Cranberry Brie Crostini

Cranberry brie crostini are small baguette toasts topped with warm brie, a spoonful of cranberry sauce, toasted pecans, fresh rosemary and a thread of honey. The whole tray takes about 20 minutes and makes roughly 24 bites, so they suit a holiday party, a cheese board night or a quick appetizer before Christmas dinner.

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The flavors do the heavy lifting here. Salty, creamy cheese meets tart fruit and sweet honey, and the pecans add crunch on top of a crisp toast. You only need seven ingredients, and most of them keep well in the pantry.

What goes on cranberry brie crostini

• 1 baguette, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 8 oz brie, sliced
• 1/2 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 1 tbsp small fresh rosemary sprigs
• 2 tbsp honey

Keep the rind on the brie

It is tempting to trim the white rind off before slicing. Leave it. The rind acts like a little wall around each piece, so when the cheese warms in the oven it softens and slumps gently on the toast instead of running off the edges and onto the baking sheet. Without it, you end up with bare bread and puddles of melted cheese.

Brie also slices more cleanly when it is cold. Cut it straight from the fridge into pieces about the size of your toasts, then let the slices sit on a plate while the bread is in the oven.

Why the toasts go in twice

The bread gets a first trip to the oven on its own, brushed with olive oil, for 6 to 8 minutes. This is the step that keeps the crostini from turning soft and chewy under the cheese. You want the slices golden at the edges and crisp all the way through, so they snap when you press one. If the centers still feel spongy, give them the full 8 minutes.

The second bake, with the brie on top, is short: 3 to 4 minutes. You are only softening the cheese, not melting it into a sauce. Pull the tray when the brie looks glossy and slightly slumped. Going longer is how the cheese starts to escape, even with the rind on.

Slicing the baguette at 1/2 inch matters too. Thinner slices can scorch in the first bake, and thicker ones stay bready in the middle and are harder to eat in one or two bites.

Add a chilled side to the table with this seven layer salad , assembled ahead and finished with bacon before serving.

For a whole pastry parcel to slice at the table, try this cranberry pecan baked brie in puff pastry .

If you want a sweet and spicy twist, try our cranberry brie crostini with hot honey , finished with toasted pecans and a warm honey drizzle with red pepper flakes.

If you want a little more color and crunch, our cranberry brie crostini with chopped pistachios add salted nuts and fresh rosemary to the same toasts.

How to make them

• Heat the oven to 400°F. Lay the baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush with the olive oil.
• Toast 6 to 8 minutes, until golden and crisp.
• Top each toast with a slice of brie and bake 3 to 4 minutes, until the cheese softens.
• Spoon a little cranberry sauce on each and sprinkle with pecans and rosemary.
• Drizzle with honey and serve warm.

For step 4, a small spoon works better than a big one. Half a cup of cranberry sauce spread over about 24 toasts comes to roughly a teaspoon each, which is enough to taste without sliding off the warm cheese. Add the pecans right after the sauce so they press in slightly and stay put.

When you drizzle the honey, hold the spoon high and move quickly across the tray. A thin zigzag covers every crostini with the 2 tablespoons the recipe calls for. If your honey is thick, dip the spoon in warm water first so it flows.

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Serving them while the brie is soft

These are best eaten warm, shortly after the honey goes on. As brie cools it firms back up, and the toast slowly takes on moisture from the cranberry sauce. The easiest way around that is to have everything ready before the second bake: sauce in a bowl with a spoon, pecans chopped and toasted, rosemary picked into small sprigs, honey open. Then the toppings go on in a minute or two and the tray goes straight to the table.

A wooden board or a long platter shows them off well. They sit nicely next to a cheese board, a bowl of olives or a cranberry dip, and the red and green from the sauce and rosemary look right at home on a Christmas table. Since each piece is two bites at most, plan on a few per guest if they are one of several appetizers.

The rosemary is a small amount, 1 tablespoon of little sprigs, and that is on purpose. It is a strong herb, and a few needles per toast give a piney note against the sweet honey without taking over. Pick the smallest, most tender tips you can find so nobody bites into a woody stem.

If you are building a whole holiday spread, our cranberry brie crescent bites use the same pairing in flaky pastry, and a bowl of holiday cranberry cream cheese dip fits on the same board. For something sweet afterward, try these white chocolate cranberry pretzel clusters , or set out a jar of cranberry jalapeno pepper jelly with crackers.

Cranberry brie crostini questions

Why whole berry cranberry sauce instead of the jellied kind?

The recipe calls for whole berry sauce because it spoons easily and keeps some texture from the berries. It sits on the brie in a small mound and looks like fruit, which is part of the appeal on a party tray.

Do the pecans really need to be toasted?

Yes, the recipe uses toasted pecans. Toasting brings out a deeper, nuttier flavor and makes them crunchier, which matters here because they are the main crunch on top of soft cheese.

How many crostini does one baguette make?

About 24 when sliced 1/2 inch thick. The exact count depends on the length of your baguette, so you may get a few more or a few less.

My brie ran off the toast. What happened?

Usually the rind was trimmed or the second bake went too long. Keep the rind on and pull the tray after 3 to 4 minutes, as soon as the cheese softens.

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Written and edited by The Foodie Yummy Kitchen Team

The Foodie Yummy Kitchen Team writes and edits the recipes on Foodie Yummy: classic American potluck salads, holiday sides and easy comfort food, with a few low-carb options. Every recipe lists exact quantities, numbered steps and a printable recipe card, plus notes on swaps, storage and make-ahead timing. Spot a problem with a recipe? Tell us through the contact page and we will correct it. About us