Life gets busy, no excuses, but it’s a fact, and as a result, I am hot and cold about blogging. But I try to be responsive when a friend or a client makes a request for a recipe or help with a specific problem. A friend is hosting Thanksgiving and she wants to serve Cranberry-brie puffs as an appetizer.

This recipe comes from my sister-in-law Sarah, and it never fails to impress. Sarah’s recipe calls for whole cranberry sauce, which I often use, but I also make cranberry chutney and fresh cranberry-orange relish around the holidays, so I sometimes substitute those. Another quick fix for these is to use prepared, thawed filo cups. You can bake them just a touch or eliminate the baking altogether. Please note, the baked puff pastry version is superior, but sometimes you’re in a pinch and it’s nice to know you can work with what you have.

An additional plus for the hostess: They don’t take much time to assemble, you can do the assembly the day ahead, then just pop them in the oven at the last minute. Happy hostess, happy guests, what more could you want?

Cranberry-brie puffs

1 package puff pastry, thawed
1 small wheel of brie, chilled
1 can whole cranberry sauce
slivered almonds, optional

Preheat oven to 350°. Roll out puff pastry and cut into 2-inch squares. Place one square of puff pastry in each cup of a mini muffin tin. Cut brie into ½-inch cubes. (Chilled brie cuts easier than room-temperature brie.) Place one cube of brie and one scant teaspoon of cranberry in each cup. Top with slivered almonds, if using. (Can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated at this point if you’ll be baking them later.) Bake for 20-30 minutes, until puff pastry is golden brown and brie is melted. Let cool about 5 minutes before removing from tin and serving as the brie will be extremely hot.