These cranberry puff pastry tarts are an easy, savory treat that come together in just 20 minutes! Layered with puff pastry, gruyere cheese, cranberries, and thyme, they're the perfect wintery appetizer! They're a great way to use up leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving or Christmas!
You might also enjoy these peach and thyme tarts, these cranberry hand pies, or my favorite cranberry orange muffins!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make these cranberry puff pastry tarts!
Puff Pastry - I always use frozen puff pastry for these tarts! Just place the box in the fridge the night before you plan to make the tarts, and the pastry will be perfectly thawed and ready to use!
Cranberry Sauce - These tarts are a great way to use up leftover cranberry sauce from the holidays! Just make sure the cranberry sauce is fully chilled before assembling the tarts.
Fresh Cranberries - I love adding fresh cranberries on top because they look so pretty, but you can leave them off and just use cranberry sauce if you prefer!
Gruyere Cheese - Gruyere is one of my favorite types of cheese! It has a creamy, nutty flavor that just pairs beautifully with the tangy cranberries! But these cranberry tarts would also be delicious with brie or fontina cheese!
Fresh Thyme - I love the combo of fresh thyme and cranberries, but fresh rosemary would also go great with these tarts!
Tips for Baking with Frozen Puff Pastry
- Start with puff pastry that has been fully defrosted! The best way to defrost puff pastry is by placing it in the fridge overnight!
- Puff pastry is easiest to work with when it's still cold, but pliable which is why refrigerating it overnight is the best!
- Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the puff pastry into rectangles. You don't want to smash the edges as that will cause the pastry not to puff up as much.
- Always baking using parchment paper or a silicone mat, so that the puff pastry doesn't stick to the pan.
How to Make Cranberry Tarts
Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (this recipe makes 12 tarts so you'll probably need 2 baking sheets).
Cut each puff pastry sheet into 6 equal rectangles and arrange on your baking sheet.
Spread 1-2 tablespoons of cranberry sauce over each rectangle, leaving a small border (¼ to ½ inch).
Spread the shredded gruyere over top of the cranberry sauce.
Then add fresh cranberries on top and sprinkle with fresh thyme, salt, and pepper.
If desired, lightly brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash.
Bake at 425°F for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey.
Serve the cranberry puff pasty tarts warm and enjoy!!
Recipe FAQ's
These tarts are best served the same day, but will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Yes! Any type of fruit and jam would be a great substitution in this recipe!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Cranberry Puff Pastry Tarts with Gruyere
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Cranberry Sauce
- 1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cinnamon stick, optional
Cranberry Tarts
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed (1 box)
- 1 cup cranberry sauce
- 1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded (substitute Brie)
- ½ cup fresh cranberries
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
- flaky sea salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- 1 large egg, beaten for egg wash
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
Cranberry Sauce
- If you don't have leftover cranberry sauce, use this recipe! But otherwise just use what you have!
- Add all of the filling ingredients to a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until the cranberries begin to split open. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
- Remove the cinnamon stick, then transfer to a bowl and chill until ready to use.
- Make sure the cranberry sauce is fully cooled before assembling the tarts.
Cranberry Tarts
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (this recipe makes 12 tarts so you'll probably need 2 baking sheets).
- Cut each puff pastry sheet into 6 equal rectangles and arrange on your baking sheet.
- Spread 1-2 tablespoons of cranberry sauce over each rectangle, leaving a small border (¼ to ½ inch).
- Spread the shredded gruyere over top of the cranberry sauce.
- Then add fresh cranberries on top and sprinkle with fresh thyme, salt, and pepper.
- If desired, lightly brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash.
- Bake at 425°F for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey.
- Serve the cranberry puff pasty tarts warm and enjoy!!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Elizabeth McFadden says
Thanks for posting! These were *very* good, and with one or two minor tweaks could be excellent. I made them as a test run in advance of a Halloween party. I used gruyere, though I’d love to try them with Brie - or maybe a goat cheese! - but gruyere was what I had.
I only had one sheet of puff pastry but it was slightly oversized - made 8 good sized tarts - and I just barely had enough cranberry sauce; I think next time I’ll increase the sauce yield by maybe 25%. A little more cheese would have been nice, too.
My only meaningful change was adding a splash of orange juice to the cranberry sauce, which I think was a nice addition.
Overall, we liked these a lot. They’re easy and quick and it would be simplicity itself to make the cranberry sauce a day or two in advance; that would make them super-fast when it was time to bake them.
Dennis Littley says
My family loved the cranberry tarts! I will definitely be making these again!
nancy says
adding gruyere cheese is such a good idea
Jean says
great ceanberry puff the addition of cheese added taste and flavors