Appetizers
Cranberry Cream Cheese Appetizer Bites
Description
No matter how many different appetizers I serve at a party, it’s the ones with cream cheese that are the first to vanish. Cranberry Cream Cheese Appetizer Bites are easy to make, blissful to eat, and if the orange-scented cream cheese filling doesn’t win you over immediately, the buttery pie crust exterior will.
Ingredients
- 2 sheets Pillsbury frozen pie crust thawed overnight in the refrigerator
- 1 large egg
- 8 ounces Philadelphia 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese (Neufchatel Cream Cheese) softened to room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle chile powder optional for a subtle smoky kick at the end
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Zest of 1 orange
- 3 green onions
- ¾ cup Homemade Cranberry Sauce or canned whole berry cranberry sauce or jam of choice
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Unroll the first pie crust. With a 2 1/2-inch round cutter, stamp out 12 rounds from the pie crust*.
- Place 1 round in the center of each muffin cup in a mini muffin pan, then press it down and up the sides gently so that it fits into the cup. Repeat with the second pie crust.
- Separate the egg, placing the white in one small bowl and the yolk in a mixing bowl. Lightly beat the white, then use it to brush the insides of the cups lightly. With a fork, prick holes in the bottom and along the sides of the pie crust cups.
- Bake for 8 minutes, until the pie crust is light golden brown.
- Meanwhile, make the filling: to the bowl with the egg yolk, add the cream cheese, chipotle, salt, and orange zest.
- Finely chop the green onions. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the dark green tops for garnish, then add the remaining to the bowl with the cream cheese. Beat on medium speed, until the cream cheese is smooth and the ingredients are evenly combined.
- Fill the cups: Once the cups have finishing baking, spoon the filling into the cups, dividing it evenly (you’ll need about 1 1/2 teaspoons or so per cup). Top each with 1 1/2 teaspoons cranberry sauce.
- Return to the oven and bake for 8 additional minutes. The crust will be golden and crisp.
- Transfer the cups to a serving plate, using a fork to help lift them out of the pan (be careful, they are hot). Sprinkle with reserved green onion tops. Enjoy warm or at room temperature!
