Despite my deep affection for cheese, to the point that one of my favorite things to do on a New York City weekend is to dip into Murray’s and treat us to something crumbly or aged or rich and runny, I don’t love cheese plates. It feels really good to get this off my chest. At first, it was just a budget issue; I still feel the sticker shock from the first time I tried to put together one of those cute boards with five or six different wedges on them, plus the crackers, breads, pickles, dried fruit, toasted almonds, olives, cured meats, and all of the other minimum requirements of our latter-day horns of plenty. But I was also put off by the waste. Even though so much went unfinished, the leftovers were unsalvageable, as fingers, forks, knives, and crumbs got into everything (a particularly shuddering thought in the age of Covid). Instead, when people come over, or what I remember of it, I prefer to focus on one or two decadent, attention-grabbing things and nothing grabs attention on a cold winter day like warm, runny cheese.
NEW: Watch me make this baked brie on YouTube!
Baked brie was all the entertaining rage in the 1970s and 80s. Nothing was more glamorous but accessible, an imported cheese that everyone knew and could pronounce. But as Americans got more sophisticated about imported cheese — manchego! Humboldt Fog! — in a crushing fall from grace, brie became the opposite of chic. And this is where my interest piqued — dated and unhip, you say? Where can I sign up?
Thus, this is baked brie, my way. First, I use my easy galette dough for a flaky pastry that tastes a million times better than most frozen puffed pastry and requires no extra grocery store trip. I’ve never been a fan of the sweet compotes and fruity jams usually paired with brie, but I love a thin layer sweet-sour jammy red onions under and over the cheese — here, softened in butter, then wilted down further with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar. A paper-thin slick of smooth Dijon mustard offsets the sweetness, a sprinkling of thyme gives it an herbal element, a scattering of sesame seeds on top adds a little extra crackle, or you can skip all three and it’s still delicious. Brie — and yes, even commercial, grocery store brie works well here — is attainably-priced and even the basic stuff warms up beautifully, so no need to splurge here. Plus, it often comes in 8-ounce rounds, absolutely perfect for our tiny, at-home New Years celebrations this week to send 2020 packing.
The Year In Smitten Kitchen
I love looking up which recipes you cooked the most each year, and could anything be more apt for 2020 than an Ultimate Banana Bread? In a year with so much none of us liked, a bright spot for me was the way the simplicity of our Covid pantries nudged me towards simpler, core recipes in previous years I foolishly dismissed as not interesting enough. You know what’s interesting? Crispy crumbled potatoes, schmaltzy roast chicken, and what I hope will be the last classic vegetable lasagna you’ll ever need. And speaking of pantries, I wrote about how I “organize” (spoiler: it’s not) my SK pantry over here and while not a recipe, it was one of the most-read posts this year. You can view all top 16 recipes from this page or individually below.
2. crispy crumbled potatoes
3. perfect vegetable lasagna
4. roast chicken with schmaltzy cabbage
5. any-kind-of-fruit galette
6. simple, essential bolognese
7. whole wheat chocolate oat cookies
8. sweet potato salad with pepita dressing
10. vanilla custard slices
11. chicken, leek, and rice soup
12. tangy braised chickpeas
13. morning glory breakfast cake
14. new classic wedding cake + how to
15. mathilde’s tomato tart
16. bialy babka
Previously: Best of 2019, Best of 2018 (Savory, Sweet), Best of 2017 (Savory, Sweet), Best of 2016 (Savory, Sweet).
Happy New Year, friends. Thank you for spending some of your time with me.
