Cranberry Cream Cheese Crescent Bites are the perfect bite-sized appetizer that combines creamy, tangy filling with flaky, buttery crescent dough! With just 5 ingredients and a hint of jalapeño heat, these festive treats are easy to make and absolutely irresistible.
Love More Cranberry Recipes? Try My Cranberry Brie Bites or this Turkey Cranberry Crescent Ring next.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
The combination of tart cranberries, creamy cheese, fresh chives, and just a tiny kick of jalapeño creates the most addictive flavor profile. Plus, they come together in under 30 minutes with ingredients you can grab at any grocery store. They’re fancy enough for holiday entertaining but easy enough for a Tuesday night treat.
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Cranberry Cream Cheese Crescent Bites
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 24 appetizer bites
Description
Easy bite-sized appetizers made with crescent dough filled with a sweet and savory mixture of cream cheese, dried cranberries, fresh chives, and jalapeño. Perfect for holiday parties, these golden, flaky bites take just 25 minutes to make and are always the first thing to disappear from the appetizer table!
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened (I always use Philadelphia brand)
- 3 tablespoons chopped dried cranberries
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- 1 teaspoon finely diced, seeded jalapeño chile
For the Dough:
- 1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent dough (original or sheet style works great)
Makes: 24 bite-sized appetizers
Substitutions & Notes:
- Cream cheese: Must be softened to room temperature. Low-fat works, but full-fat gives the creamiest texture.
- Dried cranberries: You can use Craisins or any brand. Fresh cranberries won’t work here – they’re too tart and won’t soften.
- Chives: Green onions (just the green parts) make a great substitute.
- Jalapeño: Adjust to taste! Use ½ teaspoon for mild, or up to 2 teaspoons if you love heat. Seeding is important to control spice level.
- Crescent dough: The sheet style is easier to work with, but the perforated rolls work perfectly once you seal the seams.
Instructions
Crank oven to 375°F. Tear off parchment paper, put it on two pans. One time I sprayed the pans instead and ended up soaking them overnight because everything welded itself on there. Never doing that again.
Dump cream cheese, cranberries, chives, jalapeño in a bowl. Stir it around till it looks mixed. My kids fight over who gets to do this part because it’s the easiest job. Takes like 60 seconds if your cream cheese isn’t rock hard.
Smack the can on the counter till it pops – hate that part, always makes me jump. Roll it out flat. Got the triangle perforated ones? Mash those lines together with your hand. Cut the whole thing into squares, I do 6 long cuts and 4 short cuts. Mine are never the same size. Doesn’t matter, they all bake fine.
Plop a teaspoon of filling in the middle of each square. Used to pile it on thick till they started erupting like volcanoes in my oven. Now I measure. Pull the corners up, pinch them together at the top, twist a bit. Don’t seal every tiny gap or they’ll balloon up weird. Flip them pinch-side down, space them out on the pans so they’re not touching.
Shove them in the oven, set timer for 11 minutes. My oven’s fast so I always check at 11. You want them brown, not tan. Not black either, learned that one the hard way. Let them cool a few minutes unless you enjoy burning the roof of your mouth off, which apparently I do because I never wait long enough.
Notes
- Even sizing matters: Use a small cookie scoop or measuring spoon for the filling. Consistent portions mean even cooking and professional-looking results.
- The twist-and-pinch technique: When sealing your bites, twist the center slightly as you pinch. This creates a more secure seal that’s less likely to pop open.
- Watch the oven closely in the last 2 minutes. Crescent dough can go from perfectly golden to too dark FAST. Every oven is different!
- Common mistake to avoid: Placing bites too close together. Give them space! They puff up as they bake and can stick to each other.
- Smart shortcut: Pre-chop your chives and jalapeño while the cream cheese is softening. Everything comes together in 5 minutes once your mise en place is ready!
- Prep Time: 12 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredient List
For the Filling:
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened (I pull mine out when I make breakfast)
- 3 tablespoons chopped dried cranberries
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- 1 teaspoon finely diced, seeded jalapeño chile
For the Dough:
- 1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent dough (whatever kind, who cares)
Makes: 24 bite-sized appetizers
Substitutions & Notes:
- Cream cheese: Leave it out till it’s squishy. Generic brand is fine, I’m not paying extra for a fancy label.
- Dried cranberries: Get the cheapest bag at the store. They all taste the same.
