These little bites are such a fun way to dress up a holiday table with few ingredients and time. Brie Christmas Tree Appetizer bites are prefect to serve ahead of a bigger meal or as part of a holiday buffet spread.
Each year, during the holidays, I like to give a few new appetizers a try out to see if we find any new family favourites. To this day, our go to appetizer must have are the Easy Sausage Rolls, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tarts and the Bacon Wrapped Dates with Pecans. Without fail, we have those on Christmas Eve. Do you have any do to appetizers that you love for the holidays?
This year, I’ve tried out a few new dips that were a huge hit and I know these little Brie Christmas Tree Appetizers will be made again. So easy, fun and there is no cooking required!
Check out more No Cook Appetizers!
What is This Christmas Tree Cheese Appetizer Like
- Difficulty – This is super easy using 5 ingredients, it’s no bake and can be done in about 20 minutes!
- Taste – A great combination of smooth brie, with sweet honey and salty pistachios!
- Serving – This recipe uses one cheese wheel and makes 16 small cheese trees. You can easily double the recipe for a bigger party.
Ingredients
- Cheese – I used a Brie cheese wheel. You can find these in the chiller section of most supermarkets.
- Nuts – You can use any kind of nuts that you like, I used finely chopped pistachios.
- Honey – I used liquid honey. This not only adds sweetness but allows the nut mixture to stick to the cheese.
- Parsley – A small touch of finely chopped parsley adds colour and flavour.
- Pretzel sticks – Pretzel sticks work great for the tree trunk.
NOTE, The full recipe and ingredient list can be found at the end of the post in the recipe card.
Instructions
- Chop nuts and parsley – Finely chop the pistachios and the parsley. Combine both ingredients well and spread out on a flat surface or plate. Set aside.
- Cut cheese – Cut the cheese wheel into 8 equal wedges. Take each cheese wedge and cut it through the centre so you will have two thinner cheese wedges. Repeat for all cheese wedges.
- Insert pretzel sticks – Break the pretzel pieces into two pieces and gently push 1/2 of a pretzel stick into the bottom centre of the cheese wedges. Repeat for all.
- Coat and serve – Dip the cheese in the honey and the coat with the pistachios. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.
Recipe Tips
- Inserting the pretzel sticks – Make sure the cheese is at room temperature. The pretzels should be quite short so it will be less likely for them to break. As well, if you still have problems, use a wooden skewer to make a hole and then insert your pretzel.
- Make ahead – You can make these ahead of time except for inserting the pretzel stick. Add the pretzels just before serving so they don’t go soggy.
Substitutions
- Cheese – I used a Brie cheese wheel, but you could easily use Camembert or the laughing cow triangle cheese. Both of these are great alternatives.
- Nuts – This recipe used pistachio nuts, but feel free to use any kind of nuts that you like. Some great alternatives are pecans, walnuts, almonds or even cashews. Just use a flavour nut that you like.
- Herbs – I used parsley, but feel free to use chives or even fresh chopped basil for a different flavour.
Serving
This is a fantastic Appetizer to serve at Christmas or any other fall or winter celebration. If you’re looking for some serving suggestions, I’ve listed a few for you here below.
- Caramelized Onion & Goat Cheese Tarts
- Bacon Wrapped Dates with Pecans
- Fresh Tomato Bruschetta
- Spanish Serrano Ham Brushcetta
- Easy Charcuterie Board
- Cranberry & Pistachio Goat Cheese Ball
Frequently Asked Questions
Any appetizers with cured cheese, cured meats, olives, pickles, nuts, breads, and dips that don’t have dairy can sit out for hours with no problem at all.
As nice as it is to have a selection of hot and cold appetizers, you can easily entertain with just cold appetizers. If you are using cold cuts and cheese with breads, it’s easy to fill up guests without serving hot food.
You can easily stick to crackers with simple cheese spreads. Inexpensive nuts, pretzels, trail mix, olives and pickles. As well, many cold cuts are inexpensive. Stick to the type that you can buy in large packs and make mini sandwiches or roll them up and add them to cocktail sticks with cheese, olives and pickles for impressive bites.
Cranberry Brie Puff Pastry Bites
Baked Camembert with Rosemary
Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
Brie Christmas Tree Appetizer
Ingredients
- 8 oz brie cheese
- 1/2 cup pistachios
- 1/4 cup honey
- small bunch of fresh chopped parsley
- 20 pretzel sticks broken in half
Instructions
- Finely chop the pistachios and the parsley. Combine both ingredients well and spread out on a flat surface or plate. Set aside.
- Cut the cheese wheel into 8 equal wedges. Take each cheese wedge and cut it through the centre so you will have two thinner cheese wedges. Repeat for all cheese wedges.
- Break the pretzel pieces into two pieces and gently push 1/2 of a pretzel stick into the bottom centre of the cheese wedges. Repeat for all.
- Dip the cheese in the honey and the coat with the pistachios. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Thanks For Stopping By & Hope To See You Soon!
