How to make Easy Cranberry Baked Brie

By Rebecca St. Clair

Baked Brie is one of our favourite appetizers. I make a baked Brie for New Year’s, and we always look forward to it!

Baked Brie is commonly found on charcuterie boards, cheese boards, as well as served just on it’s own as an appetizer. It is a festive finger food that is often enjoyed around the holidays.

This easy appetizer is the perfect balance of savoury and sweet. A perfectly baked wheel of Brie cheese, topped with a zesty cranberry sauce.

Served warm and gooey, it’s a luxurious treat that pairs beautifully with an array of crisp crackers, fresh fruit, and crusty bread.

Can I use Camembert for this recipe?

Brie and Camembert both work for this recipe. Both are a soft cheese and both are bloomy rind cheese. These cheeses are ripened by a white, almost puffy looking mould on the outside.

The mould is safe to eat and adds to the flavour of the cheese.

Camembert has a more pungent aroma than Brie. It also has a stronger, full-bodied flavour. Camembert is softer than brie and has an almost gooey quality, on the inside.

Brie is a younger aged cheese. It has very little aroma, compared to Camembert. It has a mellow flavour. Brie is soft but still holds up, on the inside, when sliced.

Both are delicious cheeses and I would be happy with either to make this recipe. It is really a matter of personal preference.

Can I make Baked Brie ahead of time?

The short answer is yes.

The cranberry sauce can be made a few days in advance and stored in the fridge until you are ready to top your cheese.

I usually freeze my leftover Christmas or Thanksgiving cranberry sauce to make for this recipe. Remove it the day before I want to top my Brie, to defrost in the fridge.

Baked Brie does not take long to heat in the oven. Only about 12-15 minutes. This step will need to be done right before serving.

How long can I leave baked Brie out?

Soft cheeses, like Brie, can be left out safely for 2 hours. After that, they should be refrigerated, to ensure proper food safety.

How to bake a wheel of Brie

There are a few different ways to bake Brie. You can use a Brie baker but this is not necessary. You can make this recipe without any special equipment.

How to make Cranberry Baked Brie without special equipment

• Cut a piece of parchment paper, slightly bigger than your wheel of Brie.
• Unwrap the cheese and place on a baking sheet on top of the parchment paper.
• Bake the Brie the oven for 12-15 minutes or until you can see the sides starting to bulge and the wheel of cheese is very soft when pressed lightly.

Remove the cheese to your cheese platter, or serving dish, and place the topping.

Other Toppings for Baked Brie

I have my favourite toppings in this recipe but Brie pairs well with so many different things.

Some examples are fig jam, red pepper jelly, nuts and honey, blueberry preserves, apricot jam, pesto, and Caramel apple.

What to serve with a baked Brie

Now that you know how to make it, you need some ideas of what to serve it with!

Popular things to serve with baked Brie are,

• assorted crackers
• pretzels
• pita bites
• apple and pear slices
• grapes
• crostini
• French bread
• cured meats
• cucumber slices
• nuts
• Assorted dried fruit

Do you remove the rind from Baked Brie

The short answer is no.

When you bake a wheel of brie the inside of the cheese becomes quite liquid. The outside rind is what holds all that cheesy goodness inside.

That being said, some people like to remove the top centre of the wheel of cheese before baking. This is not necessary and is just a personal preference, whether or not you want to eat the rind.

How to eat a cranberry baked Brie

After the Brie is out of the oven, place it on your cheese board, serving plate or add to a charcuterie board. Top it with prepared cranberry sauce.

Surround the cheese with crackers, apples, pita etc. Using a knife, cut a small wedge of cheese from the middle to the outside, like you would a slice of pizza.

Smear the runny wedge on your cracker (or whatever you are pairing it with) and enjoy!

How to make an easy Cranberry Baked Brie

Ingredients

Ingredients for Baked Brie and Cranberry

1 small or large wheel Brie cheese

1 to 1 ½ cups leftover cranberry sauce, canned prepared cranberry sauce, or fresh made cranberry sauce

Accompaniments of choice (See list above what to serve with baked Brie)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F (180 °C).
2. Cut a piece of parchment paper a little bigger than the wheel of cheese.
3. Remove the Brie from it’s package and place the cheese on a baking sheet, on top of the parchment paper.
4. Bake 15-17 minutes, or until the cheese feels soft and squishy when you press down on it gently and the edges are bulging slightly.
5. Remove from the oven and place on a serving platter.
6. Top with prepared leftover or fresh cranberry sauce.
7. Serve with accompaniments of choice.

Looking for more easy and delicious appetizers to serve at your next party? Hope over here!

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