Previously
6 months ago: Dulce de Leche Chocoflan
1 year ago: Banana Toffee Cake
2 year ago: Baklava Babka
3 years ago: Dutch Apple Pie
4 years ago: Homemade Irish Cream
5 years ago: Eggnog Waffles
6 years ago: Jelly Doughnuts and Endives with Orange and Almonds
7 years ago: Linzer Torte and Breakfast Slab Pie
8 years ago: Cashew Butter Balls
9 years ago: Peppermint Hot Fudge Sauce
10 years ago: Iced Oatmeal Cookies and Broiled Mussels
11 years ago: Vanilla Roasted Pears and Creamed Mushrooms on Chive-Butter Toast
12 years ago: Cranberry-Vanilla Coffee Cake and Seven-Layer Cookies
13 years ago: Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies and Peanut Butter Cookies
14 years ago: Boozy Baked French Toast and Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti
Baked Brie with Balsamic Red Onions
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (10 tablespoons total; 85 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons (55 grams) cold unsalted butter, diced
- 2 tablespoons plain yogurt or sour cream
- 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water
- 2 small or 1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons (30 grams) unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar, light or dark
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons smooth Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves (optional)
- 1 (8.5-ounce or 250-gram) wheel of brie
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
- Sesame seeds, ideally toasted (optional)
Pastry
Balsamic onions
Assembly
Make the balsamic red onions: Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the butter. Once melted, cook the onions, stirring, until softened and beginning to lightly brown at the edges, about 5 minutes. Add sugar, salt, balsamic, and pepper and cook, stirring, until balsamic reduces to a dark, jammy puddle, about 3 to 5 more minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
To assemble: Heat oven 400°F. Unwrap your chilled dough and reuse the parchment, if you can, to line a small baking sheet. Or, line one with a fresh sheet. Flour your counter and the top of the dough and roll into a large, thin circle, about 10 inches. Check for size by placing your brie in the middle and seeing if you have enough dough cover it across the top. No need to make a perfect circle.
Once dough is correct size, thinly spread first teaspoon of dijon in the middle, scatter half of your red onions over the dijon, and sprinkle them with half the thyme, if using. Place brie on top. Thinly spread remaining Dijon on top of brie, followed by remaining onions and thyme. Bring sides of dough up to wrap brie, making little folds to help it fit. Press edges together gently at the top.
Transfer pastry-wrapped brie to baking sheet. Brush sides, pleats, and top of pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using.
Bake: for 30 minutes, or until golden brown all over, rotating the tray if needed for even color. If you can bear it, let rest on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
Serve: Transfer brie to a plate with a rim (it will be runny when you cut into it) and serve with crackers or baguette slices.
Looks delish! Happy and healthy New Year!
Humboldt Fog may be an unusual cheese, but it’s not imported; it’s made in California.
As a staunch lover of Humboldt Fog and a born-and-raised San Franciscan, I had the same thought. But after living in NYC for several years (and loving it), California and her cows do seem like a foreign country.
For those on the prowl for delicious and (more) affordable cheese, the Park Slope Food Coop carries Humboldt Fog and many other excellent cheeses.
Deb, thank you for this recipe. Love the replacement of jam with jam-my onions!
Wait. Are you moving??
Of course I have been thinking about baked brie and looking up recipes, and of course you post one that looks by far the best of all I have found so far! Yum.
I want this right now. Would it be very bad if I used a store-bought pie crust for the pastry? Is store-bought pie crust (the roll-up kind from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods) a totally different kind of thing from this pastry? Would it be more or less the right amount?
i have a friend whose go-to party snack is baked brie with store-bought puff pastry (not pie crust) and it’s a hit every time.
Denise, it looks like this crust recipe is half of Deb’s normal galette crust. The galette crust corresponds (in terms of flour and butter) to one pie crust, along with a little sour cream or yogurt. So you could try using half of a packaged crust, or you could use the whole thing for a higher crust-to-filling ratio.
Thank you for that! I now have all the ingredients just by chance. I’m doing it!
I made it and it was astonishingly good. Used a frozen rolled up pie crust and it turned out beautifully. It wasn’t really too much (though the brie I used was a bit bigger than called for in the recipe). Lauren, my brother is trying it with puff pastry, since he has some in his freezer.
Thank YOU for all that you give to us! Your blog has been such a balm this year. Happy New Year!
I have made so many recipes from your blog this year. I wish you and your family all the best for 2020. Thanks Deb for all you do – it is so very appreciated.
I agree with this comment chain. Thank you Deb for this blog, for you advocacy on behalf of families during COVID, for highlighting recipes from people of color. So long 2020 but thankfully see you next year SK.
I actually bought a brie wheel earlier today for making up an apps plate for my New Year’s Eve party-of-one! I was going to smear it on some toast, but this sounds much more delicious. One question: will this make good leftovers? Much as I adore cheese in all its forms, my body doesn’t after a while, so I definitely couldn’t eat the whole wheel in one evening.
Recipe calls for balsamic vinegar but does not specify if white or red for the Brie or does it matter?
Thank you for making 2020 bearable and much more delicious than I could’ve done on my own.
I’ll be making this as soon as I can get my next grocery delivery with a brie wheel. I never could’ve foreseen that I wouldn’t set foot in a grocery store for a year, lol.
Happy New Year!
