Packaged puff pastry is the BEST way to make a whole trayful of tiny tartlets quickly and easily! These grape and brie bites are drizzled with a little honey for a delicious appetizer you can make or prep ahead and then just pop into the oven to warm up when your guests arrive.
Hello, all.
One thing I love is making platters of little nibbles. Whether we are having a cocktail party, enjoying a holiday get-together (Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, Easter, and more!), or I’m in the mood for ‘appetizers for dinner’, tasty small bites are fun to cook and to eat!
But I don’t usually want to spend a lot of time fussing over them which makes these tiny tarts even better since they are seriously unfussy.
Get packaged puff pastry, cut into squares, fill with yummy stuff, and bake. How easy it that?
What’s to love?
- Make Ahead – You can bake these up the day before and then reheat them on the day, or prep them ahead and wrap them up in the fridge to baked. Either way you can relax and enjoy instead of running around!
- Minimal Prep – Premade pastry, cheese, and grapes. A little rolling and dicing and that’s about it.
- Spiced Honey – Sweet and spicy (from the cayenne and cinnamon). You just need a drizzle but it makes the flavors POP.
What do you need?
- Puff Pastry – Thaw, roll, and go! One standard package (where each sheet is ~8.5 oz) is what I used here, but the recipe can be adjusted to fit the size you have.
- Brie – I like to cut off the rind for max creaminess. And don’t use anything fancy! Save that for a cheese plate.
- Grapes – Teeny champagne grapes, giant moondrop grapes (diced up!), or anything in between.
- Honey/Spices – A little honey, some water, and some spice and you’ll be all set.
How to make this
To make grape and brie bites, roll out your pastry and cut into small squares. Fill each well of a mini muffin pan with pastry, brie, and grapes and bake until golden. Top with spiced honey.
1. Roll the Pastry
You want to roll it out until it’s about 10×15 inches. This will even out the folds from the packaging make it easy to cut into equal sized squares.
2. Cut into Squares
I find that gently folding up the sheet twice so it’s 15 inches by 2 1/2 inches makes cutting up the squares easy. Just fold and cut into 6 pieces. Then unfold each and cut the strips into 4 – making 24 squares.
3. Press into Pan
Press each square into a well. Don’t worry about making them perfect. They are going to puff up anyway!
4. Fill each tart
Now take the diced brie and press it into the bottom of each tart and then top with grapes.
5. Bake and Finish
Bake at 375F for 18-20 minutes. Then cool and remove from the pan and drizzle with the honey.
Variations
- Add Nuts to the Filling. Some finely chopped pecans or walnuts
- Top with Fresh Herbs. I like either thyme or rosemary, chopped up and dusted over the baked tarts.
- Switch up the Fruit. Diced figs, prunes, or raspberries are all great ways to change the flavors.
Make Ahead
Storage – Store leftover tarts in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Make Ahead – Prep the tarts up to 1 day ahead and keep them well wrapped in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake them.
Reheating – Tarts can be baked early in the day and kept on the counter for 3-4 hours. (Or the day before and refrigerated overnight.) They can then be served at room temperature or reheated in a 350F oven for ~5 minutes, or until warmed through. (Add honey after reheating.)
Freezing – Baked tarts can be frozen and stored in a well sealed container for up to 3 months. Heat from frozen (do not thaw) in a 350F oven until fully heated through, about 10 minutes.
Cocktails to Serve Alongside
Here are a few of my favorite party drinks to have with nibbles!
If you try my recipe for Grape and Brie Bites, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.
You can connect with me by subscribing to my emails (see the form in the sidebar or below the recipe card), liking my FACEBOOK page, or by following me on PINTEREST.
– Stay Safe, Annemarie
Grape and Brie Bites with Spiced Honey
Ingredients
Tartlets
- 2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
- 8 oz brie, rinds removed
- 1 cup grapes, halved or quartered if large
Spiced Honey
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 2-3 dashes cayenne
Instructions
Tartlets
- Move oven racks to upper and lower third positions. Heat oven to 375F.
- Get things prepped: Pull out two mini muffin pans and grease them. Put the wedge of brie in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to make it easier to cut.
- Spread out one of the puff pastry sheets onto a lightly floured board. Roll it into a 10x15 rectangle. Fold the pastry sheet in half and in half again so you have a 15 inch length of folded pastry. Then cut it into 2 1/2 inch lengths. (You'll have 6 altogether.) Unfold each and cut at the folds, making 4 from each strip. This will give you 24 squares from the sheet.
- Press each square into a well in the mini muffin pan.
- Take the brie out of the freezer and cut it in half. Then cut the half into 24 roughly equal pieces. Put one piece into each well.
- Now add about 1 teaspoon of grapes to each well. (See note.)
- Put the assembled pan of tarts in the refrigerator and repeat the process for the second tray.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and browned. Switch the bottom and top pans halfway through baking.
- Let the tarts cool for a few minutes, then transfer them to a serving platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Spiced Honey
- Combine all the honey ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Drizzle the hot spiced honey over the finished tarts.
Notes
- Grapes: I used Champagne grapes, which are very small so I ended up adding 10-12 to each tart. For mid-sized varieties, add one or two to each tart, and for large grapes, cut them up to use half per tart.
- Variations: (1) Add chopped pecans or walnuts to each tart. (2) Sprinkle some fresh herbs, like thyme or rosemary over them once they're done.
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