Holiday Appetizers and Brie en Croute Recipe

I’d been collecting appetizer recipes to make for the holidays but just kept procrastinating making them. I finally decided instead of making them for a party, we would feast on appetizers for dinner. And what a feast it was! All of these appetizers are really addicting and they would be a perfect addition to any holiday party.

My boys favorite appetizer was Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps. What’s not to love about chicken wrapped in bacon, coated in spicy brown sugar and baked until crispy. It’s a Paula Deen recipe and I stumbled across it in Mags, The Other Side of Fifty, Christmas App post. Thanks for posting this one Mags!

My boys also loved the Cuties Bruschetta with Goat Cheese. I already knew I would love it because Cuties served it at Blogher Food and I’d been wanting to make it for my family ever since. It is a great combination of savory and sweet (mandarin oranges, red onions, tomatoes and basil) with smooth and creamy, mild Chevre goat cheese on crispy baguette slices. The original recipe also includes calamata olives, but we’re not olive lovers and I omitted those.

This Jalapeño Cheesecake appetizer is so easy but I couldn’t stop snacking on it. Alouette has a creamy, slightly-sweet, limited edition Cheesecake Spreadable Cheese available for the holidays and using Megan’s, Megan’s Cookin’, Cranberry Jalapeno Cheesecake as inspiration I served it topped with Cranberry Pepper Jelly.

Alouette sent me a wonderful package of their fabulous cheeses to try for the holidays. My family isn’t usually very adventurous in trying new cheese, so this was a great opportunity to expand our horizons.

The finally recipe I made was one that I’d been wanting to try for some time. Pepperidge Farm had ads in several cooking magazines with a gorgeous Brien en Croute and it looks irresistible. It really isn’t very difficult to make, but looks very impressive and tastes decedant.

I changed up the recipe a bit to use ingredients I had at home, walnuts and cranberry pepper jelly. Barbara, Vino Luci, gave me tips on Twitter on baking the Brie, including using a rimmed baking sheet because it always leaks.

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Holiday Appetizers and Brie en Croute Recipe

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 sheet Puff Pastry
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup cranberry pepper jelly
• 1 Brie cheese round (I used an 8 oz Baby Brie)

Instructions

1. Thaw pastry sheet at room temperature until it's easy to handle (approximately 40 min.)
2. Combine the walnuts and sugar in a small skillet. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until the sugar starts to liquefy. Continue stirring constantly until the liquid reaches a golden color and coats the nuts.
3. Remove from heat and spread candied nuts onto a greased cookie sheet or plate and allow to cool completely. Stir occasionally as it cools to break up large pieces.
4. Preheat oven to 400º. Beat egg and water in a small bowl. Mix cooled walnuts and jelly together in a small bowl.
5. Unfold the pastry sheet on lightly floured surface. Roll sheet into a 12 inch x 16 inch rectangle. Cut 4 inch off 16 inch edged to decorate top. Spread walnuts jelly mixture in center of large square. Top with cheese.
6. Brush edges of pastry with egg mixture. Fold two opposite sides over cheese. Trim remaining two sides of square to 2 inches from edge of cheese. Fold sides up onto sheese and press edges to seal.Place seam-side down onto baking sheet. Decorate top with pastry scraps. Brush with egg mixture.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until pastry is deep golden brown. Let stand for 20 minutes.

Wishing you a New Year filled with all your favorite foods!