It’s funny, my two favorites from this Best Of 2020 collection (the white bean/carrot burgers and the morning glory b’fast cake) both rely heavily on carrots – and I hate carrots!
Your recipes transform them into delightful dishes, though.
Thanks for everything, and best wishes for 2021!
This looks so delicious!! Balsamic onions are such a good idea instead of the usual jams. I have gotten so excited for every new post from you this year (and at least the last 10 years). I’m so glad you still love running Smitten Kitchen. It’s a highlight for me for sure. You’re amazing. Happy New Year!
I have never really liked baked brie because of the standard sweet topping. Now this I am excited about it, onions are my jam. Jammy onions? Totally my jam. Thanks for sending us off with some warmth!
Thank you, Deb, for all of the brightness you brought to my 2020 (and every year!) with your wonderful recipes and thoughtful posts. My husband and I both love making your recipes and made SO many of them this year- many new favorites were added to our meal time/dessert recipe rotations. Thank you for all that you do – your work and creativity truly brings joy into many lives, my family included!
Thank you Deb! I’m a big fan of baked brie, and never thought about onions before!
I must be really behind the times because I didn’t know that brie ever fell out of fashion. I’ve always adored it. I’ll never forget the time I brought a wheel of warmed brie topped with fig jam to a party full of Doritos and Oreos. Now, I love Doritos as much as the next person (I am human after all), but I also love brie. Not a single person (besides me, of course) dipped a cracker in my brie appetizer, though. Perhaps it was the lack of jammy onions. I’ll be sure to make this next time. And if that won’t convince others of brie’s glory, I’ll finish it off with all the leftover Merlot. Thanks for every recipe and word. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: you’re the cook I’d marry in a game of kill, boff, or marry. No question.
Rebecca, I didn’t know brie had gone out of style either! I guess I just eat what I like. And what the heck is up with people who eat the processed stuff (Dorito lover here too) and ignore the homemade stuff? I will never understand that.
I made a bunch of your recipes this year, including so many pizzas (Lazy Pizza Dough + Favorite Margherita Pizza is now my own favorite!) And I read your posts throughout the year too. Thank you for being a constant presence, and a voice who could mirror back how it felt to spend almost all my time in a smallish NYC apartment with not much else going on. It’s been so reassuring to check in here and I’m really grateful.
I’ve made that pizza dough 6 times in the last 3 weeks!
Yay for cheese, especially melted! Yay for the recipes that got us through!
As a NorCal person whose mom grew up in Humboldt County, sometime pot capital of the US, however, I feel compelled to note that Humboldt Fog is anything but imported.
Whoops — will edit!
I’ve been using store bought onion confit on top of my brie. This version sounds like an easy upgrade.
FYI, Humboldt Fog is a California cheese. As a New Yorker, I see why you may consider that “imported”. :-)
Ha! Let me fix that. I was reading that article about all of the fancy cheeses that pushed brie out of the spotlight a couple decades ago and loved the inclusion.
I live in Berkeley, CA, and Humboldt Fog is our go-to (except for my husband and MIL who won’t touch goat cheese)!!! If you are ever here, please be sure to go to the Cheeseboard Collective on Shattuck. They don’t just have HF, either! Their selection has been known to blow a few minds! :-) xo
This looks delicious! Thanks for all your recipes and videos. They are truly appreciated and always thoroughly enjoyed.
I’ve been with you from the second year. Thanks for your posts, recipes and bonhomie. Wishing your lovely family a fantastic new year.
Deb, thank you for being here. Have cooked many of your recipes over the years, but have particularly tuned in this past year. We have two little kids to keep fed as well and always appreciate the kid humor— “didn’t I just feed you three meals yesterday?!” Happy 2021 to your family. I wish we could be friends in real life! Lots of love.
I can’t thank you enough for the respite your website has given me over the past year. Have a happy and sweet 2021.
Happy New Year to you and your family! Thank you for being such a warm and cheerful corner of the internet, I am a religiously avid fan and have made dozens of your recipes. I’ve forwarded so many to my parents (both wonderful cooks) that my dad used to think you and I were friends. Made your veggie lasagna for my family the other day and it was perfect. On to the baked retro cheese!
Nothing sums up this year quite as perfectly as beginning with a wedding cake and ending with a baked brie recipe suitable for everyone’s tiny household NYE gatherings. I did a double take when I saw the wedding cake in the 2020 favorites list. I’m sure if it feels a lifetime ago to me it feels at least as long to you! Thank you for being a wonderful constant this year, Deb. I’ve been a loyal follower for years, but this year amid all the chaos and uncertainty I found myself returning to your site and books over and over because your recipes are so reliably fantastic and unfussy. Happy new year to you and your family. I can’t wait to keep cooking along with you next year!
