Cranberry Orange Breakfast Bites are a delicious and easy way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers! Perfect for breakfast or dessert.

Looking for creative ways to use up those Thanksgiving leftovers? These Cranberry Orange Breakfast Bites are my new favorite way to use up leftover cranberry sauce.

I love that this recipe makes an amazing breakfast or dessert that doesn’t taste like “leftovers.” 

This recipe comes together so quickly and easily when you use refrigerated puff pastry  (13 oz.) from the grocery store. However, you could also make an easy puff pastry using this recipe.

Just unroll and cut into about 18 equal rectangles. Place pastries on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Be sure to lightly score the inside with a rectangle “frame” making sure not to cut all the way through. Score the inside of the framed area or poke with a fork. This helps create an indention for your filling later.

Refrigerate while the oven preheats to 400°F. Whisk the egg in a small bowl and brush the pastries lightly before parbaking about 8 minutes. I love Nellie’s Free Range Eggs because of those golden yolks from Certified Humane Free Range hens that make this recipe as pretty as it is delicious!

While the pastries are baking, add the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, orange zest and the remainder of the egg wash to a medium bowl.

Mix with a hand mixer on low speed until well-combined.

 

Remove pastries from the oven—they will be puffed up and slightly golden. Press the rounded side of a large tablespoon in the middle of each rectangle. Let cool for about 5 minutes before adding 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture to each pastry, spreading evenly across the middle of the pastry.

Tips:

• • • You can use a refrigerated puff pastry or make your own using a recipe like this one.

    • This is a great way to use up leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving dinner!

    • Not ready to use up those cranberries right after Thanksgiving? Freeze your cranberry sauce in an airtight container and reheat in a saucepan on medium-low heat. Let cool before topping your cranberry orange breakfast bites.

    • You can make most of the ingredients (puff pastry, cream cheese mixture, and cranberry sauce) ahead of time, then bake and assemble the pastries when you’re ready.

Bake for another 10 minutes, or until the cream cheese mixture has firmed up and no longer jiggles. Cool before topping each rectangle with a spoonful of cranberry sauce that has been reheated and cooled slightly.

Any cranberry sauce will work—you can use leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving, canned cranberry sauce from the grocery store, or make homemade cranberry sauce using my recipe below.

This recipe is best served on the same day it’s made, but you can make all of the ingredients in advance to easily assemble and bake when you’re ready to serve.

I hope you love this recipe for enjoying those delicious Thanksgiving leftovers! Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Cranberry Orange Breakfast Bites

Yield: 18

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 28 minutes

Cranberry Orange Breakfast Bites are a delicious and easy way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers! Perfect for a special holiday breakfast or tasty dessert.

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Ingredients

• Ingredients
• 1 13-oz refrigerated roll of puff pastry
• 1 Large Nellie’s Free Range Egg
• 1 8-oz. Brick cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 ¾ C. Powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
• Zest from 1 orange (about 1 tbsp.)
• Cranberry Sauce
• 2 C. Fresh cranberries
• ⅔ C. Sugar
• Zest from 1 orange (about 1 tbsp.)
• Juice from both zested oranges (about ½ C.)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Unroll puff pastry and cut evenly into about 18 rectangles.
3. Place pastry on a cookie sheet lined with parchment.Score the inside of each rectangle to resemble a "frame" but being careful not to cut all the way through.
4. Add additional scoring within the “frame” and puncture with a fork.
5. Whisk the egg in a small bowl and lightly brush each rectangle with the egg wash.Refrigerate for about 5 minutes.
6. Parbake in the oven for about 8 minutes. Pastries will puff up and appear slightly golden.
7. Meanwhile, using a hand mixer, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and orange zest until mixed well.
8. Remove from the oven and press the rounded side of a large spoon in the middle of each rectangle.
9. Add about 1 Tbsp. of the cream cheese mixture to each rectangle and spread evenly through the middle.
10. Bake for another 10 minutes, or until the cream cheese mixture has firmed up and is no longer wiggles.
11. Cool before topping each rectangle with a spoonful of cranberry sauce.

If making homemade Cranberry Sauce

1. In a medium saucepan, cook cranberries, sugar, orange juice and orange zest on medium heat, stirring constantly to avoid scorching.
2. Cook about 10-15 minutes or until the cranberries break down and the sauce thickens. Let cool.
3. Serve for Thanksgiving, or top of Cranberry Orange Breakfast Bites.

Notes

• This is a great way to use up leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving dinner!
• You can make all of the components (puff pastry, cream cheese mixture, and cranberry sauce) ahead of time, then bake and assemble the pastries when you’re ready.