Making Baked Brie for your next gathering is a guaranteed hit. Baked Brie is easy and quick to assemble, and you can keep all of the ingredients on hand to throw together in a pinch. You can even assemble it the day before and pop it in the oven at the last minute. Voila! Delicious, decadent, gorgeous Baked Brie! Make sure you clear the area around the Baked Brie. It draws a crowd.

Ingredients

• 1 Brie wheel or wedge (8oz + for party size)
• 8-12 Phyllo Dough sheets or 1 sheet Puff Pastry (thawed)
• Melted Butter or Ghee
• 2-3 T organic Apricot Jam (low sugar)
• A handful of Almond Flakes
• Crackers of choice

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STEP 1 & 2 ~ PREP & BAKE

For Baked Brie in Phyllo Dough – Thaw 1 sleeve. Start with a large piece of foil coated with non-stick spray. Carefully unroll Phyllo Dough sheets and lay the first sheet on the foil. Brush with Butter (do not completely saturate). Lay another sheet cross-ways on top of the first sheet. Brush with butter. Repeat until you have  8-12 sheets layered in a circle. Place Brie in the middle of the phyllo dough layers. Carefully fold layers to cover the top. This is a bit messy and the dough may flake. Press down to slightly flatten top. Spread with Apricot Jam and sprinkle with Almond Slivers. Brush exposed phyllo dough with melted butter. Do not saturate. Fold foil up around the brie and close loosely so that the foil does not touch the top (like a cocoon with a 3 inch opening). Place brie foil packet on a cookie sheet or directly on oven rack. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, loosen foil so the sides become crisp and golden. Bake an additional 5-10 minutes. Phyllo dough will be crisp and brie soft to the touch. Remove from oven and allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.

For Baked Brie in Pastry Dough – Thaw 1 sheet. Lay down parchment paper, dust lightly with flour. Lay down thawed Pastry Dough sheet. Dust lightly with flour and roll until flattened a bit. Place Brie in the middle of pastry dough. Fold dough up around the brie. Twist or wrap the ends together. Brush with Beaten Egg. Do not allow egg to pool around the bottom edges of the brie. Transfer parchment paper and brie to a glass pie plate. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.

STEP 3 ~ PRESENTATION

For the Phyllo Dough version, I removed it with a spatula from the foil packet and place it on a wooden cutting board surrounded with crackers. If you use parchment paper with the Pastry Dough version, you can simply transfer the pie plate to the serving area.

Crackers: My current favorite are Trader Joe’s Norwegian Gluten-Free Crackers broken “artistically” and stacked in a small colorful ramekin.

Make Ahead: Up to 24 hours ahead, do Step 1 (minus the jam and almonds), cover and refrigerate. Be sure to allow it to warm a bit between refrigerator and oven. Add toppings just before baking. If I’m able to use my host’s oven, I check to see if I can bake it just before serving.

A Note about Xylitol: The low-sugar alternative I have linked in the ingredients list contains xylitol. This is a natural sweetener, HOWEVER, don’t share it with your puppy. Xylitol can be lethal to their systems. To be safe, simply look for a reduced-sugar alternative.