Cranberry Pecan Cream Cheese Pinwheels are so flavorful and festive, they will make a perfect appetizer for your holiday party! This is a fun pinwheels recipe packed with cream cheese, Brie, dried cranberries, pecans, fresh rosemary, and a delightful hint of maple syrup. All of the flavors work perfectly together to bring the spirit of the holidays to your table.
Pinwheels is a great holiday appetizer and if you need more no-cook appetizers, I suggest an Everything Bagel Cheese Ball or my Trio of Mini Cheeseballs.
Cranberry Pecan Cream Cheese Pinwheels
Your Christmas party is soon and you need a quick, no-bake appetizer to serve. What’s a host to do?! Oh, that’s right – make the BEST holiday pinwheels ever! These pinwheels are deliciously loaded with soft cheeses, sweet dried cranberries, crunchy pecans, and aromatic fresh rosemary. Essentially, these bad boys take like Christmas all rolled up in a flour tortilla.
Christmas parties aren’t the only place perfect for serving these pinwheels, either. They’re also wildly popular at potlucks, office parties, or pretty much any other event in holiday season. I love that I can rely on this tried and true recipe every time, because after all… If a recipe has cream cheese and Brie in it, you just know people will love it. The additions of cranberries and rosemary just make it all the more festive and delicious!
In a season filled to the brim with stressful recipes, take a breather by making these easy no-bake pinwheels. If you’re hosting a dinner party, chances are you’re already a tad bit overwhelmed. Ease a little bit of that stress by making these wonderfully simple pinwheels that are guaranteed to be a huge hit!
Ingredients Needed
- Flour Tortillas – Use large, burrito-sized, flour tortillas.
- Cream Cheese – It needs to be softened, so allow it to sit on your kitchen counter for about 30 minutes before using.
- Brie Cheese – The rind, although edible, needs to be removed for this recipe.
- Pecans – Make sure they are finely chopped, not halves of just chopped.
- Cranberries – use dried cranberries and make sure to chop them up.
- Rosemary – For the most wonderful aromatic experience, use fresh rosemary.
- Maple Syrup – 100% maple syrup is preferred for the best flavor, not artificial pancake syrup.
How to Make Cream Cheese Pinwheels
Make the filling first: Simply combine the softened cream cheese, chopped pecans, chopped dried cranberries, and minced fresh rosemary in a mixing bowl. Remove the rind before you add the Brie. Beat everything together with a mixer until smooth.
Prepare tortillas: Warm up the tortillas for just a few seconds in the microwave to help them gain a bit of flexibility.
Spread the filling: Brush each tortilla with a little bit of maple syrup. Then, divide the filling equally between the 4 tortillas. Spread the filling evenly over each one.
Roll them up: Roll up the tortilla and gently press all over. Place the roll seam down and slice them into 1/2-1 inch thick slices.
Serve: Stack your pinwheels on your favorite Christmas dish and serve!
Can I make these pinwheels ahead of time?
Yes! These are cold pinwheels, so they are perfectly fine to make ahead of time. Roll up the tortillas with the filling as per the recipe but don’t cut them. Wrap each one air-tight with some plastic wrap and refrigerate.
I just recommend not making them more that a day before you need them, or the tortilla will get too soft and soggy. The best time to make them ahead is the night before. Make sure to cover them airtight to keep them nice and fresh, and store them in the refrigerator!
How many people does this serve?
This recipe makes about 24-28 pinwheels, depending on how thickly you slice them. If you’re having a large crowd, you can always double the recipe.
When planning a party though, remember to note how many different appetizers you’re making before deciding how many pinwheels you’ll need. If you’re making several different appetizers, you may be able to get away with 2 pinwheels per person. If you only have a few appetizers, you many need to estimate up to 4 pinwheels a person.
More Recipes For Holiday Appetizers!
Cocktail Meatballs – Grape Jelly Meatballs – meatballs are tender and juicy made with ground beef and ground pork, baked in the oven, and then, coated in outstanding sweet and spicy grape jelly sauce.
Smoked Salmon Dip – this creamy dip has a prominent smoked salmon flavor with compliments of lemon, fresh dill weed, capers, and chives.
Baked Brie – it’s creamy and decadent, complimented so well with caramelized onions and pecans.
Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies – all you need is a package of smoked little sausage, a package of bacon, and maple syrup.
Cranberry Pecan Cream Cheese Pinwheels
Ingredients
- 4 large, burrito-sized, flour tortillas
- 16 oz cream cheese softened
- 5.5 oz Brie cheese rind removed
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup dried cranberries chopped
- 2 tsp fresh minced rosemary
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
- Combine softened cream cheese, chopped pecans, chopped dried cranberries, and minced fresh rosemary in a mixing bowl.
- Make sure to cut the rind off the Brie and just add the soft, creamy cheese to the mixing bowl with the other ingredients.
- Mix everything together with a mixer until smooth and completely blended.
- Warm up tortillas for a few seconds in a microwave if they are cold. That way, they will be much easier to roll and won't crack.
- Brush each tortilla with a thin layer of maple syrup.
- Divide the filling into 4 equal amounts (you can use a scale if you want to be precise). Spread the even amount of filling all over each tortilla in an even layer, leaving about 1/4-1/2 inch uncovered around the edges.
- Roll up the tortilla and gently press all over. Place the roll seam down.
- Cut across the roll with a serrated knife to create pinwheels that are between 1/2 and 1 inch thick.
- Stack them in a serving dish and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Bre says
This recipe is that start of something good, but something is missing. After sampling the initial pinwheel slices, I decided to scrape the contents from the rolled tortillas and repurpose the ingredients- adding maple breakfast sausage & baking in crescent rolls instead.
Lori S. says
Deliciously sweet AND savory from the rosemary! My new favorite holiday party food!!
Linae says
They are very good but something was missing for me, I’ll have to play with it.
I did half gluten free tortillas, split the cream cheese mixture, colored the gluten free mixture green and the regular red. Made it fun.