When I was invited to participate in the “Think Outside the Griddle” recipe contest, my initial intent was to enter a recipe for maple pudding. Said maple pudding was made, tasted, and quickly set aside as too boring. Then the idea for maple baked brie came to me, and fortunately it was anything but boring!
Start with a small round of brie cheese. Cut off the topmost layer and place in a lightly greased baking dish.
Spoon a couple tablespoons of pure maple syrup over the cheese. As always, use the best quality maple syrup you can find. Yes, it’s a bit pricey… but it lasts for a while and is so worth the expense!
Top with a handful of unsweetened dried cranberries & chopped pecans…
… and another couple tablespoons of maple syrup.
Bake until the cheese just starts to soften, but isn’t quite oozing out of the rind. Top with an extra drizzle of maple syrup (why not?!), transfer to a serving dish, and devour with an array of accoutrements. Or a spoon ;).
The warm creamy cheese is beautifully rounded out by the crunchy pecans, tart cranberries, and – of course – the sweet maple syrup.
This decadent treat would make a perfect appetizer for an autumn get-together with friends, part of a holiday family dinner, or – as was the case in our house – a delicious splurge for you & a loved one on a blustery fall afternoon.
John and I enjoyed about half of this baked brie with apple slices on Sunday as a late lunch/early precursor to dinner.
The other half went into making a couple of fan-flipping-tastic maple grilled brie cheese sandwiches! Just smear the leftover (room temperature) baked brie onto two slices of bread, top each with another slice of bread, and cook as you would a grilled cheese sandwich. Divine!
Maple Baked Brie
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Keywords: bake appetizer side snack Thanksgiving fall
Ingredients (2 servings with leftovers for)
- 1 (8 0z) round of brie, wrapping removed and topmost layer trimmed off
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, preferably grade B +2 tsp for drizzling
- 1/3 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
Place unwrapped trimmed round of brie in a lightly greased baking dish.
Drizzle brie with maple syrup and evenly scatter dried cranberries & chopped pecans overtop.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until brie is soft.
Remove baked brie from oven and let sit for 1 minute before carefully trasferring to a serving dish if desired. Drizzle with remaining 2 tsp maple syrup.
Serve with apple slices, baguette slices, and/or crackers.
