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Baked Brie with Fig Jam

Source of Recipe

From "Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible"


Recipe Introduction

"This is one of my favorite foods in the whole world: creamy Brie cheese and figs. I just love that salty-sweet combination. And when you serve it like this, all wrapped up in a flaky, buttery puff pastry, it's not just delicious but a real beauty, too. I always serve this when I want to make an especially good impression — in fact, it's what I taught Jamie to make for his beautiful wife, Brooke, the first time he had her over to his house for dinner."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ All-purpose flour, for dusting
â—¦ 1 sheet puff pastry (from a 17 ½-ounce package), thawed if frozen
â—¦ 1 wheel (2 to 2 ¼ pounds) Brie
â—¦ ½ cup fig jam
â—¦ 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts
â—¦ 1 large egg, lightly beaten
â—¦ Crackers or crusty bread, for serving


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Sprinkle a little flour onto a work surface and gently roll out the sheet of puff pastry until it is big enough to cover the wheel of Brie, about a 9-inch square. Place the Brie in the center of the dough. Spread the jam thickly on top of the cheese and sprinkle with the nuts. Close the ends of the pastry over the cheese like a package, pinching the edges to seal, and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.

Brush the pastry all over with the beaten egg and bake until golden brown with no white spots, 35 to 40 minutes. Carefully transfer the cheese to a platter and serve while still warm with crackers or crusty bread.

Serves 8 to 10



• Wrap It Up!
Is there anything more deliciously rich and flaky than puff pastry? And no matter how many times you shrug your shoulders and confess that you just thawed a package, folks will insist on praising you to the skies for your baking. Well, let them. This is one of those dishes that's a stunner on a holiday table. For a fun presentation, I take my kitchen twine and, instead of folding over the ends of the pastry, I bring it all up around the Brie and tie it closed so it looks like a gift bag. So pretty.