Brie and Cherry Bites
Welcome to the holidays.
Suddenly, kitchen time becomes a premium and yet the holidays create the need to yield to small plates.
What type of holiday appetizers, small plate feasts, and brunch-worthy foods are on your signature small-plate offerings?
Bite-size, bulk preparation is often the easiest route to making sure you have enough holiday appetizers.
Brie and Cherry Bites for the holidays not only present well but can be made in bulk!
When you are searching for a super easy appetizer for your next holiday gathering, this should be on your signature list.
Sure you can borrow my recipe and make it your own, that’s why I am publishing this.
Better yet, you can really add your own twist on it, when you fill this bite-size brie and cherry bite appetizers with other options!
You know my website is always about the simplistic turning out fantastic, looking elegant, and tasting awesome right?
Then you know that this recipe will live up to those standards and is waiting for you to try it and make it your own signature recipe!
Really Small Plate & Brunch-Worthy Brie and Cherry Bites are the perfect holiday appetizers!
The fact that they can be used for brunch makes this that feature recipe you gotta collect in your bookmark tab!
Don’t worry, I’m also going to toss in a few tips to help you save even more time!
Brie and Cherry Bites ~ Let’s Talk BRIE
Not that we will be eating brie whole or baked by the large piece, but this is just a bit of information to help you understand brie if you are not familiar with it.
Unlike many other kinds of cheese, Brie does not have to grow on you to prefer the taste.
Bland enough to accept toppings, yet, tasty enough to stand on its own as well.
I might add, if you warm it and want to taste it, I suggest a dash of pepper, and WOW!
Brie and Cherry Bites For Holidays
It seems that every party has a lot of the same foods.
Cheese, crackers, dips, fruit trays, but that gets old, from party to party.
Then there’s the brunch thing.
What foods are great for brunch?
Brunch trends are towards small plates and this is something that should be on your small plate.
Plus don’t forget those silver dollar pancakes, LOL!
With so many variations, you can add nuts, or drizzle with balsamic, there are just endless options with brie and cherry bites!
Brie Tip No. 1
Once melted, you can choose to eat the rind or not.
Some prefer it, others don’t.
Either way, it’s fine, but it is a talking point and worth mentioning in case you never have been exposed to this type of cheese before!
So before you scoop to avoid the rind, you may want to cut that chunk and try the rind.
Brie Tip No. 2
Don’t eat it straight from the fridge, it will taste like rubber (yep, personal experience as a cheese-anista if that is such a thing, lol!)
Brie Tip No. 3
Brie is best served and experienced at room temperature or baked (yum!)
Tip No. 4 ~ This Brie Tip will surprise and delight you!
If you are in a pinch for time, but really love warmed brie cheese, you can microwave it.
Just make sure to cut a hole in the rind atop the cheese (not the side or it will melt everywhere).
Run-on 1 minute increments, until it is soft, then to make it both warmer and softer, try 30 seconds at a time.
When I initially do this, I do a 2 minute, 50% power (like defrost mode), and then I just do a 1 minute 80% and it’s perfect!
Every microwave is different so experiment!
The good news is you don’t have to bake it always, especially if friends showed up at the last minute and you are not prepared.
Want to know why you should reserve your Parmesan cheese rinds?
Now Brie and Cherry Bite Appetizer Chatter!
Brie will be topped with dark cherries.
Dark cherries are something I keep in our freezer at all points in time because I love them in smoothies.
So, this recipe was just another way to incorporate those cherries into a new tasty food experience!
However, if I am being honest, my favorite way to prepare these is with canned dark cherries and I have the best brand I order from Amazon.
Therefore, I eliminate thawing and reserving juice (makes life a bit more simple, but I have given you both options!)
As a side note, thawing cherries creates the need to reserve the juice, etc. which to me is an extra step.
Just so you know, you can use strawberry jam or cherry jam too.
Need another simple small plate appetizer? Try these bacon-wrapped water chestnuts!
Brie and Cherry Bites ~ Keep the Mess to A Minimum!
Baking this appetizer can be messy.
You’ve got 2 options.
I am a silicone mat kind of gal because they are easy to clean and reusable.
Either or, your choice, just use one of them!
Brie and Cherry Bites Appetizers Recipe
Small Plate & Brunch-Worthy Brie and Cherry Bites.
Ingredients
- 8 oz. Brie rind removed and cut into 30 small cubes
- 6 oz. of either canned dark cherries or frozen dark cherries thawed and cut into small pieces, reserve juice
- 3 T. agave or maple syrup
- 30 frozen phyllo cups
- Parchment Paper or Silicone Mats
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat!
- Next, remove phyllo cuts from packaging and place each on the sheet.
- Don't worry much about spacing as they do not expand.
- Now, add one piece of your cubed Brie to each cup.
- Then top each cube with a scoop of cherries (and if you are using frozen cherries a drip or 2 of the reserved juice.
- Finally, drizzle a bit of agave (or maple syrup) on each.
- Now, place the tray in your pre-heated oven for 7-9 minutes,
- However, it can be more or less time depending on your oven.
- You want the Brie to be completely melted.
- DO make certain that the phyllo cups do not burn while baking.
- Remove from oven and serve immediately.
- These will be very hot and the cherry juice can scald, so do exert caution.
- Enjoy! ~ dana XO