These festive brie cheese trees (best. name. ever) are made from slices of brie cheese with tree trunks made from pretzel sticks. The cheese wedges are topped with a homemade quick and easy, sweet jalapeño and hot honey sauce. This festive holiday appetizer is not only easy to prepare but it’s packed with sweet and savory flavor that are sure to please your holiday guests.
Slicing the tree-shaped slices
To cut your brie into 16 bite-sized, tree-shaped slices, start with an 8-ounce wheel of brie. My favorite is President’s because it’s affordable and the flavor is creamy and mild so it appeals to both adults and kids. Remove the brie cheese from the packaging and place it on a cutting board. Don’t bother removing the rind. Doing so will ruin the shape of these holiday cheese trees and the rind is completely edible. In fact it adds an earthy flavor that combined with the creamy cheese center, is absolute perfection.
Slice down the center of the wheel vertically and again horizontally. Finally, make two more cuts diagonally. This will create a total of 8 slices in tree shapes. Cut each slice down the center to create two thinner slices. This will create 16 tree shapes that are the perfect size for an appetizer.
Adjust the heat in brie cheese trees
The sweet green sauce that’s poured on top of these little brie trees is made from jalapeños and honey. When I’m making this appetizer for a party, I typically keep the spicy honey sauce nice and mild to appeal to everyone. I do this by removing the seeds and membrane/ribs/white pith from the jalapeños before dicing them. To turn up the heat, do not remove the seeds and white pith before dicing your jalapeños and add it all into the pan! The seeds and white pith contain most of the capsaicin which is the compound that creates that spicy heat. Side note: I recommend wearing rubber gloves when you’re working with jalapeños to avoid irritating your skin. Those capsaicin oils linger even after you wash your hands!
Variations of brie cheese trees
I’ve kept this brie cheese trees recipe super simple because with parties, cooking and shopping…the holidays are busy enough! If you have a little bit of extra time, have some fun experimenting with a few fun toppings to make this appetizer extra special. Here are a few I’ve tried.
- Diced, dried, sweetened cranberries add festive color and flavor to this recipe.
- Crushed pistachios, pecans or walnuts add a delicious crunch.
- Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top of these Christmas cheese trees to take the sweet and salty flavor combination to the next level.
- For a kid-friendly version, replace the brie cheese with laughing cow cheese wedges. Remove the wrapping before you inset the pretzel sick and pour the sauce over the top. Make sure you remove all of the ribs/membrane and seeds from the jalapeño before you create the sauce to keep it nice and mild for young taste buds.
Ingredients
- 8 ounce brie cheese wheel (with the rind)
- 4 pretzel sticks (not the larger rods), broken into halves. To make this recipe gluten free use gluten free pretzel sticks or substitute with a toothpick or cut wooden skewer.
- 2 jalapeño peppers, diced – Leave the ribs/membrane and seeds in for extra spice! Remove them if you prefer your jalapeños mild
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons water
Directions
- To create 16 tree-shaped pieces, slice down the center of the wheel vertically and again horizontally. Finally, make two more cuts diagonally. This will create a total of 8 slices in tree shapes. Cut each tree-shaped slice down the center to create two thinner slices.
- Insert a pretzel stick half into the bottom of each slice to create the trunk for each tree.
- To make the sauce, add the diced jalapeño, honey and water into a sauce pan. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to a simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow it to sit for at least 30 minutes before pouring it over the brie cheese.
Looking for more appetizers?
- Cranberry and Jalapeño cheese ball
- Super Simple Stuffed Mushrooms
- Blue Cheese and Balsamic Dip
- Super Simple Oven-fried Pickles
Brie Cheese Trees
Ingredients
- 8 ounce brie cheese wheel do not remove the rind
- 4 pretzel sticks broken into halves
- 2 jalapeño peppers diced
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- To create 16 tree-shaped pieces, slice down the center of the wheel vertically and again horizontally. Finally, make two more cuts diagonally. This will create a total of 8 slices in tree shapes. Cut each tree-shaped slice down the center to create two thinner tree-shaped slices. It's important to slice the cheese while it's cold but serve the cheese at room temperature.
- Insert a pretzel stick half into the bottom of each slice to create the trunk for each tree.
- To prepare the sauce, add the diced jalapeños, honey and water into a small sauce pan. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to a simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow it to sit for at least 30 minutes before pouring it over the room temperature brie cheese slices.
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