Home Recipes Lebanese Recipes Mezze Recipes
Maureen Abood
5 from 1 vote
Dec 30, 2021, Updated Dec 28, 2023
Jump to Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This is a must-know appetizer, Easy Baked Brie with jam. Make for an elegant co*cktail party or a quiet party of a family few. Always festive, fun, delectable. And easy!
We love to have an evening of co*cktails and “heavy apps.” This means the food will be so sumptuous, so inviting and satisfying that no dinner is necessary. It’s a co*cktail party writ small, for the family or for just a couple of us. In any case we’re dressed for it!
Our favorite for those times and for holiday parties especially is the perfect appetizer: a gorgeous baked brie, or brie en croûte, which is actually a fairly easy appetizer. Baked brie is wonderful “nude,” without the puff pastry wrap, drizzled with honey, nuts, and dried fruit, but it is over-the-top special to wrap the wheel of cheese in puff pastry dough and bake. My method here is an easy baked brie recipe that makes this process simple, and the results one of the all time great classic appetizers to share, a real crowd pleaser and one of the best holiday appetizers.
What is baked brie?
Baked brie often refers to a wheel of brie cheese wrapped in puff pastry and baked until golden brown. Enjoy the warm, cheesy pastry right out of the oven so the brie is still oozing and spreadable. The baked brie may include a dollop of jam on top (under the pastry and on top of the cheese). This sweetness provides a perfect balance with the rich cheese. A sharp knife does the work of slicing a wedge of cheese and pastry together, eaten with crackers, apple slices, and other fruit such as sliced pears.
The easiest part of this recipe is that it’s more about assembly than anything else. You have pieces and parts:
A wheel of brie
A box of frozen puff pastry
One egg
A jar of jam (fig is my favorite here)
Crackers, fruit, and other cheese board finger food
Watch my how-to video tutorial
How to make baked brie
Step 1: Thaw the box of frozen puff pastry for 30 minutes at room temperature. Heat the oven to 375°F. Line a sheet pan with a sheet of parchment paper.
Step 2. Remove the brie from the plastic wrap and/or wooden box. Do not cut off the rind; keep the brie rind intact.
Step 3. Unwrap and unfold the thawed puff pastry. Use a rolling pin to roll the pastry to 1/4-inch thickness and transfer it to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Cut away a strip of the pastry dough and cut a decoration, such as a star, from that piece for the top of the pastry (optional).
Step 4. Spoon a dollop of jam in the center of the pastry. Lay the brie over the top and spread more jam on top of the brie.
Step 5. Take one corner of the dough and pull it up and over the brie. Repeat with the remaining three corners. Press the dough down to seal it on top. Flip the pastry with brie in it over, so the seams are underneath. Lay the pastry cut-out on top of the pastry, if using.
Step 6. Brush the entire top and sides of the assembled brie pastry with egg wash (not the bottom), and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.
The egg wash brushed on the pastry imparts a gorgeous golden sheen over all. You can leave it at that and be happy! If you have another quick minute and a cookie cutter somewhere in the vicinity, take a scrap of the puff pastry and cut out a shape to lay on top. Pro!
Do you have to remove the rind?
The rind on a wheel or wedge of brie cheese is not only edible, it is necessary to hold this soft, melty brie cheese together! Especially when baking wrapped brie.
How to store
The baked brie should be served immediately. Can you bake then reheat and serve later? Certainly. Will the pastry be just as perfect as when it first comes out of the oven? Not exactly, but we do what fits our schedule, don’t we?!
If assembling the brie with puff pastry to bake later, do not add the egg wash until just before baking. Chill the “package” immediately and bake as directed within a day.
What goes with Baked Brie
Preserves or jam are a natural companion to brie. They add the perfect sweetness to every creamy, salty, cheesy bite. I like to spreadfig jamboth on the pastry, then also on top of the brie, and serve a small bowl of the jam alongside. Jam flavors that go well with brie are apricot preserves, fig jam, raspberry jam, orange marmalade or hot pepper jelly.
Sweet heat is excellent with brie. Drizzle hot honey when serving the baked brie warm.
Serve baked brie with crackers, baguette slices, thick potato chips, fruit slices such as apple or pear, grapes. Fresh produce such as carrot and cucumber slices are nice too.
Dress up the baked brie cheese platter with fresh herbs such as a sprig of fresh thyme or fresh rosemary. Either of these herbs are nice chopped and added inside the brie assembly in a small amount (1/2 teaspoon).