Thank you, Deb, for this and every single thing you have ever made for us all; this year, every year. Melty brie never ever has left my heart. Neither will you! Happy New Year, Dear Deb. Smitten with you and your Kitchen!
Thanks for sharing your recipes! I’ve love your website ever since I discovered it almost 9 years ago when my son was born. I love reading your commentary, ogling your pictures and I love that every time I do make something it’s always delicious. Here’s hoping you find joy and peace this coming year!
With four hours left in 2020 in NZ, this really was the perfect thing to see out this terrible year. For a moment I really thought this might be the recipe that let me down, because the dough was incredibly sticky (it’s very hot here!) and I had to add a lot of flour while rolling it out. But all was well and it was absolutely delicious. Another winner. Thank you!
Making this tomorrow as I happen to have a cheese and an onion!
Would like to share one of the best cheese names ever, “Waldo Fog” from the
Fuzzy Udder Creamery in Maine. It’s actually the name of the farm that I like, but I have had the cheese and it is very very good. It will be nice some day to get back to Maine, and all the other places we all want to visit. Here’s wishing you a better year to come. My family has lived on your recipes for months and especially love the Chicken Curry and the Aloo Gobi; And all the cakes, Pumpkin and Chocolate ,
Banana and the Cannoli Cake. Love to your beautiful family… from my beautiful family.
Marcia, Is Waldo Fog different than their Waldo Smog? I live a couple towns away and would love to give it a try. Making this dish with the brie tomorrow!
Question: Does it matter whether the yogourt / sour cream is low fat / high fat? Thanks! Happy New Year to you and yours. Love your recipes – every one I have made has been a huge success!
Dear Deb, I felt so retro today making the sundried tomato stuffed mushrooms. But then when we ate them, pure bliss!!! Thank you for all your recipes and conversation throughout the year — it helped. Celesta
I looooooooove brie and this looks fabulous, but does the taste of the rind make anyone else gag? No — just Me? My husband is always so annoyed when I scoop out the brie and leave the rind behind. Oops! Anyway, I’d love to make this but I’m wondering if I should actually de-rind it since I hate the taste? Deb mentions it might be too gooey baking without it, but has anyone actually tried it?
Also, just want to say to Deb: thank you so much for your website. It’s my absolute favorite and the one I cook from most often. Your recipes have never gone wrong for me. I find that even if a recipe you post doesn’t really interest me initially, your witty commentary almost always pulls me in and tempts me anyways. So thank you for being such a bright spot in 2020 (and WAY before). Happy New Year!
You may want to compromise with your hubby anr cut off just the top rind so you can avoid rind as you dip in??
Thank you for all that you do, Deb! I hope you & your family have a happy, healthy new year!
I’d rather bake Camembert (which is always sold in wheels) than eat much of it raw, certainly – but had never thought of baking brie.
Or is that a purely European distinction; are both cheeses commonly available in the States?
Both cheeses are available here, easily, but they’re highly pasteurized with a long shelf life, a far cry from the originals from Brie, etc. This recipe is intended for the readily available ones.
Dear Deb,
Thank you! Just wanted to take the opportunity and thank you – very generally – for your writing (which I love) and your recipes (which always and dependably turn out great when I try them). So, again: Thank you! And all the best for you and your loved ones.
Deb, as with many of your readers, I want to thank you for your thoughtful, witty prose and your delicious recipes, but I most especially want to thank you for bringing New York City closer to our home in the Midwest. With the virus, we can’t spend time in person with our daughter who lives in the Big Apple right now, but when we share recipes and ideas from your website with each other, it feels a little like we are cooking together. And when I see photographs of your NYC apartment kitchen and read your city references, I get to pretend that I’m visiting her in person. Thank you.
I watched the IG video and I have a question: is there a reason, other than preference, that you slice the onions in half moons and not pole to pole? I’ve been taught that half moons break down the onions more and pole to pole helps keep their shape a bit. Thanks!
Happy New Year!
Francoise
I would like to add my thanks and appreciation to the chorus that has spoken up here. I too am among those eagerly awaiting new posts and attempting new projects that helped get me through the year (bialy babka I’m looking at you!). So grateful that you still run the Smitten Kitchen.
Cheers!
