A Recipe Revisied.....A Great Appetizer....Baked Brie with Strawberry Jam and Almonds!

Are you READY for the big day?  Christmas will be here before we know it!  Today we did our last shopping, and then ran to Costco, I just love that store, and got some goodies, and our Christmas turkey!  We will be home alone this Christmas, just the four of us!  I am looking forward to the relaxing day, no running, no preparing for company.  We'll be going to my sister's on Christmas Eve, and that will be fun!  

We have our traditions, homemade sticky buns with coffee right before we open the gifts, and of course the Breakfast Casserole that I posted a couple of weeks ago.  We open our gifts with the "Yule Log" playing on the t.v., and it really takes about 2 hours until we are all done!  It's a wonderful and festive time for us, and the kids love the traditions that we've made over the years! 

Here's another appetizer that I love to make, and it's one of the easiest around. It's a Baked Brie.  It's so simple, but whenever I make it, I "WOW" everyone. Baked Brie is truly a most delicious appetizer. I know, Brie is an expensive cheese, but I buy a nice size round in Costco, so much cheaper than at the local grocery store. I wrap a whole Brie round in 1 sheet of puffed pastry, but first I spread strawberry jam on both sides, and top it off with either almonds or walnuts. So delicious, and EASY! Try it!

A round of Brie!

Baked Brie with Strawberry Jam and Almonds

1 6 inch round of Brie
1 sheet of puffed pastry thawed
4 TBS strawberry jam, or whatever kind you prefer
1/2 cup chopped or sliced almonds or walnuts whatever nut you prefer
1 egg and 1 TBS Water for Egg Wash

Unroll the puffed pastry and put it on a floured board, and just roll it out to get rid of the lines from the fold. In the middle of the pastry, put 2 TBS jam, spread it in a circle, about the size of the Brie, top with 1/4 cup of the nuts. Take the Brie out of the package, and keeping the white part on, put it on top of the jam and nut mixture, and add more jam and nuts to the top side of the Brie. Fold the Puffed pastry up around the top side of the Brie, folding it into a neat package. Turn it over, the bottom will now be your top, since it's smooth and prettier. Put it on a greased cookie sheet. Crack the egg into a small bowl and add 1 TBS water, and mix, brush it all over the packaged puff pastry Brie,. Now you can either bake it in a 375 oven for 20 mins or put it back in the frig and pop it in the oven right before your guests come. Serve with crackers on a pretty platter. YUMMO