5-Ingredient Baked Brie is a near-effortless, crowd-pleasing appetizer that comes together in under 20 minutes. A delicious addition to any holiday get-together.

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To be honest (and why wouldn't I be??)... so far, this week the Christmas spirit has alluded me.

Yep, I said it. For a variety of reasons (crashed computers and sick boys not being the least of them), my mood over the last 7 days would best be described as "grinch-like."

We are a little over 2 weeks away from the man in the big red suit making his appearance, and to put it quite frankly, I'm already "holiday-ed out."

I know, I know.. last week when we talked holiday appetizers I was all "Christmas is the most wonderful time of year," but this week I. Am. Tired.

With 2 Christmas parties left on the books... I needed another SIMPLE (but kinda fancy looking) appetizer. My go-to holiday recipe is my lightened-up jalapeño popper dip that I shared last week, buuuuuut.... this week's parties have some "guest overlap." Soooo.... something new was in order.

Today, 5-Ingredient Baked Brie with Cranberry Sauce. Simple to throw together, adorably festive and most importantly... it's just really really good. It's Christmas Miracle #2 in the appetizer department here on Simply Sissom!

It seriously doesn't get much better than this. I like to make the cranberry sauce ahead of time and pack it up in a container with a lid (for easy transport). All that's left to do is grab a wheel of brie. When you arrive at the party, top the brie with cranberry sauce and pop it in the oven. Once the cheese is melty-gooey and the fruit is hot and bubbly, remove from oven and serve immediately.

IMPORTANT NOTE.. This appetizer would NOT be a good choice if the party venue doesn't have an oven. It is really important to serve this dish warm.

Time Saving Tips and Tricks:

Prep: The cranberry sauce could be made 1-2 days in advance of assembling the baked brie. If you are in a serious time crunch you could even use store-bought or canned.

Make Ahead: Baked Brie with Cranberry Sauce tastes great reheated, BUT... it's not pretty. If you are planning on serving this appetizer at a holiday get-together (or just any old get together) I would recommend assembling and baking it right before you plan to serve it.

Freezer: I haven't tried it, but would suspect that you could freeze the cranberry sauce without much trouble. To thaw, simply remove from the freezer and place in the fridge overnight. Throwing the baked brie together will be really simple from there!

5-Ingredient Baked Brie with Cranberry Sauce

Author: Bailey Sissom

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

8 oz. brie round
6 oz. fresh cranberries
¼ cup honey
¼ cup water
zest of 1 orange
¼ tsp cinnamon

OPTIONAL - apple slices, whole-wheat crackers, crusty French bread.

Instructions

Rinse cranberries and drain excess water. Discard squishy cranberries.
In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries, honey and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking. The cranberries will begin to pop. Once mixture has thickened to desired consistency, remove from heat (5-10 minutes).
Add orange zest and cinnamon. Taste and adjust according to preference. If too tart, add more honey (keep in mind cranberry sauce is meant to be a little tart). Set cranberry sauce aside.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice the top rind off the brie and scrape out a small amount of brie to form a shallow bowl. Place brie is small baking dish (I use a glass pie pan). Top brie with desired amount of cranberry sauce.
Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until fruit is bubbling and the cheese is gooey. Baking times may vary. You want to take the cheese out after it is soft, but before it collapses. Serve immediately with apple slices, crackers, crusty French bread.

Notes

If you don't plan to serve the brie in the glass pie pan, arrange a piece of parchment paper underneath before baking. This will help it to transfer easily.
You may not use all of the cranberry sauce. This is happy good news! Use the leftovers as mix-in for oatmeal and yogurt or even spread it on toast. I haven't tried it, but I have a suspicion that a peanut butter, cranberry sauce n' cheese panini would taste AMAZING.

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