over the top 😉👍.
💡 Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:
- We want to use unsalted butter when greasing the patty pan tins. This is as to not add salt to the recipe.
- We do keep the rind on the brie cheese. It helps to keep the smaller pieces of cheese together and adds a chewy texture to the tarts.
- There is no need to pierce the pastry with a fork before adding the tart filling.
- If using puff pastry you can use an egg wash (whisked egg) and brush the pastry with it before adding the tart filling.
- Once you have removed the tarts from the oven, place them onto a cooling rack and let them sit for a couple of minutes before removing them from the tin.
- Love brie cheese? Then you might like to try the Puff Pastry Bites, Baked Brie With Cranberry Sauce, Baked Brie Bread Bowl, Baked Brie With Red Pepper Jelly, Brie Grilled Cheese, Brie Croissant, Baked Brie with Honey, Microwave Brie, Baked Brie with Garlic or the Cranberry Brie 😍😍👌.
- Or if tarts are your thing try the Apple Custard Tarts or Apple Crumble Tartlets 😄👍.
- Or if muffin sized appetizers are what you are looking for try the Tater Tot Cups 😍 or the Caramelised Onion Sausage Rolls.
🤓 Frequently Asked Questions
Brie pairs well with sweet sauces like cranberry sauce and jams like strawberry, fig or chutney.
Yes, the rind should be kept on the brie. it helps to give you something to grip when you pick up the cheese pieces to place on top of the cranberry sauce.
You can use the microwave, oven or air fryer to reheat the tarts. The microwave will give the fastest results.
😍 More Easy Finger Food Recipes
The food at the party can be the main draw card...for good reason! We all love party food. A little too much during the festive season 😂. Here are some more ideas to have up your sleeve so that you can whip them out as needed:
- Mini Meatballs
- Spinach Cob Loaf Dip
- Chicken Sausage Rolls
- Mini Sausage Rolls
- Wagyu Meatballs
- Crumbed Mushrooms
- Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs
- Chicken Ribs
- Cocktail Sausage Rolls
- Chicken Rice Paper Rolls
It is time to get our cranberry brie tart on my friend! You can also find all of my appetizer recipes, dips and spreads recipes or Christmas recipes in the one spot.
Adrianne
PIN and save this recipe for later!
Hunger still got you? You can SUBSCRIBE to receive the latest recipes, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.
📖 Recipe
Brie Cranberry Tarts
Ingredients
- 3 sheets shortcrust pastry thawed, Note 1
- 1 cup cranberry sauce Note 2
- 200 grams/ 7 oz brie cheese
To serve
- thyme leaves removed from the sprigs
Instructions
- Preheat your oven: to 180°C/400°F/gas 6.
- Patty pan tins: use unsalted butter with baking paper to grease 2 x 12 hole patty pan tins. Then set aside.
- Pastry: use a 6.5 cm (2.55 inches) cookie cutter to cut 24 pastry rounds. Place these cut rounds onto the greased patty pan tin. Then use your fingers to gently push the pastry into the rounds so that they stick to the tin.
- Cranberry sauce: use a teaspoon to spoon a small amount of cranberry sauce (not more than a teaspoon) into the base of the tart shells.
- Brie cheese: use a knife and cutting board to slice the wheel of cheese into pieces. Aim for at least 24 small pieces of the cheese.
- Fill: place a piece (or 2) of the cut brie cheese on top of the cranberry sauce for each of the tarts. Repeat for all 24 tarts.
- Oven bake: place the 2 patty pan tins onto the middle shelf of the preheated oven. Let the tarts bake for 12 minutes. Once the cook time is up, use oven mitts to remove the tart tins and place them onto a cooling rack. Let the tarts cool for a couple of minutes and then use a teaspoon to gently remove each tart and place it back onto the cooling rack.
- To serve: sprinkle thyme leaves over the top of the baked tarts and serve warm.
Notes
- Note 1 - Shortcrust pastry: you will need 3 sheets of shortcrust pastry to make 24 tarts. It is best to remove the pastry from the freezer as a starting point to allow it to soften before working with it. If the pastry is too hard it will crack.
- Note 2 - Cranberry sauce: you will find cranberry sauce in the aisle of the supermarket where the vinegars and mint sauces are. It has a thick jam like texture. Straight out of the jar, it will still have the form of the jar shape, so use a spoon and small bowl to soften it a little so that it has a soft texture that is easy to spoon into the tart shells.
- Note 3 - Brie cheese: we do want to keep the rind on the cheese. This will make it easier to pick up the pieces from the cutting board after you have sliced them. You want to aim for at least 24 pieces so that each tart gets at least 1 piece of cheese. However, due to the shape of the wheel, you might find you end up with more than 24 small pieces. This is totally fine, simply them add the extra cheese to the tarts that have the smallest pieces of brie on top.
Belinda says
These sound great to me and I know hubby will love them to.
Adrianne says
Thanks Belinda for your feedback 😄.
Glenda Smith says
These came out great. My pan was a slightly different shape but they still worked very well. Will make them again for sure.