Monday's Food Tip: Cranberry-Brie Holiday Tassies

Tassies are usually little tarts or cookies made from butter, flour, and cream cheese and baked in tiny muffin tins, but these holiday treats are a bit different since they're made with puff pastry. I still call them 'tassies" though because they're bite-sized and made in tiny "tassie" tins. They're perfect as appetizers or even as part of a dessert buffet. The rich, gooey, buttery brie combined with the tart, yet sweet, cranberry sauce is a luscious combination. I like the little crunch the pecans add to the tassie, but they're just as good without any nuts.



CRANBERRY-BRIE HOLIDAY TASSIES


Puff pastry dough

Cranberry sauce (whole berry is the kind I use)

A circle of good Brie

Chopped pecans (if desired)


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Unfold the puff pastry dough and let it thaw, then smooth it out just a bit with a rolling pin. Cut the dough into 2 inch squares and smooth one square into each hole of the mini-muffin tin (they'll look like mini-pie crusts once they're smoothed into the tin). Put a 1 inch piece of Brie into the center of each of the puff pastry "crusts," then add a little chopped pecan. Top with a teaspoon or so of the cranberry sauce and put the tassies in the oven for about 10-15 minutes (just until the pastry starts to brown at the corners, so watch them carefully).

Let cool for a few minutes before serving, but serve warm.