Baked Brie
Published on December 13, 2022
Quick Summary
Baked Brie-brie cheese topped with pure maple syrup, brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon, and wrapped in puff pastry, and baked until golden brown. Serve the melty brie with crackers, bread, or apple slices.
BAKED BRIE! Those two words are music to my ears. I LOVE baked brie, especially during the holiday months. It is the ultimate holiday appetizer. Every party and holiday meal NEEDS to start with baked brie. Am I right? I think so!
This easy appetizer is always a hit and it is SO easy to make, which is very important during the busy holiday months. We don’t have time to be slaving away in the kitchen. We need quick and easy, but still impressive recipes to serve to our friends and family.
This recipe fits all of those requirements. It’s easy to prep, easy to make, and very easy to eat. Too easy..ha! It’s SO good! I can never walk away from the brie!
Table of Contents
Baked Brie in Puff Pastry
Baked brie wrapped in puff pastry is the king of all brie, in my opinion. Don’t worry, we aren’t making puff pastry from scratch. I buy frozen puff pastry, it’s a lifesaver!
You will need to thaw the puff pastry before you wrap the wheel of brie, so make sure you take the puff pastry out of the freezer 30 to 40 minutes before you get started.
When the brie is hugged by puff pastry and baked, magic happens. The puff pastry gets golden brown and buttery and the brie gets melty and oooh so creamy. I like to hide maple, pecans, cinnamon, and brown sugar inside for a sweet surprise. This puff pastry brie is PERFECTION!
Ingredients
The ingredients are simple, but the end results are AMAZING!
- Puff Pastry-find puff pastry in the freezer aisle! You will need one sheet for this recipe, you can save the other sheet for another time. I guarantee you will want to make this baked brie over and over again.
- Brie cheese-You will need an 8 oz round of brie cheese for this recipe. I love Private Selection Double Crème Brie.
- Butter-You need a little butter for sautéing the pecans.
- Pecans-the nutty pecans pair so well with the brie and are a nice surprise when you cut it open!
- Cinnamon-cinnamon is my favorite holiday spice and so good in this baked brie.
- Brown Sugar-brie pairs really well with sweet.
- Pure Maple Syrup-adding a little pure maple syrup adds another level of sweet! I love Private Selection Pure Maple Syrup, make sure you use the good stuff and not regular pancake syrup:)
- Egg-you need an egg wash for brushing the puff pastry.
Do you Have to Remove the Rind?
No, you don’t have to remove the rind before baking brie. The rind is edible and I don’t even think you can taste it after the brie is baked.
If you want to remove the rind, you can use a sharp knife to carefully cut off the thin rind of the cheese at the top of the wheel. This is easier to do when the brie is cold.
How to Make Baked Brie
Things are about to get cheesy!
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set the thawed puff pastry sheet on top, laid out in a rectangle.
- Toast the pecans in melted butter and season with cinnamon. Immediately pour pecans into a small bowl. Add the brown sugar and stir until combined.
- Place brie round in the middle of the puff pastry. The rind is edible, so I don’t cut it off. It helps hold the shape of the brie. If you want to remove it, you can use a sharp knife to carefully cut off the thin top rind of the cheese. This is easier to do when the brie is cold.
- Top the brie with pure maple syrup and the toasted pecan brown sugar mixture.
- Wrap the brie in puff pastry. Fold one edge of the puff pastry dough over the brie and brush the top with egg wash, using a pastry brush. Fold up the opposite side then brush top dough with egg wash. Repeat with remaining edges until the brie is completely covered in the puff pastry, trimming off excess dough edges if necessary. You can use excess dough to make decorations to place on top of brie, if desired. Press the dough together to make sure it sealed tightly. Brush the top and sides of the wrapped brie with egg wash.
- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the pastry is a golden brown. Remove from the oven and let the brie sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve baked brie on a large platter or cheese board with the following to make a pretty presentation.
- Crackers
- Crostini
- Apple slices
- Pear slices
- Grapes
- Pomegranate seeds
- Nuts
- Fresh herbs
If you want to keep things simple, you can just cut into the oozy, melty baked brie and eat it as is! It is good by itself too! You will LOVE the maple brown sugar pecan surprise inside. It makes the baked brie extra special!
How to Store
Baked brie is best fresh, the first time around, but if you have leftovers, you can store the cooled baked brie in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
You can reheat in the microwave or in the oven until the cheese is melty.
