Brie cheese and cranberry sauce are tucked into phyllo dough to make irresistibly flaky and cheesy appetizer turnovers. Thanks to Athens Foods for sponsoring this post and helping me to share this recipe with you.
I think I would be breaking some sort of politically correct holiday rule if admitted that one of my favorite part of the holidays is the appetizers at holiday parties. Okay, it doesn't actually beat watching my kids' eyes light up on Christmas morning (you see...food doesn't have a complete hold over me!) But there is something about meatballs on toothpicks, mini stuffed phyllo shells and savory crostini that puts the "holly jolly" in my Christmas.
And what is a holiday party without some sort of baked Brie dish? The problem is that I will station myself right beside that oozing cheese and elbow aside anyone that tries to take it away from me. That pretty much blows my Healthy Eating Tips & Tricks for the Holidays out of the water.
So, I had to find a way around the "eat-entire-wheel-of-Brie-and-gain-10-pounds-in-one-night" issue.
That's where the Athens Fillo (phyllo) dough comes in. When I wrap a small piece of Brie cheese into a fillo turnover, with a dollop of good-quality cranberry sauce tucked inside, I feel satisfied within a few turnovers. I still get the satisfaction of that melted cheese heaven without completely overdosing on Brie. And the light, flaky pastry adds a wonderful, satisfying texture to this perfect finger food.
I always keep a package of fillo dough in my freezer because it's great for last-minute appetizers. A package of the dough defrosts within two hours and is very easy to work with, provided you keep the dough covered with a damp towel so that it doesn't dry out.
The first couple of turnovers never turn out perfectly - at least mine don't. But as soon as you get the hang of folding the dough into triangles, it's a breeze. My youngest son even got into the act, especially when he knew that he was going to be able to sneak extra pieces of Brie cheese.
Like mother, like son.
The recipe:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Unroll the defrosted fillo dough and place it under a damp kitchen towel to stop the dough from drying out. Cover whenever the dough is not in use.
Lay 1 sheet of the fillo on a large cutting board. Lightly coat with cooking spray. Top with another sheet of fillo dough, coat with cooking spray and repeat one more layer of fillo dough and cooking spray.
Cut the dough lengthwise in thirds. Place 1 piece of Brie cheese and ½ teaspoon of cranberry sauce about 1-inch from the bottom of one section of dough. Fold the dough over top of the Brie and cranberry sauce to form a triangle.
Continue to fold, maintaining the triangle shape until the end of the dough is reached. Repeat with the other two strips of dough. Place on an ungreased baking sheet.
Repeat with the remaining dough, Brie cheese and cranberry sauce.
Bake until the turnovers are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve.
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3-Ingredient Brie & Cranberry Phyllo Turnovers Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 roll ½ package Athens fillo dough, defrosted
- cooking spray
- 3 ounces Brie cheese cut into 18 1-inch squares
- 3 tablespoons cranberry sauce or chutney
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- 2. Unroll the defrosted fillo dough and place it under a damp kitchen towel to stop the dough from drying out. Cover whenever the dough is not in use.
- 3. Lay 1 sheet of the fillo on a large cutting board. Lightly coat with cooking spray. Top with another sheet of fillo dough, coat with cooking spray and repeat one more layer of fillo dough and cooking spray.
- 4. Cut the dough lengthwise in thirds. Place 1 piece of Brie cheese and ½ teaspoon of cranberry sauce about 1-inch from the bottom of one section of dough. Fold the dough over top of the Brie and cranberry sauce to form a triangle. Continue to fold, maintaining the triangle shape until the end of the dough is reached. Repeat with the other two strips of dough. Place on an ungreased baking sheet.
- 5. Repeat with the remaining dough, Brie cheese and cranberry sauce.
- 6. Bake until the turnovers are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Other easy appetizer recipes:
Cookin' Canuck's Grilled Zucchini Rolls with Goat Cheese, Roasted Peppers & Capers
Cookin' Canuck's Creamy White Bean Dip with Parmesan Cheese & Sage
Center Cut Cook's Grilled Shrimp Bruschetta
Baked Bree's Blue Cheese & Onion Flatbread
Spiced's Provence Tartlets
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Susan
These are so good!
I did stumble upon one idea that worked for me. Instead of piling up 3 sheets of phyllo and cutting into thirds, I sprayed down one sheet with cooking spray and folded it into thirds and then moved on to the next sheet and the next. Folding was easier than trying to cut.
Dee
Would the brie and cranberry work in phyllo cups instead being folded into a turnover?
Dara
Absolutely! I have done this a few times and it's always popular with guests.
Eileen
Oh, love these! Just did a test batch and they are great. Making two more batches to take to friendsgiving.
Dara
I'm so glad to hear that, Eileen!
KT
How long does it take to defrost the dough?
Dara
Four 3 to 4 hours in the refrigerator usually does the trick.
New to the cooking game
Ive made these before from this recipe and they're so good! I was wondering on what your thought are if I started making these a few days ahead of time since I will be making a bunch of dishes next weekend for a "Friendsgiving"
Could I prepare them and then store them in the fridge for 2-3 days?
Let me know!!
Gina
Can you make these ahead of time and bake before serv!
Mother of 5
I made these for our annual Christmas party last night and they were the first things to disappear off the appetizer table! Yes, they took a bit of time to put together, but it was well worth the effort.
Dara
I'm so glad to hear that! Thank you for letting me know.
runnermom5126
I was going to make these for a family party tonight, but just realized that I bough Camembert instead of Brie. Do you think that will still work?
Dara
Runnermom, Camembert would definitely would in place of Brie. No need to run to the store again. 🙂 I hope you enjoy them!
Patricia
I prepped these for Thanksgiving Appetizer the night before. And let me say BOY am I glad I did.
Although the flavour combo and crispiness of the dough (the 2/25 that didn't fall apart) are freakin epic, who doesn't love melted brie and cranberry sauce?? With that said, I almost took the entire prep area and threw it in the front yard at least 15 times.
Maybe I am doing something wrong, but not one of my little mini pastries would close, even with egg wash (which I only tried after ripping out my hair), and fork sealing them.
All the filling fell out upon baking, the dough was slippery (IKR?) to work with and I basically will buy these from a pro or pre-made in the future. Not worth the fuss.
These are not easy, at all, to put together. Maybe the issue was that I didn't want huge turnovers and instead wanted little circular bites. I am not a pastry chef by any means but I am unaware as to why changing the shape of the turnover would cause me so many issues. I followed the directions to a tee.
Never again. Not for amateurs, not easy to assemble.
In the author's defense, these are SUPER tasty tho when you scrape the cheese and warm cranberry sauce off the baking tray and spread on top of the exploded turnover.
Dara
Hi Patricia, I'm sorry to hear that you had so many difficulties. I've made these several times and never had any difficulties, so am not sure where things went wrong for you. You could try making the pieces of Brie a little smaller or the dough strips bigger to help with folding.
Melissa
I know this is a long time past your post BUT I made these at thanksgiving. However I used the crescent dough SHEETS. Cut them in 24 squares then placed each square in a lightly greased mini muffin tin placed a teaspoon of Brie and cranberry sauce and then baked. SOOOOO good!
MC
Sounds like you may have used pastry dough instead of phyllo dough. Is that possible?
Angelle
Looks absolutely delish!~ Can these be prepared in advance then frozen to serve a large quantity of people?