I am a lover of cheese and if you are too, then you will love this appetizer! I could actually eat this as a meal all by itself, but I like to share, so I did.
Brie en croute is French for brie in a crust. It is a descriptive name, but doesn’t do it justice when it comes to the taste.
I made this brie en croute for my Bunco group and it was great to have all the ladies huddled around this dish wondering what is was and why it tasted so good.
Many recipes call for puff pastry, but I had a couple rolls of crescent dough in the fridge, so that’s what I used.
I also used some leftover homemade cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving. The tart sweetness played really well with the creamy warm cheese. And of course we needed some texture, so the walnuts did their job too!
Here is the whole tasty bundle wrapped up in the crescent dough. It doesn’t look very pretty here, but after it’s time in the oven it came out beautifully golden brown and crispy.
Brie en Croute with Cranberries and Walnuts
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 round (8 oz) Brie cheese
1/2 cup homemade cranberry sauce
1/3 cup dried cranberries, softened*
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 egg, beaten
Heat oven to 350°F.
If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate crosswise into 2 sections. Pat dough and firmly press perforations to seal, forming 2 squares. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough; cut crosswise into 2 rectangles. Pat dough to form 2 squares.
Place 1 square on ungreased cookie sheet. Place cheese on center of dough. Spoon cranberry sauce, softened cranberries and walnuts on top of the cheese.
Place remaining square on top of cheese round. Press dough evenly around cheese; fold bottom edges over top edges. Gently stretch dough evenly around cheese; press to seal completely. Brush with beaten egg.
Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. Serve warm with crackers.
*To soften cranberries, mix dried cranberries and 1/2 cup hot water in bowl. Let stand 1 minute. Drain and pat dry.
Karen in the Kitchen 