Baked Brie In Puff Pastry

Baked Brie in puff pastry is a highly impressive appetizer. It also happens to be one of the easiest to make. A wheel of Brie turns gooey, melty, and scoopable with just a bit of time in the oven. The puff pastry wrap is a great way to add a bit more flaky texture to contrast the cheese.

Most baked Brie recipes use a sweet jelly or jam, like raspberry, fig, or apricot. That's lovely and a great choice if you want something a bit sweeter. But we like the slightly sweet, delicately hot pepper jelly. You can use your own homemade pepper jelly, or buy a jar of your favorite. Use it a few times during the holiday season for this recipe, or another of our favorites: pepper jelly on cream cheese.

Like warm, spreadable Brie without the pastry coating? Try this Baked Brie With Pomegranates and Pistachios.

Ingredients for Baked Brie in Puff Pastry

If you keep these ingredients on hand at the holidays, you can bring this recipe together for any gathering:

• Brie: Brie is a soft, buttery cow's milk cheese. It can range from mild to fairly pungent. It's wrapped in a rind that will help keep the cheese contained after it's heated. If you don't know which Brie is right for you, ask your grocery store's cheesemonger. They'll know the profiles of each wheel they have in store.
• Puff pastry: Frozen puff pastry is one of our favorite ingredients for unforgettable appetizers and more. (We love using it for tartlets, savory and sweet.) It bakes up delicately crisp and buttery. Because it's kept frozen, you can always have a box in your freezer.
• Pepper jelly: Pepper jelly, a Southern classic, is the perfect balance of sweet and heat. We prefer it over a fruit jelly like peach or fig because there's plenty of other sweet things to eat around the holidays, right?
• Egg wash: A simple egg wash holds the puff pastry in place as you're wrapping the wheel of cheese, and it gives the baked puff pastry a glossy sheen.

How To Serve Baked Brie in Puff Pastry

Baked Brie is best fresh out of the oven. Dig in with a cheese knife, and out will come a river of melty, gooey Brie. The Brie appetizer will stay warm and melted for about 30 minutes after coming out of the oven. If you need it to be warmer longer, place a piece of foil over it to help keep the heat.

And good news: Even when the cheese has hardened up, it's still plenty of delicious. You can, if you want, pop the cheese back in a 200°F oven to reheat after an hour.

On the platter, you can include a number of serving options, like crackers, apple slices, and wheat crisps. Because the cheese and puff pastry are savory, and the pepper jelly a bit spiced, you could even go with something heartier like savory biscotti or cornbread crositini.

Can You Make Baked Brie Ahead of Time?

Yes, in fact it's a great way to get party-ready before the day of your event. But you won't bake the Brie until just before you plan to serve it. Instead, complete this recipe through step 3 (wrapping the wheel of cheese in puff pastry completely), but then wrap it in aluminum foil, and store it in the fridge no more than 2 days. When you're ready to bake it, take it straight from the refrigerator to the parchment-lined baking tray.

Do You Cut the Rind off Baked Brie?

You do not want to take the rind off Brie before baking it. The Brie's rind is edible and will be a bit softer after baking. If you cut off the rind, the cheese could leak through the puff pastry during baking.

Should I Warm Brie Before Baking It?

No, this is one time you don't want to bring cheese to room temperature before eating it. Cold Brie will warm evenly in the oven. If you use Brie that's too warm, it might flow out of the puffed pastry too quickly when you slice into it.