This Baked Brie Had My Entire Book Club Asking For The Recipe

Each week for my book club, one person makes a quick cheese board or small bite, nothing fancy. But before our last meeting of the year during the holiday season, our group wanted to up the ante on our appetizer game for the book’s finale. 

Why It's Great When You're Short on Time

I didn’t have much time to get something together, so I searched the kitchen to see what I could drum up: A Brie round that had been part of a gift basket sat uneaten in the fridge, a partial package of puff pastry sheets had been staring at me from the freezer for months, and two Granny Smith apples were perched in the fruit bowl after the meal prep-worthy baked oatmeal recipe I vowed to make that week never materialized.

It Requires Few Ingredients

And with that, I remembered that I had just seen a new Baked Brie In Puff Pastry recipe on southernliving.com. I had some spare crackers in the pantry, a half-jar of red pepper jelly, and of course, an egg. The snacking stars had aligned! The only extra item I purchased for this pretty project was a 99 cent baguette, which I toasted with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, to add more cheese vessel varieties to the platter. I also included a small bowl of local honey (already on hand) that friends could drizzle for something sweet. 

It's a Cinch To Make

Though it looked gorgeous, this Baked Brie In Puff Pastry was incredibly easy to pull off. I rolled out the pastry a bit (with a wine bottle, mind you—that’s how easy this is—I don’t even own a rolling pin), placed the Brie round in the middle, topped it with pepper jelly, and folded the pastry on top like I was tucking that cheese in for bed. Brushing with egg as I went and all over the top of the wrapped-up pastry ensured a golden-brown exterior that looked mighty professional once out of the oven. Plus, this recipe cooks on a parchment-lined baking sheet, so the mess is minimal. 

It Tastes Delicious

When I arrived to the book club meeting unfashionably late and in the rain, my tardiness was soon forgotten when everyone dug into my new prize recipe, Baked Brie In Puff Pastry. The pepper jelly added a nice hint of heat to the creamy cheese and buttery pastry, and though the apple slices, crackers, and baguette were thrown haphazardly on my serving dish, it all looked accidentally beautiful. I sheepishly admitted just how effortless this dish was to put together when each book club member asked how I made it. 

It Looks Impressive

There are plenty of times I’ve watched Senior Lifestyle Editor Ivy Odom make a Southern Living recipe and thought, “She makes that look so simple that even I could do it!” Sometimes, I’m proved right (I can make pavlovas!), and others I’m humbled (that’s definitely not the consistency of her caramel icing…). With this appetizer though, you and I both can achieve a result that actually looks like the recipe photo. 

The only problem I’m left with after making this snack with such success is that I’ve unwittingly set myself up for failure at our next book club meeting. Luckily, I don’t think anyone will complain about a recipe repeat.