More Easy Holiday Appetizer Recipes:
- Baked Brie with Apples and Salted Caramel
- Stuffed Mushrooms
- Holiday Cheese Board
- Brie Apple and Honey Crostini
- Easy Cheese Ball
- Caramelized Onion Dip
- Pomegranate Guacamole
- Pesto Parmesan Cheese Straws
Baked Brie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 (8 ounce) round brie cheese
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 egg, beaten
- Crackers, crostini, apple slices, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the thawed puff pastry sheet on the prepared baking sheet. Note-the puff pastry will take about 40 minutes to thaw. Read package instructions.
- In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the pecans and cinnamon and heat until browned and fragrant, stirring occasionally, about 2 to 3 minutes. Immediately pour pecans into a small bowl. Add the brown sugar and stir until combined. It is ok if the brown sugar melts a little.
- Place brie round in the middle of the puff pastry. The rind is edible, so I don’t cut it off. It helps hold the shape of the brie. If you want to remove it, you can use a sharp knife to carefully cut off the thin top rind of the cheese. This is easier to do when the brie is cold.
- Pour pure maple syrup over the top of the brie round. Place the toasted pecan and brown sugar mixture on top of brie. Gently press so it stays on top of the brie.
- Fold one edge of the puff pastry dough over the brie and brush the top with egg wash, using a pastry brush. Fold up the opposite side then brush top dough with egg wash. Repeat with remaining edges until the brie is completely covered in the puff pastry, trimming off excess dough edges if necessary. You can use excess dough to make decorations to place on top of brie, if desired. Press the dough together to make sure it sealed tightly. Brush the top and sides of the wrapped brie with egg wash.
- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the pastry is a golden brown. Remove from the oven and let the brie sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Place the brie on a serving platter and serve warm with crackers, crostini, and/or apple slices.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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Could this be assembled a few hours ahead of time, refrigerated, then baked? Sounds lovely and thinking of taking this to our Thanksgiving gathering.
Yes! I hope you love it!
This looks great, Maria and Josh. I am going to make it for our family on Thanksgiving.
I love the presentation too so will replicate it as best as I can.
How will you keep the apples from turning brown?
Put a little lemon juice on them and slice right before serving.
Looks amazing so Iโm planning to make it for Thanksgiving this week. Can I make it the day before and bake it when I get there or does this need to be assembled, baked then eaten warm?
You can assemble it at your house day of and then take it and bake there. If you have to reheat, it is still good, but best when fresh!
Looks scrumptious!
Thanks!
Made this for Thanksgiving and it was super yummy. It was like a creamy cinnamon roll!
Can you use pie crust in place of the puff pastry?
Tastes like a cinnamon roll. This is our new go to appetizer!
It was so delicious! Everyone loved it, and very easy to make.
One of my favorite appetizers! Glad you loved it!
This is the best! So delicious and fast to make!
Can I put everything together ahead of time and take it out of the fridge and bake it then to save time when giving a party?
Ignore my previous question. Lol I scrolled down further and saw the answer. โโ๏ธ Thanks
Could this be made without the pecans?
Yes, it will still be good without the pecans!
I made this baked Brie for Xmas day on my charcuterie table and it was a hit! I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfectly! The crust was tender and flaky, the cheese was melted and creamy, and the topping was DELICIOUS- perfectly complementing the cheese and crust. Thank you, as always, for another great recipe!!
So happy you loved it!
Would it work if I sliced the brie in half (horizontally) and put half the topping in the middle and half on top? Or all in the middle?
Can you use phyllo dough instead of puff pastry? I can’t seem to find frozen puff pastry in sheets anymore, just tiny squares.
I haven’t tried it, but it sounds good to me.
LOOKS delicious makin it tomorrow.
Can i leave out the maple syrup
Thanks! That should be fine!
Would walnuts work in place of the pecans?
Yes!
this sounds delicious! I make baked brie wrapped in puff pastry quite a lot and never serve crackers with it because it seems redundant. We just cut it in little wedges and enjoy the puff pastry wrapped around the melted brie. just wondering since I see this mentioned so often. Crackers?
You don’t have to serve with crackers, but I like melty brie with crackers, fruit, bread. Or you can serve it plain!
I really enjoyed the baked brie. Served it with sliced apples. Did not use all of the pecan/brown sugar topping. This morning, I discovered that brown sugar and pecans are good when mixed into oatmeal. Extremely good.
Yum! Thanks for sharing!
Recipe was a big hit , however, 400 degrees was too hot and it would have burned if I didn’t pull it out of the oven. ALso, it stuck to the parchment paper so next time I will just spray the sheet with Pam.