Brie & Jam Pastry Appetizers

A friend of mine posted this recipe on Pinterest a while back, and I was immediately taken. Brie + jam + pastry?? Sign me up! Problem was, I didn’t have a really good reason to make something like this, and if I just made them for myself I would eat them ALL, which is a bad idea.

So when I was in Dallas last weekend my friend Kristine and I decided to prepare a big Sabbath dinner for us, her boyfriend and her roommate. I suggested these little pastry brie & jam bites as an appetizer, and she immediately agreed.

They were easy, affordable, and–best of all–delicious!

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

The puff pastry sheets will be frozen when you get them. You’ll want to thaw them halfway, but not all the way–they’ll get doughy, hard to handle, and won’t keep shape. My first batch was like this, so I threw the second sheet into the freezer for a bit before making them. They should be semi-frozen when you work with them.

Since we couldn’t find fig jam at the grocery store, we used the Bonne Maman apricot-raspberry preserves. And it was awesome.

Cut a sheet of pastry dough into 12 equal (or mostly equal, I can’t cut straight to save my life) pieces. I used a pizza cutter, super easy.

Put a dollop of jam in the center of each piece. Be careful not to use too much…this was the first batch and it WAS too much. Oozed out all over the place when it baked and made a super mess.

Place a small slice of brie in the center of each piece. Place some others in your mouth…have to make sure it’s good, after all!

That may be near perfection.

Take each piece and pull up the edges to make a little boat, smooshing the sides of the dough together to make it hold.

There is no right or perfect way to do it. Kristine made fun of my ugly ones (like the bottom center)–but they were still delicious.

Better to err on the side of over-sealing, as they will come apart in the oven.

Place them on parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. It took more like 20 minutes for both of our batches.

We didn’t have parchment paper (and have found through trial and error that wax paper is NOT a good substitute unless you like fire). I’d recommend using aluminum foil and lightly spraying with cooking spray, as an alternative.

The finished product. They were a super hit. Even The Boy loved them, though he insisted on calling them Croissanwiches.

Easy, affordable, and fancy–a trifecta that’s hard to beat. Great for a dinner party hors d’oeuvres, brunch, a bridal shower, anything really.

Brie & Jam Bites (Hors D’Oeurves)

• A round of brie
• Fig jam (I couldn’t find fig jam, but you can use any high-end jam)
• Frozen puff pastry sheets (mostly thawed)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, silicone, or (in a pinch) tin foil with a little cooking spray or butter.
2. The puff pastry sheets will be frozen when you get them. You’ll want to thaw them halfway, but not all the way–they’ll get doughy, hard to handle, and won’t keep shape. It works best if they’re semi-frozen when you work with them.  If they’re thawed a little more, use some flour to keep the from sticking too badly.
3. Cut a sheet of pastry dough into 12 equal (or mostly equal, I can’t cut straight to save my life) pieces.  Hint: a pizza cutter makes this super easy.
4. Put a dollop of jam in the center of each piece. Be careful not to use too much or it will seriously ooze and make a super mess.
5. Place a small slice of brie in the center of each piece.
6. Take each piece of puff pastry and pull up the edges to make a little boat, smooshing (technical term!) the sides of the dough together to make it hold.  There’s no right or wrong way to do this, but do err on the side of over-sealing them since they’ll come apart in the oven.
7. Place them on parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. It took more like 20 minutes for both of our batches.

Original recipe here

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