Orange Cranberry Brie Tarts

Now that the bulk of the holiday season has passed, I’m gathering up a few highlights of our festive cooking to share! We made several different treats, and I’ll start with this amazing brie appetizer. A lot of cranberry brie recipes I looked over called for canned cranberry sauce, but that doesn’t even begin to compare to this homemade sauce with a touch of orange – it makes all the difference in this dish! It will be well worth your time to prepare it yourself. 🙂 I usually reserve brie for holiday gatherings but you’ll definitely want to keep this recipe around all year long.

Ingredients

• Package of phyllo dough
• 1 pound of cranberries
• Zest and juice from two oranges (or to taste – I added a lot more zest!)
• 1 cup sugar
• 0.5 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 – 8 ounce round of brie

Directions

Place the cranberries in a large pot and fill with just enough water to cover them. Stir in the orange juice, zest, and sugar, and bring it all to a boil for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a large heat-safe bowl and refrigerate until firm (roughly an hour). In the meantime, cut the phyllo dough sheets to fit the cups of a mini muffin pan. Spray the pan with non-stick spray or brush with melted butter, and press the phyllo squares into each cup (2-3 sheets seemed to be the ideal amount for each, overlapping as needed to cover the inside of each cup). Cut the rind off of the brie, and slice it into bite sizes pieces, placing one cube in each phyllo cup. Add a small spoonful of cranberry sauce and top with a sprinkle of walnuts. Bake at 400° F for 10 minutes, until the dough is golden.