Cranberry Jalapeño Bites

Cranberry sauce, cream cheese, and candied jalapeño slices are baked in a mini puff pastry cup. Make a tasty and easy holiday appetizer.

These four ingredients cranberry jalapeño bites are sweet and a little spicy.

Every year, after thanksgiving, I make little puff pastry hand pies with cream cheese and leftover cranberry sauce. They’re simple and really tasty. Recently, I decided to make a bite-size variation with candied jalapeños. This was an excellent decision.

Ingredients You’ll Need.

Puff pastry. You’ll need a sheet of puff pastry for this recipe. If you don’t want to use puff pastry, pie crust or crescent dough can be substituted. 

Cream cheese. A teaspoon or so of cream cheese gives these a rich texture. Swap cream cheese for brie or goat cheese if you’d like. 

Cranberry sauce. Any cranberry sauce works. I like to use my homemade spiced cranberry sauce. The flavors go great with the jalapeños and cream cheese. 

Candied jalapeños. A slice or two of candied jalapeños gives these a nice sweet-heat. If you can’t find candied jalapeños, use pickled jalapeños. 

How to Make Cranberry Jalapeños Bites. 

1. Grease a mini-muffin pan. These little pastries can stick to the pan if it’s not well-greased. Use a nonstick cooking spray or brush each cup with cooking oil.
2. Roll and cut the puff pastry. Unwrap a sheet of puff pastry. Roll it into a 10×14-inch rectangle or it will be too thick. Cut the dough into 4 strips lengthwise with a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Then cut it crosswise into 6 strips. This gives you 24 squares. Place the squares into a greased mini muffin pan. 
3. Fill. Place cream cheese, cranberry sauce and a jalapeno slice into each cup. 
4. Chill. (if needed) If the pastry remained cool, bake the pan right away. If it warmed up, chill the pan for 10 minutes before baking.
5. Bake until brown. These take about 20 minutes to bake. Look for them to be golden brown on the edges and the cranberry sauce to bubble.

Print

Cranberry Jalapeño Bites

Cranberry sauce, cream cheese, and candied jalapeño slices are baked in a mini puff pastry cup. Make a tasty and easy holiday appetizer.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 24 bites

Ingredients

• cooking spray
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 8 ounces cream cheese, cold
• ½ cup cranberry sauce
• 24 candied jalapeno slices

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
2. Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan with cooking spray.

3. Lightly flour your counter. Roll puff pastry sheet into a 10×14-inch rectangle. Cut dough into 4 strips lengthwise with a pizza wheel or sharp knife. Then cut crosswise into 6 strips. You want 24 squares.

   Gently press dough into the prepared muffin cups.

4. Cut cold cream cheese into 24 pieces. Place one square (about one and half teaspoons) of cream cheese into each of the pastry-cups. Spoon about 1 teaspoon cranberry sauce on the cheese. Top with a candied jalapeno slice.
5. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let the bites cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then remove and transfer to a cooling rack. Serve at room temperature.

6. Store leftover cranberry jalapeños bites covered in the refrigerator for up to four days. Enjoy the leftovers cold or gently reheat them in a 325°F (165°C) oven.

Recipe Notes

Make Ahead Directions
Prepare the bites up to two days in advance. Cover the muffin pan with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator. When ready to bake, preheat the oven, remove the plastic wrap and bake as directed.