I guess the question is whether you’d prefer they keep their shape. If you’d like them to, I’d slice the other way. I’m not very interested in them keeping their shape.
Does anybody have ideas for a sour cream/yogurt substitute? Just add more water?
Cream cheese? Maybe loosened with milk?
Replace it with half as much (i.e. 1T instead of 2T) milk or water + 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice or a vinegar.
Hello!
Just thinking out loud that I would be interested to hear if anyone assembled and then froze this and then baked it. I’m thinking maybe let it thaw a day in the fridge before baking, but I’m a bit obsessed with making Deb’s cookies and freezing the majority of the batch and baking them straight from the oven a few at a time. A freezer-to-oven cheese centerpiece sounds like holiday genius.
Also sending gratitude to Deb for all smitten kitchen goodness.
I really really hate brie. Its outer layer of ash, dust, whatever it is, ruins the whole thing.
This recipe looks good except for the cheese.
I hate the outside of Brie, but baking it in this recipe makes it not noticeable
Question for you, Deb – Can this be assembled earlier and stored in the fridge until needed? Thanks and happy new year!
Yes and happy new year to you too!
Can you make this using store-bought puff pastry?
Yes
My mind may very well be in a fog, but my dough came out very very wet, so I added flour. I followed the volume measurements. Did I do something wrong?
I had a similar problem but thought it was because I mixed in the sour cream before trying to mix in the water (as if the flour absorbed the sour cream and no longer absorbed fluid after that?). Will try again starting with less water and following Deb’s instruction to sprinkle both at same time and mix.
May be due to humidity levels, too (rainy here today).
Interesting. I put both the yogurt and 1 Tbs of water in at the same time. I think the yogurt I used was considerably more runny than sour cream would be. It probably didn’t need the additional Tbs water. Good point about the humidity, too. Either way, it’s a simple dough and turned out delicious!
Made this with a Brie wheel that was twice the recipe size, just doubled everything. I was worried about the sticky dough, but it all worked out after the chill and rolled out perfectly! The larger Brie wheel was a giant oozing mess once cut into, but not a single soul in our family complained and we fought over the flowy goodness. Thank you Deb for yet another hit!
I also have a bigger Brie (thanks Costco) and 1.5x the dough – was the baking time any different for you? Thanks!
No, it’s a sticky dough.
made this tonight (w/ very affordable brie from Aldi’s) and it was SO good. Thanks, Deb!
We ended up in quarantine just before Christmas when my husband got exposed to covid at work. (So far, negative test and no symptoms, but we’re being good just in case). A friend brought over some cheeses to celebrate New Year’s with, and one of them is a brie!
Thank you so much for sharing a way to bake the brie that uses ingredients already in my pantry! We’re fans of sweet sides with brie (and my husband won’t eat onions), so I’m using a homemade cranberry pear sauce.
I’m excited to make my first baked brie!
This was a hit!
Oh my god, delicious! I must confess, I used a pre-made shortcrust pastry (excuse being toddler), but otherwise followed the recipe. The onions are good enough to eat straight from the pan. Combined with Brie and pastry and mustard, they were exquisite. My husband kept saying they’d be the best first starter when it’s safe to have parties again. Til then, we will eat the leftovers.
Deb, through the last nine months of strict in-house self-isolation, Smitten Kitchen has helped to keep me from slipping into gloomy torpor: each day might pass in exactly the same way, but that doesn’t mean dinner can’t be different each night. I was able to check off 5 from this year’s 16 best, and, as often with your recipes, they encouraged me to try something new – my first roast chicken, sweet potatoes and black beans in a salad – and delicious. Thank you for the warm voice in your posts and for keeping me engaged in the kitchen. Happy New Year!
Thank you. This means a lot. Happy New Year to you too.
I’m here to tell you that you can mess up Deb’s very clear direction on preparing the dough (by mixing in the sour cream first and then attempting to mix in the water but it doesn’t absorb) and you can end up with a sloppy mess of dough that you sort of mush up against the Brie and filling, and just have Faith in Deb and press on, and then watch as the dough drip/bakes down the sides of the brie, and the onions on top are exposed the whole time and end up browning too much and this is still an absolutely incredibly delicious treat.
Deb, happy new year. You always deliver even when we don’t follow your instructions and things go a little sideways. Thank you for all you do!
Here’s to 2021!
