Now, this is an appetizer that is simple and relatively cheap to make, but that looks and tastes pretty impressive. It’s a puff pastry wrapped package of melty Brie goodness. I serve it with sliced apples and water crackers, but you can simply eat it plain if you’d like. While I have only made this with preserves so far, I plan on trying savory versions with roasted garlic and the like.

The first step is buying puff pastry. It comes frozen and can be used for everything from making turnovers to making soup or stew super fancy by putting it in an oven safe dish, topping it with the pastry and letting guests dig through buttery, flaky crust to french onion soup or maybe a chicken pot pie.

Treat puff pastry like a frame.

Make sure the painting inside is tasty and you really can’t go wrong with the addition of layers of fluffy, buttery crust. I also wish I had more adjectives than buttery and flaky (and I guess fluffy) to describe puff pastry, but they’re really the most accurate ones.

Here, I decided to fill it with almonds (roasted will hold up better in the oven) and apricot and strawberry preserves. Oh, and a half chunk of brie. I learned after several times of making this dish to wrap the whole concoction upside down. It was one of those “Aha” moments that you’re slightly ashamed of, because your elation quickly wears off when you realize that EVERYONE knows about your “personal” revelation. I assume this gets worse with age. Anyway, wrapping your ingredients upside down allows the top to be smooth when you bake it. If you’re so inclined, you can add a design on top with any excess scraps of puff pastry. I went with a Mr. Bill design.

Let it bake at 400 degrees until golden brown and delicious (about 20 minutes).

Oh nooooooooo!

Puff Pastry Wrapped Brie

That’ll liven up a boring hunk of Brie.