Cranberry & Whipped Brie Puffs

These delicious cranberry and whipped brie Christmas profiteroles are the perfect holiday appetizer. Hand them around as a savory Christmas canape at parties and watch as guests expect a sweet filling and get Brie cheese and cranberry instead!

This is a great festive appetizer to serve at parties as you can make the Christmas profiteroles ahead of time and freeze them until you are ready to pipe them with the savory choux bun filling and serve.

Jump to:

• What are profiteroles?
• Why this is the best recipe
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Expert tip
• Baking profiteroles
• Expert tip
• Wine pairing for Brie and cranberry profiteroles
• Equipment
• Storage
• FAQ
• Other festive recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

What are profiteroles?

Profiteroles are small, round balls made from choux pastry piped with a creamy filling that originated in France. Traditionally, profiteroles are a dessert, and the choux buns have a sweet filling (usually a Creme Diplomat) and are then dipped in chocolate ganache.

However, profiteroles can be savory too! Savory profiteroles are a favorite party canape of mine, I also make a whipped goat cheese profiterole recipe that goes down a storm!

Why this is the best recipe

1. Festive: Brie and cranberry are such a traditional Christmas flavor combination, but these whipped brie and cranberry bites are a bit more unusual and perfect for a special occasion.
2. Bite-size: These Christmas profiteroles are the perfect bite-sized canape and they are self-contained so a lot less messy than other cheese appetizers.
3. Simple: Choux buns can panic a lot of people, but I find choux pastry to be a lot simpler than some other patisserie work. You'll get the hang of this easy choux pastry recipe in no time!
4. No complex kit or ingredients: You will already have all the ingredients for choux pastry in the fridge or pantry, and you don't need any fancy equipment either.

Ingredients

Choux pastry does not contain any difficult ingredients, and is actually a lot simpler to make than people think! This easy choux pastry recipe is ready in about 20 minutes and then the choux buns can be stored until you need to fill them.

For the choux buns

1. All-purpose flour: Also known as plain flour, all-purpose flour is a medium-strength all-rounder that provides structure and form to these Christmas profiteroles with savory filling.
2. Butter: There is a small amount of butter in profiteroles that adds delicious flavor, richness and tenderness to the choux pastry. Always use unsalted butter to control both the quantity and quality of salt in a recipe.
3. Water: Steam is the rising agent in profiteroles so the water in choux pastry plays an essential role in making them puff up and create space for the cranberry and whipped brie savory filling.
4. Salt: To enhance the buttery flavors in the choux buns we use a small amount of salt in the pastry.
5. Granulated sugar: We also use a pinch of sugar, to balance it all out perfectly. Choux pastry is traditionally neutral in flavor, so the fillings are the main characters, even if making sweet desserts like chocolate profiteroles!
6. Eggs: Eggs are a binding agent and have leavening qualities too, in addition to moisture and richness. Eggs are essential in making choux buns, and you should always use room-temperature eggs in baking.

For the whipped brie and cranberry filling:

1. Brie: Deliciously strong Brie cheese is the main event in these Christmas profiteroles with savory filling.
2. Cream cheese: To make the whipped brie filling richer and easier to whip, we mix it with cream cheese. Use full-fat, good-quality cream cheese.
3. Cranberry sauce: It is best to use a smooth cranberry jelly or sauce in this savory profiteroles recipe as otherwise, the bits can get stuck in the piping bag and cause you problems. If you only have chunky cranberry sauce, blend it with an immersion blender or food processor first.

See the recipe card for quantities and full directions on how to make savory profiteroles with whipped brie and cranberry filling.

Instructions

Easy choux pastry

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius / 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Heat the water, butter, sugar, and salt together in a saucepan over medium heat and bring it just to boiling point.
3. Sieve the flour and add it into the water mixture off the heat, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon or spatula to form a smooth paste. 
4. Return the saucepan to the stove and continue to stir the mixture for around 5 minutes over low heat to cook out the flour. It will form a smooth, shiny ball that holds its shape together if you roll it around the saucepan (see video).
5. Cool the mixture down by turning it out into a glass bowl and put it in the fridge for a few minutes, or spread it out onto a cool, clean surface.
6. Whisk the eggs together and add slowly into the dough, stirring continuously so it incorporates and forms a silky, glossy mixture that is loose enough to slowly drop off a spoon.

Baking profiteroles

1. Pipe your profiteroles. Put the choux pastry into a piping bag and cut 1cm from the end. Pipe small mounds of the choux pastry onto a lined baking tray, leaving a gap between each one.
2. Flick a tablespoon of water over the choux buns to help them rise, and dab a wet finger onto the tip left by the piping nozzle to flatten them out.
3. Bake the profiteroles in the oven for 19 minutes until they are golden brown. Be governed by color rather than time; as all ovens vary, they may need more time.
4. Take the profiteroles out of the oven and carefully make a piping hole in the bottom using the tip of a sharp knife. Put the profiteroles back in the oven to dry out for one or two more minutes with the holes facing upwards.

Filling profiteroles

1. Make your Christmas profiteroles filling.  Cut the rind off the brie and then cut it into small chunks. Whisk it together with the cream cheese until smooth and fully incorporated, and place it in a piping bag. Put the cranberry sauce in another piping bag.
2. Pipe the profiterole filling. Pipe a small amount of cranberry sauce into the savory profiteroles first, and then pipe in the whipped brie.

Wine pairing for Brie and cranberry profiteroles

Enjoy your festive profiteroles with a glass of Beaujolais from the Southern Burgundy region of France, the perfect wine pairing for Brie and cranberry profiteroles. To learn more, read my post on food and wine pairing tips.

Equipment

You will need a large mixing bowl to combine your ingredients for these savory Christmas profiteroles, as well as a medium-sized saucepan, to cook your choux pastry in the initial stage.

I weigh all of my ingredients on a digital scale for accuracy, and I do not rely on measuring by volume (like the cup system) as it can be imprecise.

You will also need several piping bags to pipe choux buns onto a baking tray and for the savory profiterole filling.

Love cheese and cranberry flavors? Try these goat cheese and cranberry macarons.

Storage

Store leftover whipped brie and cranberry Christmas profiteroles in an airtight container for 2-3 days before filling. Otherwise, store any filled profiteroles in the fridge.

You can freeze choux buns easily, and I like to defrost them thoroughly and then warm them in the oven for 10-15 minutes to crisp them up again before filling them. Filled choux buns do not freeze well.

FAQ

Other festive recipes

📖 Recipe