Thank you, Kate. Happy new year to you too! Re, the dough — it’s actually a very sticky dough. It can seem too wet. I should have warned better, but it should firm up and when rolled with flour, should bake up more delicately than a regular pie dough, which is why I love it here
Great! Now I can save my fancy frozen Dufour puff pastry for something else! Making this tonight to accompany my daughter’s charcuterie board (doing the dinner party girl scout badge during a pandemic is no joke) for the perfect New Years Eve at home with family. Thank you for many years of inspiration.
Am I allowed to say that those jammy onions were my favorite part of this? I had too many (I guess my onions are too big?) and they were good enough to just eat on bread, on their own. The brie was delicious too, and exactly right for our tiny NYE party. Happy 2021!
I added Brie to my Instacart order yesterday and made this last night for me and my husband. I’d been wanting to make a baked Brie for years and never bothered. Thank you for the inspiration. Perfect with champagne…Happy New Year!
We made this last night- huge hit! My brie wheel was 300g so I got a little over-excited rolling out my dough- probably too thin. And I thought I had read, though obviously imagined that I should trim off some of the top and bottom rind (I kinda shaved it). Thankfully I was using a relatively high- sided stoneware pan because we ended up with brie lava with pastry on top. DELICIOUS! Everyone loved it. I take full blame and credit. Thanks again Deb- in 2020 you surpassed Ina as my first go-to. Wishing you every good thing for 2021!
This was a hit with my family on NYE! So simple and delicious!
O. M. G. This was soooooooo delicious. I used Woolwich Dairy Cheese Triple Creme Goat Brie because it was the only small wheel of brie my store had, but it was perfect!! The slightly tangy goats cheese was a great match for the sweet onions. Will definitely make again!
Made this last night! Was absolutely delicious. Was definitely a very wet/sticky dough, but when rolled with flour it eventually came together. Will say that my local store didn’t have any brie wheels, only brie in wedges, so I bought those and sort of cut/cobbled them into a circle. Tasted great, but the cheese definitely lacked some of the structural integrity and it broke through the dough while baking. Still delicious, but recommend you use a cheese wheel if you can find one!
Well, all went well until “transfer pastry-wrapped brie to baking sheet.” That raw pastry was in no way capable of holding onto that messy (delicious) pile of cheese and onions. Still tasted great but looked a horrid mess. Next time, I’ll build it on the parchment paper.
I made this with Camembert and it was great!
The pastry is very thin when rolled out to cover the cheese, and so the pastry split during cooking, resulting in most of the cheese escaping. Still delicious, but looked a mess!
I suggest that you cook it in a small cake tin so that it captures the oozy goodness.
I’m a brit, but I lived in California for many years in the 90’s. One of the things that always shocked me was international news referring to things that happened on the East Coast… Imported Cheeses… Humboldt Fog… Imported all the way from California?
Just wanted to preface this by saying that I am in Switzerland in the mountains with the in-laws. There was not brie so I used camembert and I did it with pre-made dough (not keen to make dough in my in-law’s kitchen!). No sesame seeds either, so I just sprinkled thyme sprigs artistically over the top.
If using pre-made dough, I recommend following the pack’s instructions. Mine said 220°Celsius for 35 minutes, I cooked it for 200°C for 15 minutes, realized my mistake, then cooked it for 220°C for approx. 30 minutes more. It’s nice and golden everywhere! Only issue is either the cheese has leaked or my dough has expanded into strange bubbles everywhere. I think it’s the cheese. Any idea how to avoid that in the future?
I’ve also been very generous with the onion mixture (added another red onion and 1/3 of everything) and the mustard. I’ll let you know how it all goes!
I just saw this today, but i looks amazing! I will make this year at some point. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us, Deb.
Made this on NYE and we LOVED the jammy onions. Truth be told, I used up some frozen pastry I had in the freezer, but we will be making this again and again. Thanks, Deb!
When we are having dinner parties again, I’m going to make this, but a triple batch of the onions and send everyone home with a little pot of them to do with what they please.
From this year the chicken on cabbage has become a go-to recipe for my family.
We had made the other spachcock chicken recipes from your books, but this is by far our favourite.
This was a delicious mess. While baking, the dough sprung a leak and the cheese melted out of the pastry and spread all over my (parchment lined!) baking sheet. In true 2020 fashion, we just made the best with what we had. The leaked cheese cooked on the sheet to a nice golden brown became delicious Brie crisps. And we loved the onions! Next time I’d make this with store bought puff pastry because I don’t trust my pastry making skills. Happy 2021 Deb, and thanks got keeping me cooking! May all your baking sheets be lined with parchment.
