Baked Brie

Okay so I love me some cheese. Who doesn't right? (Sorry lactose intolerants) So any time I can incorporate cheese into a recipe is a good day. Brie is definitely one of my favorites. It's just so delicious and creamy. This recipe is great to bring to brunches or put out as an appetizer. Serve it up with your favorite crackers or apple slices or do like we did and just eat it as is!

This recipe is adapted from a bunch of different baked brie recipes out there online.

BAKED BRIE

• 1 tube Pillsbury crescent rolls
• 1 round wheel of brie
• Strawberry jam, or other flavor you like (it should be jam even though jam gets a bad rap due to the saying "It must be jelly 'cause jam don't shake like that." Trust me, jam works better here.)
• Handful of chopped walnuts
• Maple syrup
• Brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350. Now roll out the crescent roll dough on a non stick cookie sheet (or simply use cooking spray if you don't have the nonstick kind). Place the wheel of brie in the center of the dough.

Next, grab your jam of choice. I like Strawberry Smuckers because with a name like Smuckers, it has to be good. 

Remember that commercial? No? Okay thanks for making me feel old. Now I'm sad and the only way to cheer me up is with more jam. It should be seedless but as for the flavor, you can use whatever you like. I might use apricot for the next one!

Okay so spread the jam all over the top and sides of the brie and the top it with a handful of chopped walnuts.

Okay now there are a few ways to do this next part. The easiest way is to simply fold the dough up and over the brie. That's the way I did it. Now if you want it to look nicer, you can fold the dough up and then cut off the extra dough at the top and pinch it together. The fanciest way to do it is, instead of just pinching the dough, secure it with some twine. Like, I said, I did it the first way but all work equally as well. Make sure the dough will stay in place though. You don't want the cheese bursting out mid bake and trying to make a run for the border.

Next take a basting brush (or just a spoon-I won't tell) and brush the maple syrup all over the dough. 

And then sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the whole thing. Amity just recently explained to me the difference between light and dark brown sugar and explained that unless a recipe specifically calls for dark, always go for light. Those instructions also fly if you're, say, deciding what kind of Jedi to be. 

Okay so now bake it for about 20-25 minutes or until the dough gets a golden brown color. You kitchen should be filled with the smell of maple syrup by now!

Okay now let it sit for 10 minutes before serving or else the cheese may be too gooey and come rushing out of the dough to freedom.

And bam! Just like that, cheesy, sweet, savory deliciousness! For an added dose of fancy, use cookie cutters to cut shapes out of the extra dough and put those on top before baking. I tried to do a star but little leaves might look nice!