Expert Tips and Variations
There are generally two types of frozen puff pastry readily available: Darfour, fabulous all-butter puff pastry that I find at Whole Foods or specialty markets. Or Pepperidge Farm, made with oil and found in the “frozen novelties” section of pretty much every grocery store. The Darfour is great because, well, butter. The Pepperidge Farm is great for this recipe because it does not release so much oil as it bakes as the Darfour does. It’s cleaner.
Take care not to leave the puff pastry out longer than required or it will get too soft to work with.
Try many sweet variations to compliment the creamy brie: maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, or cranberry sauce during the holiday season–any of these can replace the jam inside the puff pastry brie assembly.
An alternative to store-bought puff pastry is crescent roll dough, which you can find in the refrigerator case at the grocery store. Simply skip the thawing step and roll the crescent dough out as a sheet rather than separating into crescent triangles.
FAQs
Why did my brie leak out of the pastry?
If the puff pastry cracks or the seams are not pinched tightly, the brie may leak out some during baking. Brie is a very soft melty cheese, which is why it is important to keep the rind intact.
How can I dress up the brie even more?
Add a cut-out of the pastry on top of the brie after assembling it with the pastry wrap. Be sure to use the egg wash on the pastry for a glossy golden effect. You can make a platter of the baked brie by surrounding it with a medley of crackers, fruit, herbs, apricot jam or other preserves, and even other cheeses and salami, like a charcuterie board. A drizzle of honey over the whole thing looks and tastes great.
Do you bake brie uncovered?
Yes, whether baking brie wrapped in pastry or without any pastry wrap, bake it uncovered.
Do you eat the rind on brie cheese?
Yes, the rind on brie is edible and important to hold the melty cheese together. Brie is very soft at room temperature even without baking.
What crackers go with baked brie?
A variety of crackers go well with brie, especially nut- and fruit-studded crackers or crisps. Plain water crackers are nice because of their simplicity next to the richness of the brie. Simple butter crackers work well.
More Easy Holiday Appetizer Recipes
Lebanese Spinach Pies (Fatyaer) make great finger food for appetizers.
One of the simplest yet most sophisticated appetizers I make is Warm Almond-Stuffed Dates with Lime Zest.
Make the Ultimate Mediterranean Mezze Platter, following my simple guide.
5 from 1 vote
Easy Baked Brie with Jam
By Maureen Abood
This is a must-know appetizer, so impressive and easy to pull together. Make baked brie for an elegant co*cktail party or a quiet party of a family few. Always festive, fun, delectable. And easy! Other favorite jams for this are apricot or sweet pepper jalepeno.
Prep: 40 minutes mins
Cook: 25 minutes mins
Servings: 6
Pin RecipeRate RecipePrint Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 sleeve puff pastry, thawed 30 minutes in the box, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup fig jam or other favorite flavor
- 1 8 oz. wheel of brie, double or triple cream
- 1 egg well-beaten with a teaspoon of water
Instructions
Heat the oven to 375°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Unwrap and unfold the thawed puff pastry. If using all-butter puff pastry, roll the pastry to 1/4-inch thickness. Carefully lay the pastry on the parchment lined pan. Cut away a strip of pastry to fit the size of your cookie cutter for decoration, if using.
Dollop half of the jam in the center of the pastry and spread to a circle about the size of the brie wheel. Lay the brie over top, and spread the rest of the jam on top of the brie.
Take one corner of the dough and pull it up and over the brie. Repeat with the remaining three corners, pressing the dough down to seal it on top.
Flip the pastry-brie package over.
Use a cookie cutter to cut a shape out of the spare piece of pastry. Lay the shape on top of the package.
Brush the pastry top and sides with egg wash.
Bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve immediately.
Notes
There are generally two types of frozen puff pastry readily available: Darfour, fabulous all-butter puff pastry that I find at Whole Foods or specialty markets. Or Pepperidge Farm, made with oil and found in the “frozen novelties” section of pretty much every grocery store. The Darfour is great because, well, butter. The Pepperidge Farm is great for this recipe because it does not release so much oil as it bakes as the Darfour does. It’s cleaner.
Take care not to leave the puff pastry out longer than required or it will get too soft to work with.
Try many sweet variations to compliment the creamy brie: maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, or cranberry sauce during the holiday season–any of these can replace the jam inside the puff pastry brie assembly.
An alternative to store-bought puff pastry is crescent roll dough, which you can find in the refrigerator case at the grocery store. Simply skip the thawing step and roll the crescent dough out as a sheet rather than separating into crescent triangles.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Additional Info
Author: Maureen Abood
Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Servings: 6
Like this recipe? Leave a comment below!
(Visited 2,542 times, 3 visits today)