I made a big charcuterie board for Christmas Eve and my family loved it and then it was time to clean up and put away and it was a friggin mess/waste. Ugh.
My mother in law made pastry wrapped brie with fig jam a few years ago and it was mind-blowing. Will definitely make your version with these onions. Brie has never ever gone out of favor at our house! I eat brie melted on sourdough as breakfast
Do you have suggestions for a substitute to brie or camembert in this recipe? Thank you!
A delicious dinner-on-the-couch-while-watching-Netflix! I made a big green bitter salad to go with. The balsamic onions are AMAZING and the recipe made enough for me to put some on the side with grapes and cashews, too.
I made this and it was delicious. I cut the thyme in half which was just right for a hint of thyme flavor and didn’t overpower the other flavors. I highly recommend trying this recipe.
I made this for NYE and it was SOOOOO good! I found that my large red onion was larger than necessary, and I left some of the balsamic onions out (i think i could have left even more out).
I already had puff pastry on hand so i used that (just one) and it works great if you don’t want to make the dough or already have puff around.
I also added what Greeks refer to as “mavro sesame” (but is really nigella/black caraway) and that made me super happy as well
Long time reader, first time commenter. I can’t wait to make this and serve to friends, when we are able. Entertaining is a huge void in my family’s life. Thanks to you, I roasted my first chicken (and 2nd, 3rd…) and became completely besotted with schmaltzy cabbage. Right before everything shut down, I killed it at a gala bringing your dulce de leche cheesecake squares. Thank you so much for being a companion during this lonely year.
I had 4 sheets of leftover phyllo pastry in the fridge, so I used that instead of the dough, but I followed the rest of the recipe as written. It was fantabulous. Two of us ate it ALL and fought to lick the plate.
Buono, buono buonissimo!
Brava Deb, ancora una volta abbiamo mangiato benissimo.
Grazie per tutte le ricette fantistiche.
Maybe I’ll learn to write on English, but my English class is cancelled because Corona.
Barbara
I’ve been thinking about this since you posted it and really wanted to try it, but I couldn’t seem to justify it for just me and my husband (who’s not a huge brie fan anyway). Today I realized I could try making this into a pizza and my children, who will try almost anything if it’s on a pizza, will at least give it a whirl! I’ll let you know how it goes!
Very yummy but could have done without the rind.
Made it, took it to a party and it was a huge hit! I guess we are all out of fashion! It was delicious and will make it again. Stay strong, your Canadian peeps are thinking of you!
I have made another iteration of this recipe and it is always a big hit. The balsamic vinegar makes the caramelized onions even sweeter and richer. This is also good with a store-bought pie crust, when you’re in a hurry.
Happy new year to you too Deb! Thank you for keeping us going in this year of cooking. I got both of your paper books for Christmas, and so look forward to getting them to that satisfying well-worn and splattered stage, sparing the kindle 😏. Seriously, your food has been such a comfort I can’t begin to express how grateful I am
Excellent! Particularly the jammy onions, which I plan to keep on hand for more than just this dish. Made it for my baby’s first birthday.
Yummmm. I think this would be equally as good with a good bacon jam too.
When I saw this recipe, I knew I wanted to make it for my birthday at the end of January. It was *delicious* and a nice change from the sweet versions of baked brie with honey and fruit I’ve tried before.
(1) I did not get a jammy puddle of onions… maybe I didn’t cook the onions down enough before I added the balsamic? Or I cooked them too much and the moisture evaporated? They tasted good, but they were dry.
(2) I almost bought puff pastry or crescent roll dough at the store b/c I’m awful at pastry, but I tried this recipe and I’m so glad I did–it came out well (not perfect, but not the holey disasters that chew like cardboard I’ve made in the past)
I made the balsamic onions and they tasted like candy. Saving to my forever recipes. THANK YOU.
Why have I never thought to make a savory brie appetizer? I don’t like red onions usually, but this looks divine!
Question about this delish recipe… Can I wrap the brie in the dough ahead of time then bake it once I get to my host’s home?? I don’t want it to get cold but not sure about transfer…
Thanks!
Yes; I’d keep it chilled until needed.
This is absolutely glorious. Just thought I’d comment that, not having any red onions, I made this with a yellow onion and it was still fantastic. In fact, you could totally make double the onions and just save half for some other use, they are so good. Also, completely forgot the thyme, but there was still plenty going on in terms of flavor that I did not miss it. Can’t wait to make it again!
