Brie En Croute

I am fortunate enough to come from a family of baked brie fanatics. The first time I had baked brie was at the Breckenridge Brewery many years ago. I fell in love with the creamy cheese in the bread bowl that came with thinly sliced apples for dipping. And when I lived alone, one of my favorite dinners was a few slices of French bread topped with Brie and melted for a few minutes in a warm oven.

So baked brie made an appearance at both Thanksgiving and Christmas as an appetizer and was quickly gobbled up. My dad tends to collect preserves, jams, and jellies, so there is always something delicious open in the refrigerator. At Thanksgiving we used peach preserves, but for Christmas, I decided to try the boysenberry preserves that were open.

I had a minor kerfluffle with the puff pastry as it was stuck together, but that was quickly remedied by rolling it out on a lightly floured surface. My brother made the mistake of going to take a shower shortly after the brie had come out of the oven, and when he was finished, there were only a couple of bites left!


Brie en Croute

• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed (follow directions on puff pastry box)
  
• 8 oz wheel of Brie
• fruit preserves
• slivered almonds
• 1 egg (optional)
  

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.

Cut the wheel of Brie in half and spread preserves on cut half. Top with slivered almonds and stack Brie halves on top of each other.

In the center of the puff pastry, spread a layer of preserves slightly larger than the area of the cheese. Sprinkle with slivered almonds and place the Brie on top. Fold up the puff pastry, pinching to seal. Place the puff pastry seam side down on a greased cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Brush top with egg, if you so choose.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until pastry has puffed and cheese is melted. Serve with crackers or thinly sliced apples.