A Bucks County Thanksgiving - Cranberry Maple Baked Brie

One of the 2015 Food Trend flavors is maple. So here’s some bragging rights for your Thanksgiving table. It starts with making your own cranberry sauce, which you need to do anyway. Cranberry sauce is one of the easiest things to make and if you haven’t tried it yet, this is your moment. It will take 15 minutes of your time, you can make it the day before and you can add other flavors of your choice, like: fresh ginger, orange zest, lime zest, dried cherries or any dried fruit, wine, etc. Cranberries contain pectin which thickens the sauce as it cooks and then cools so there’s no need for anything else. The basics are cranberries, water and sugar. How thick or thin, whole berry or cooked down you prefer it all depends on cooking time and the amount of water/liquid you use. I suggest no more than 1 cup liquid total, but as you gain experience making this you can play with that amount. Since maple is one of the major flavors in this dish, I suggest that you use pure maple syrup, not Aunt Jemima or Hungry Jack. Pancake syrup is flavored corn syrup, so ……. adjust your palate to pure maple syrup. There are producers here in Pennsylvania, in fact. Swiss Villa is one of the PA brands and you’re likely to find it in one of our farmer’s markets. But Vermont maple syrup is great too if you can’t find a locally made brand. The next component to this dish is the brie. I like all of the French brands I’ve seen in the stores so that makes it easy. The very last component is the crust. Well, actually that’s optional – to crust or not to crust. I’m including my pie crust recipe which is easy to make using a food processor and super cold ingredients. I discourage store bought pie crust because of the preservatives and additives. However, if you must…… Having crust will only affect your cooking time and whether or not you need crackers or bread to serve with it. Without crust you will bake this for about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the wheel of brie you use. With crust it will bake for 25 to 35 minutes. I think this is one of those dishes that is simple to make, celebrates clean flavors, can be dressed up or down and is, at the same time, a pretty and impressive addition to your appetizers menu – especially if you’re following my advice by keeping your appetizers simple with a fresh, local fruit and cheese board. This dish will be the sparkle. I hope you try it. Enjoy!

Cranberry Maple Baked Brie

For the cranberry sauce:

12 oz bag of cranberries, rinsed

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Bring water and sugar to a boil in a small pot. Take one handful of cranberries out of the colander you rinsed them in and set aside for baking time. Add cranberries and any other flavorings and stir. Bring back up to the boil, reduce to simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. If you have added wine, be sure that your total liquid amount is 1 cup and if you like it really thick, cook for an additional 5 minutes. If you like it thinner, cook for a total of 5 minutes. Remove from heat, pour into serving dish or storage dish and allow to fully cool at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use or use immediately at room temp.

For the crust: if using, bake at 425 degrees

Yields 2 pie crusts

2 ½ cups good quality flour like King Arthur white whole wheat - I use Castle Valley Mill soft bolted wheat

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces and frozen for about 15 minutes

½ teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons ice water

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Add flour, salt and butter to a food processor and pulse until dough looks like course meal. You want to see small butter pieces but not large ones. Combine water and vinegar and add half the amount to food processor and pulse 5 or so times, add the rest of the water and continue to pulse until dough JUST comes together. Check by grabbing a chunk of dough, if when squeezed in your hand it comes together, dough is done. Be careful to not over mix. Dough will be shaggy and piecey. Pour out onto clean work surface and pull dough together with your hands to form one ball. Cut ball into two pieces and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. Longer is better.

Assemble:

Medium/large wheel of brie

Maple syrup

Cranberry sauce and handful of whole, uncooked cranberries

Pie crust

Decorative pie plate to bake and serve in

Roll out pie crust and place in pie plate. Add brie to the center, top with 3 tablespoons of maple syrup then cooled cranberry sauce and whole, uncooked cranberries. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of maple syrup on top. Pull sides of pie crust up over top of brie and cranberries, starting with 2 opposing sides, pinch together and then the other 2 opposing sides. Gather all side of the dough at the top and give a gentle twist and press/pinch together. Or you can simple wrap the brie and press the top flat. Make sure all seams are pinched closed. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes or until pie crust is fully cooked and golden brown.