It’s Summer! This time of year I seem to find any excuse to throw open the doors and spend an afternoon on the back lawn hanging out with friends and family. Summer seems to be the perfect excuse to have an outdoor party, but even informal gatherings can be labor intensive – boo! Thankfully, a great meal doesn’t have to take hours to prepare.

One of the best ways to keep guest entertained while the food is cooking is with an appetizer – but keep it simple.  Today, I’m re-sharing a delicious Cranberry Brie Bites recipe from last summer, with just 6 ingredients that takes less than 25 minutes to prepare.

Cranberry Brie Bites Recipe

Ingredients

Homemade Cranberry Sauce
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp Grand Marnier (orange liqueur) *optional
4 tbsp sugar

Brie Bites:
9 Gyoza Wrappers
1 Small Wedge of Brie
Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 and set aside 1/2 cup of cranberries. Begin your homemade cranberry sauce by mixing sugar, water, liqueur and remaining cranberries in a small sauce pan. Cook on low for about 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Increase heat to medium for about 10 minutes or until your cranberries burst. Add reserved cranberries and cook on low an additional 1 – 2 minutes.

I love this recipe because there isn’t a lot of “sauce” – I’ll never buy canned again! The cranberries added last stay intact and gorgeous for an added bling to the dish. While your sauce is cooking, you can multitask. Place gyoza wrappers into the cups of a mini cupcake sheet. (This is the one I used) If you want the flower shapes like mine, just pinch and fold around the edge 5 times.

Add in 1 inch cubes of brie into each cup and top with about a teaspoon of your homemade cranberry sauce.

Pop them in the oven to bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until the corners are a nice golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes and garnish with whole cranberries dredged in sugar and mint or basil leaves. These are best when eaten immediately while still warm!

These pastries went over with my family like hot cakes and they were so easy to make, taking only about 25 minutes from start to finish. Plus, Cranberries are a good source of antioxidants and dietary fiber, naturally fat and cholesterol free, and low in sodium.