I hope you’re wondering what that is; because I’m about to tell you, and you’re about to become very excited. Apple butter baked brie is the name of this magic, and I’m very excited to announce that you can, in fact, make it yourself.

About this recipe

This baked brie is one of my finest creations. You may remember my Miniature Baked Brie from a while ago, in which post I mentioned that I tend to prefer to NOT bake brie with fruit preserves… At least, that was how I felt. Until I started making my own apple butter and experimenting with this recipe at Anchor Coffee House (where I worked at the time).

This combination of buttery croissant dough, sweet apple butter, and creamy, delicious brie is too good not to share. The dough is the hardest part about making this, but I’m confident that a little will power will get you through without too much trouble.

Can you make baked brie with puff pastry instead of croissant dough?

Absolutely. If you want to simplify this recipe, head to the frozen pastry section of your local grocery store and pick up some pre-made puff pastry. Or, if you find puff pastry less intimidating to make than croissant dough, you can check out my recipe for puff pastry and feel free to use that.

What is baked brie?

Baked brie is usually made by wrapping a whole wheel of brie cheese in puff pastry and baking it at a high temperature until the pastry is crispy and the cheese is melted through. It is often served with fruit or preserves and some good bread or crackers, usually as a great addition to a cheese board or appetizer platter.

How to serve apple butter baked brie

You can either eat this brie on its own or with a good slice of crusty bread (such as sourdough bread or baguettes). I also love to have a bunch of fresh grapes on the side, just to freshen your palette after eating something so rich and buttery.

When to serve apple butter baked brie

This is the kind of thing that makes its way to my table when I’m entertaining or when the holidays are upon us. I particularly love to make this during the Christmas season, but honestly, any occasion during those fall/winter months is the perfect time to serve up this goodness… or you know. Now. Now is a great time, too.

Should I remove the rind before baking brie?

That is completely up to you! The rind of brie cheese is completely edible, but honestly I don’t care for it much. For this recipe, it doesn’t make any difference to the shape of the finished product (since you’re cutting the cheese anyway), but sometimes I have heard it recommended to leave the rind on a wheel of brie, just to preserve the shape of the cheese. If you remove the rind before you bake a whole wheel of brie, the pastry will become much more bloated looking when the cheese melts.

Since I still prefer my brie without the rind, I usually opt to remove it (my personal preference). I don’t mind the change in shape too much, and it always still looks delicious.

My #1 tip for working with croissant dough or puff pastry

At risk of sounding like a broken record, I’ll say what I always say it when it comes to working with doughs in which you want to keep the butter cold: Use a chilled marble rolling pin. The weight of the pin helps to get effective rolling happening with less elbow grease, and the cold marble keeps the butter/dough cold as you work, giving you much more freedom to finish the dough without stopping to refrigerate it periodically as you work. I find that the marble rolling pin makes the process faster, more fun, and more effective.

Variations/substitutions for this recipe:

1. For the dough: You can use puff pastry instead of croissant dough.
2. For the apple butter: You can use any type of fruit butter or your favourite preserves in place of apple butter.
3. For the cheese: Try using camembert in place of brie cheese.

More apple butter recipes to try:

• Sweet Apple Butter (used in this recipe)
• Tart Apple Butter (my personal favourite)
• Cranberry Apple Butter
• Pumpkin Apple Butter

You will need:

• Ingredients (see recipe card)
• Mixing bowls
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Rolling pin
• Sharp knife
• Spoon
• Pastry brush
• Parchment paper
• Baking sheets

Print

Apple Butter Baked Brie

This apple butter baked brie recipe is so simple and so, so delicious! For best results, make the dough and apple butter yourself (recipe links in the notes)– but you can make this almost just as good with any pre-made puff pastry and your favourite jam.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American, Canadian, French

Keyword apple butter, baked brie

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes

Servings 12 people

Ingredients

• 1 batch Butter Croissant dough prepared up to step 4 in my tutorial (see recipes notes)
• 1 c. Sweet Apple Butter (see recipes notes)
• 1 large 300g wheel of Brie cheese
• 1 large egg beaten with 1 tsp. cold water
• 1/2-2/3 c. raw sliced or slivered almonds for sprinkling
• Fresh rosemary to garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Remove the prepared, chilled croissant dough from the refrigerator, and roll out on a lightly floured work surface into a 9×18-inch rectangle. Cut it in half.

2. Using a sharp knife, cut little slits on an angle about 1/2-inch to 1-inch wide all the way down each side of the squares (about 12 slits on each side). The slits should be about 2-1/2-inches deep, slanting down on both sides.

3. Spread the apple butter down the centre strip of each portion of dough, and then cover with slices of brie cheese.

4. Fold the top lip of the dough down over the filling, and begin “braiding” the slit pieces of dough over each other, alternating sides, just until the apple butter and cheese are covered and the ends of the slits are concealed beneath the next strip of dough.

5. When you get the end of the braid, before you fold in the last four strips, fold up the bottom piece to seal in the apple butter. Wrap the top two pieces over the bottom piece, and tuck them underneath it to hold it in place. Tuck the final two pieces of dough underneath to seal off the braid. (See step by step images for reference.)

   Note: If you have uneven numbers of strips on each side, as I do in these pictures, just tuck 2 pieces in together as one, and fold it together evenly.

6. Repeat with the second piece of dough.

7. Lay the finished braids onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and cover them loosely with a tea towel to rise. Allow to rest at room temperature for at least 1-3 hours, or until puffy or nearly doubled in bulk.

8. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the risen braids with your egg and water mixture, and then sprinkle them with almonds. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until puffy and golden. Cool on a wire rack. Decorate with fresh rosemary, to serve (if desired).

9. This braid is best served warm, but if you want to make it in advance, just pop it in the oven for a few minutes to warm up again before serving.

Recipe Notes

For the dough & apple butter recipes:

Butter Croissant dough
Sweet Apple Butter

1. Roll out the dough

2. Divide into sections & score the dough

3. Add the filling

4, 5, & 6. Braid the dough

7. Allow the dough to rise

8. & 9. Bake & Serve

Other similar recipes:

• Cranberry Apple Butter Danishes
• Miniature Baked Brie
• Butter Croissants
• Chocolate Croissants
• Miniature Apple Turnovers

A final tip:

For this recipe, rather than making the two braids, I actually saved one portion of dough to make a batch of my Cranberry Apple Butter Danishes. If you don’t need to serve 12 people, I highly recommend doing this!

A closing question

If you would substitute any of the ingredients in this recipe, what would it be? Drop me a note in the comments to let me know!

Also, as always, if you make this recipe, please tag me in your photos on Instagram @naomicakesofficial. I love to see your great work!

Back soon,

–Naomi

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