- Chives: Sometimes I use green onion tops because that’s what I have. Works.
- Jalapeño: Must. Remove. Seeds. Unless you hate your guests.
- Crescent dough: Triangles, sheets, whatever’s on sale. Both work.
Why These Ingredients Work
Soft cream cheese mixes fast and smooth. Hard cream cheese means you’re standing there stabbing at chunks with a spoon getting progressively more annoyed while your kids ask when snack is ready.
Dried cranberries have sugar already on them and they’re chewy. Fresh cranberries would make your face implode from sour. Also they’re rock hard. Why would you do that to yourself.
Chives are green and oniony but not aggressive about it. My mom uses the dried stuff from a jar and honestly can’t tell the difference once they’re baked.
Jalapeño makes people go “wait what IS that?” every single time. My neighbor thought I put like five different spices in these. It’s one ingredient, Karen, calm down.
Crescent dough makes you look like you know what you’re doing. Unroll, cut, done. Everyone thinks you’re Martha Stewart.
Essential Tools and Equipment
Nothing special:
- Two cookie sheets – Gotta fit 24 somewhere
- Parchment paper – Because scrubbing sucks
- Medium mixing bowl – Cereal bowl works honestly
- Pizza cutter or sharp knife – Pizza cutter’s faster
- Teaspoon – Any spoon really
- Cutting board – For chopping stuff
How To Make Cranberry Cream Cheese Crescent Bites
Step 1: Preheat & Prepare Your Pans
Crank oven to 375°F. Tear off parchment paper, put it on two pans. One time I sprayed the pans instead and ended up soaking them overnight because everything welded itself on there. Never doing that again.
Step 2: Make the Filling Mixture
Dump cream cheese, cranberries, chives, jalapeño in a bowl. Stir it around till it looks mixed. My kids fight over who gets to do this part because it’s the easiest job. Takes like 60 seconds if your cream cheese isn’t rock hard.
Step 3: Prepare & Cut the Crescent Dough
Smack the can on the counter till it pops – hate that part, always makes me jump. Roll it out flat. Got the triangle perforated ones? Mash those lines together with your hand. Cut the whole thing into squares, I do 6 long cuts and 4 short cuts. Mine are never the same size. Doesn’t matter, they all bake fine.
Step 4: Fill & Shape Your Bites
Plop a teaspoon of filling in the middle of each square. Used to pile it on thick till they started erupting like volcanoes in my oven. Now I measure. Pull the corners up, pinch them together at the top, twist a bit. Don’t seal every tiny gap or they’ll balloon up weird. Flip them pinch-side down, space them out on the pans so they’re not touching.
Step 5: Bake to Golden Perfection
Shove them in the oven, set timer for 11 minutes. My oven’s fast so I always check at 11. You want them brown, not tan. Not black either, learned that one the hard way. Let them cool a few minutes unless you enjoy burning the roof of your mouth off, which apparently I do because I never wait long enough.
You Must Know
Soft cream cheese or you’re gonna have a terrible time. Leave it out for an hour minimum. Or microwave it 10 seconds, check it, do another 10 if you need to. Just get it soft.
Take the seeds out of that jalapeño unless you’re entering some kind of spice tolerance competition. Seeds = fire. First batch I made, my kid took one bite and spit it in the trash. She still brings it up two years later.
Personal Secret: I taste the filling on a Ritz cracker before I start filling stuff. If it’s bland, I add more jalapeño. If the cranberries got lost, I throw more in. Fix it now, not after you’ve already filled 24 of them with mediocre filling.
Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks
- Same spoon for every one or you’ll get some that are loaded and some that are sad. I use a regular teaspoon from my silverware drawer.
- Twist when you pinch the top. They stay shut better. Took me like 10 batches to figure this out.
- Babysit the oven after minute 10. These burn fast. I’ve ruined batches because I went to put laundry in the dryer.
- Don’t cram them on the pan. They get bigger when they bake and they’ll merge together into some Frankenstein creation.
- Chop your stuff while cream cheese is softening. Then when you’re ready to go, everything’s prepped and it’s fast.
Flavor Variations / Suggestions
I switch these up depending on my mood:
Orange Cranberry: Grate in orange peel, ditch the jalapeño, squeeze in honey. Better for morning stuff like showers and brunches.
