Baked Brie Pastry

In addition to blogging, I also have a monthly recipe column in my local newspaper.  You can find all of my past columns here.  This recipe is my most recent column, which appeared in the December 5th edition of The Hinton Voice. 

[When I look at the calendar, I can hardly believe it’s already December. If your calendar is anything like mine, it’s quickly filling up with get-togethers aimed at spreading Christmas cheer.  Along with this usually comes appetizers and potlucks, which can get pretty overwhelming if your schedule is already busy like mine is. Today I’m going to share with you one of the world’s easiest, and tastiest appetizers.

Though this type of recipe has been around for awhile, I tried it for the first time at a friend’s house this past summer.  We decided to get together and have an “appy night” where we each made a couple of appetizer’s off Pinterest (for those of you that aren’t familiar with Pinterest, it’s a pin board style website where users can share ideas for recipe, crafts and other types of hobbies). This is one of the appetizers that she chose to make.  Her version had raspberry jam and a crescent roll crust - it was so delicious, and easily my favourite appetizer of the evening.   

Fast forward a couple of months to September, when I attended a foodie conference in Seattle.   One morning for breakfast they served another delicious version of this warm, gooey treat.  I was sold – this was the perfect appetizer that could also double as a fancy side at brunch – and it couldn’t be easier to make.  The best part is that as long as you have a wheel of brie and some type of pastry dough, you can choose any spread and topping that you like. Plans of serving a maple cranberry version on Christmas morning are already dancing in my head.]

Ingredients

- 1 wheel Brie

- ¼ cup fruit spread of your choice (I used fig butter)

- 1 sheet of puff pastry or 1 can of crescent rolls dough

- 1 egg, beaten

- ¼ cup nut of choice (I used crushed almonds)

- 1 tbsp brown sugar (or honey, or maple)

- 2-3 apples

- ½ a lemon or 1 tbsp lemon juice

- 2-3 cups cold water

Directions 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 

Split the pastry dough into two square pieces.  Place one of the pieces on an ungreased cookie sheet, and set the brie in the center (no need to remove the rind – it’s completed edible).   Top the brie with fruit spread of choice.  Place the second piece of pastry dough on top of the fruit covered brie and press the dough together to seal around the brie completely.

Brush dough with a beaten egg, then sprinkle on sugar and nut topping.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until pastry crust is a deep golden brown.   Allow the brie rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

While brie is resting, slice apples and place in a cold water and lemon juice bath for 2-3 minutes (this will prevent the apple slices from turning brown).  Dry apples and serve with pastry.

- Nutritional Info (1/12 recipe) -

Calories - 173   Fat - 10    Carbs – 16     Protein -  5  Fibre – 1

Enjoy!