Caramelized Onion-Cranberry-Cream Cheese Bites

Made this last week for Thanksgiving appetizer. While good, it did not resemble the color in the picture because the balsamic vinegar turned all ingredients a dark brown color; also, quantity of vinegar overwhelmed the flavors of other ingredients. Would decrease quantity to 1/4 cup vinegar.

I made this for my Christmas party this year. All of them were eaten. Most liked them (but no love), some were on the fence and only 1 didn't care for them at all. I may make this again, but I will use less balsamic vinegar. The vinegar was pretty strong and overpowered the rest of the ingredients. Instead of crackers, I decided to cut a baguette into thin slices, brushed lightly with olive oil and then toasted on each side. The toast pieces were nice with this. Give this recipe a try. The onion and cranberry are a really nice combo.

I used White Balsamic Vinegar from Trader Joe's in lieu of the usual brown balsalmic vinegar, to reduce the color infusion of the onions. However, when I mixed in the chopped cranberries, the color bleed onto the onions anyway, turning everything red. I brought this to an appetizer exchange, where it won a prize for presentation, but got mixed reviews from the participants as to flavor, so I am not sure I would bring again.