Blogger Challenge: Brie!

For the Iron Chef Blogger Challenge this week, our secret ingredient is brie!

I have to admit, brie isn't exactly my favorite cheese. But, I decided to make a variation of Brie en Croute, a recipe I made once before with Sarah, and that she has previously blogged about as well. The first variety I made had raspberry jam in it. I thought I would like this one better, with walnuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon topping. But, it was a bit too sweet. I think that reducing the amount of topping the recipe calls for would certainly help.


This is what Brie en Croute looks like fresh from the oven! I love things wrapped in pastry.


And here is the gooey delicious (if a bit too sweet) interior.

All in all, the recipe is really simple. The process of getting the brie into the pastry sounds complicated, but it really wasn't. I didn't even tear the puff pastry!

Brie en Croute

1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 small wheel of Brie (8 ounces)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 375. Defrost puff pastry for approximately 15-20 minutes and unfold. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute walnuts in butter until golden brown, approximately 5 minutes. Stir in cinnamon, coating nuts well. Place mixture on top of wheel of Brie. Sprinkle brown sugar over the mixture. Carefully place pastry sheet over wheel of Brie (make sure it is centered). Gently pick Brie up with pastry hanging over the edge and fold the pastry under the Brie. Trim excess pastry with scissors so Brie lies flat and seal all the edges to prevent leakage. Brush beaten egg over top and sides. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes until pastry is golden brown. Serve with top-quality crackers.