Today’s Cooking with Nina is a little different- I am taking over and sharing two of my favorite appetizers! Both feature brie as the main ingredient, but the brie flavor isn’t super overpowering. Personally, brie is not my favorite cheese, but it’s Scott’s favorite. I started making these years ago (to impress Scott) and they are both SO good! Definitely two of my go-to appetizers.
I plan on making these on Thanksgiving to snack on during the day. We eat later in the afternoon, so I like to have out some little appetizers in case anyone wants to snack beforehand!
Baked Brie Bites
Ingredients
- mini phyllo tarts
- brie, cubed
- brown sugar
- chopped walnuts or pecans
- honey
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Place a cube of brie in each tart.
- Sprinkle each tart with 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar (I usually just eyeball it)
- Top with 1/2 teaspoon. chopped walnuts/pecans and a dollop of honey- Again, I really don’t measure this out.
- Bake 15-20 minutes until brie is melted.
Although I have never used different ingredients for this recipe, I feel like the options are endless. This is definitely more sweet, but to make it more savory you could top the brie with roasted tomatoes and herbs or carmelized onions!
Baked Brie with Carmelized Onions
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 1 1/2 medium onions, chopped (roughly 2 1/2 cups)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs for garnish
- 1 (8 ounce) wheel brie cheese, cold
- 1 sheet prepared puff pastry, thawed according to package instructions
- Flour, for rolling
- 1 whisked egg, for egg wash
- Crackers, sliced baguette, apples/pears, for serving on the side
Directions
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat, and drizzle in about 2-3 tablespoons of oil; once hot, add in the sliced onions along with a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until they become deeply golden-brown and caramelized, about 20 minutes.
- Once golden, stir in the teaspoon of sugar, followed by the balsamic vinegar, and allow the mixture to bubble up and reduce, stirring to incorporate; allow the onions to cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently now, until jam-like and deeply browned; then, add the 1 teaspoon of thyme leaves, stir to combine, and remove from pan and allow to cool (you should have roughly 1/2 cup).
- To prepare the baked brie, lightly flour your work surface, and roll out the thawed puff pastry sheet to about 1/8” thickness, a bit larger than the wheel of brie (trim the puff pastry a little bit if it’s considerably too large for your brie); place the brie in the center of it, spoon over top of it the cooled, balsamic caramelized onions, then fold the puff pastry sheet over top to cover everything, creating a little “package” with pleats.
- Place the wrapped brie “package” onto a small baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and very gently brush some egg wash over the puff pastry (avoid allowing it to pool underneath), and place into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes (or even overnight), covering lightly with plastic wrap.
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- Once ready to bake, place the brie into the oven and bake for roughly 35-40 minutes, or until deeply golden and puffed; allow the baked brie to stand for 10 minutes before serving, to avoid it oozing out too much.
- To serve, add a couple of decorative sprigs of thyme, and surround the brie with crackers, sliced baguette, or even fruit such as apples or pears.
I found this recipe from The Cozy Apron – cannot recommend it enough!
I hope you all enjoyed this recipes! Next week, Nina is going to show us how to wrap Christmas gifts and make her infamous bows!