Has anyone used frozen Brie?
I can’t wait to make this…gives me a good reason to schedule a get together. Particularly nice to have an alternative to puff pastry as I overuse during the holidays. You mention in the YouTube video that you like to serve 3 complex memorable appetizers vs. multiple cheeses. What would you serve with this wrapped Brie that’s different, easy and memorable?
Hi…. I ended up writing this recipe by hand, as I could not print it…. weird… is anyone else having this problem? sorry for the inconvenience by asking you this question…. it looks fabulous…
thanks
Phyllis
(grandson going back to D in NH next week… your daughter, too?)
We just added a larger print button at the end of each recipe — I hope it helps. If not, you can print from any browser, or by typing Control + P.
Hi Deb! Tried making this tonight and had problems with the dough. It was very wet and sticky, hard to roll out and keep it together while folding over the Brie. It definitely didn’t look like your photo and if I could upload a photo it would fall into the “nailed it” category. Had to cook it for an additional 5 minutes or so. Any additional tips?
Happy new year!
Some of the most memorable compliments I have ever received have come from this appetizer. If I am contributing something to a party, and I want to make a splash — I take this.
Love this video, you are so cheery and inspiring!
I’m going to try this with a small Brie I have first…single size! And I love your easy and yummy galette dough.
I made this with the 600g Kirkland Brie. I 1.5xed the dough (and onions etc) and it took roughly 48-50 minutes for the dough to cook/brown. It was perfect and I will be making this for guests over and over and over again!
Deb, Those rectangle narrow crackers in your video are a good dipper better than round. I checked so many shapes in the market, didn’t come up with anything that resembled those. Can you share the brand/name of those please. Thank you.
Were they perhaps these? If not, I know where I got them, I’ll try to note the brand name next time I see them.
This is a delicious and easy recipe! I made it for a party and everyone loved it.
Thanks so much for this recipe! I used it for a fun class with one of my ESL students in Paris, and we both loved making it and eating it.
One tip I have that I got from my chef husband (yes, I know, lucky me) – put the cheese in the freezer while you put your dough in the fridge, so that it won’t get too runny in the baking process.
I have a larger wheel of Brie (1 lb) – if I double the recipe will that work? Also wondering if it would be good to do a top crust for this larger Brie or if folding up the sides is still a good bet. TY!
Double should be fine to wrap it.
We made this tonight and it was incredible. Thank you for such a great recipe.
I made this last Christmas and the Brie exploded when baking. In fact I had time getting the dough wrap and stay adhered I thought it might have been bechsss of the warm carmelized onions. Any insights on what went wrong ? I’d love to try to make this again.
I made a double batch of the pastry and onions so I could easily make 2 for 2 different gatherings. The brie my spouse bought was 21 oz! So I sliced in half across the middle to make two short circles, hoping that would keep the cheese from losing out too much it mostly worked! The second time I made it. I froze the Brie while I was rolling out the pastry, and that made it even better. This was a fabulous addition to a meal of lentil soup and salad, and now my friend wants to know all about Smitten Kitchen! I got your first cookbook as a Christmas gift, and she started flipping through it and wants to make everything.
This recipe looked so delicious! I must have done something wrong – after removing from the oven, I let it cool about 25 minutes. Still when I cut it open it oozed out into a liquidy puddle leaving barely any cheese inside. Did anyone else have this? Maybe I used the wrong cheese, I repurposed a wheel from a cheese board that I thought was brie but possible could have been Camembert. Not sure if that would have mattered. Still hopeful to try it cooled down today, the smells were delicious!
This recipe is so inaccurate regarding the dough. No matter how long I chill it once I
Start building the recipe it turns to a wet mess. Yes, I have floured the surface and the rolling pin. I think there is too much sour cream or yogurt called for.
Today I thought I would give it another try. Measurements were all correct and so I rolled out the dough and it seemed ok, added the mustard, onions and time and repeat. When I sent to fold the corners it was absolutely impossible as it stuck to the surface. I had to scrape everything off, and reform the dough and place it back in the fridge. I also made another half portion to mix with what I already made. Now I do live in a warm climate however, I have made dough before and didn’t have this problem. It’s pretty frustrating I must say and perhaps you should revise the measurements of sour cream or yogurt and also water. Something isn’t correct.
It’s a soft dough and needs to stay cold to the touch but I’ve made it a more times than I can count as written and it works beautifully — for me. Feel free to dial back the wet ingredients a little to make it work better in your climate.