The Easy Thanksgiving Appetizer My Family Is Requesting

Thanksgiving is, naturally, my favorite holiday. A day surrounded by food and family? Those being my two favorite things, I can’t help but get excited just thinking about the feast.

This year, my family is spreading the love as everyone is bringing one or two dishes to take the workload off of my mom and soon-to-be sister-in-law. I’ve been wanting to bake bread lately, so I signed up to bring the biscuits. Trouble was, my family wasn’t having any of it—Mom already had plans for me to bring my signature dish.

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Let me backtrack: during the holidays last year, I made an easy appetizer that my whole family devoured with ease. It was just fig jam and brie in gorgeously golden puff pastry shells. Since then, I’ve made them with blackberry jam and cranberry sauce instead of fig jam, and every time, they’re a hit.

So when my mom sent me an angry text that no, I’m not bringing biscuits and instead making the 3-Ingredient Cranberry-Brie Bites, I couldn’t deny her wishes. It seems like this will be my new signature at the holiday meal, and I’m not complaining!

Get the Recipe: 3-Ingredient Cranberry-Brie Bites

They’re super easy to make as they require minimal ingredients and prep time. All you need is to cut your puff pastry or pie crust into two-inch pieces and add them to each indent of a mini muffin tin. Bake them in a 450°F oven for about 6 minutes, and then top them with your cranberry sauce and a small piece of brie cheese. Bake them for just 5 more minutes so they form into this creamy, fruity bite that is so good, there’s no such thing as having “just one.”

I think mom loves these most because they keep people away from the kitchen before the main meal. They’re still festive with a hint of cranberry, plus they’re too small to spoil your appetite but are the perfect bite-sized snack to hold one over until dinner.

They’re also perfect if you have no clue what to bring to Turkey Day this year. But just know that, like me, you’re going to be expected to bring them along every year after that.