Bacon: Cook bacon, crumble it in. My husband asks for this version every time. I’m over cooking bacon but he loves it so whatever.
Different Herbs: Parsley, dill, whatever’s dying in my fridge. All works. Rosemary’s strong so go light.
Crunchy: Throw in chopped pecans. My aunt does this and acts like it’s fancy. It’s not, but they’re good.
Less Heat: Use half the jalapeño, add powdered sugar. Almost dessert-ish. Kids like this better.
More Heat: Serrano pepper instead. Or red pepper flakes. For people who complain these aren’t spicy enough, which is always somebody.
Make-Ahead Options
You can definitely prep these early:
Refrigerate Before Baking: Make them completely, put them on the pans, cover with plastic, refrigerate up to 8 hours. Bake cold, just give them an extra minute.
Freeze Unbaked: Make them, freeze them on the pan till they’re solid (couple hours), dump in a freezer bag. Good for a month at least, probably longer. Bake frozen, 15-17 minutes at 375°F.
Just the Filling: Make filling 2 days early, keep it covered in the fridge. Pull it out 15 minutes before you need it so it’s not cement.
Baking them early and reheating is garbage. Dough gets weird. Make them fresh or make them ahead unbaked.
Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips
- Hot kitchen means sticky dough. I only make these when it’s not summer because dealing with warm sticky dough makes me want to quit.
- I do pinch-side down. My cousin does pinch-side up because she thinks it looks better. There’s no wrong answer here.
- Cutting even squares is nice but mine are always wonky and they bake fine anyway.
- Egg wash makes them shiny if you care about that. I usually forget and they’re still good.
- Put them on a wire rack after a minute so the bottoms don’t get soggy. Or don’t, honestly they’re fine either way.
Serving Suggestions
I’ve brought these everywhere:
- Holiday parties – Red and green, very festive
- Thanksgiving – Keeps people from hovering in the kitchen asking if dinner’s ready
- Game days – My husband’s friends inhale these
- Brunch things – Works with coffee or mimosas, doesn’t matter
- Cookie exchanges – Only savory thing there, stands out
Serve them with:
- Jellied cranberry sauce heated in microwave
- Sour cream with lime squeezed in
- Hot sauce bottle on the side
- Prosecco if you’re feeling yourself
- Hot cider in fall/winter
Pretty them up:
- Throw cranberries on top before baking
- Chop fresh chives over them when they come out
- Drizzle honey if you want
- Stick rosemary sprigs on the plate around them
I make these for everything now because they’re easy and people flip out over them. Sweet-salty-spicy-buttery all at once. Just make them, you’ll get it.
How to Store Your Cranberry Cream Cheese Crescent Bites
Room Temperature: Two hours max sitting out. Then fridge them.
Refrigerator: Container with a lid, good for 3 days. Dough won’t be crispy but they’re edible.
Reheating: 350°F oven for 5-7 minutes crisps them back up. Air fryer works, 350°F for 3-4 minutes. Microwave works but they’re soggy.
Freezer: Baked ones freeze 2 months. Put parchment between layers or they stick. Thaw overnight in fridge, reheat in oven.
Allergy Information
Contains:
- Dairy (cream cheese, butter in dough)
- Wheat (crescent dough)
Swaps:
- No dairy: Vegan cream cheese is a thing, Kite Hill or whatever. TJ’s has vegan crescent dough. Not exactly the same but close enough.
- No gluten: Gluten-free puff pastry. Time might be different.
Doesn’t have: Eggs, nuts, soy (maybe, check your dough), fish, shellfish
Brands are all different so read the labels.
Questions I Get Asked A Lot
My filling leaked out during baking. What did I do wrong?
Too much filling (stick to 1 level teaspoon), corners weren’t pinched enough, or you sealed them totally shut with no steam escape. Pinch good, leave tiny gaps.
The crescent dough is sticky and hard to work with. Help!
It’s too warm. Stick it back in the fridge 10 minutes. Sprinkle flour on your counter. Also don’t make these in July when it’s 90 degrees in your house.
Can I use cream cheese spread from a tub instead of brick cream cheese?
No, tub kind is too wet and runny. It’ll leak out everywhere. Block cream cheese only.
How do I know when they’re done baking?
Golden brown on top, darker on edges. Should look cooked not pale. When in doubt add another minute, raw dough is worse than slightly overdone.
💬 Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating below! Tell me how they came out, if you changed anything.
