Savory Swirling Through the Holidaze

Ho ho ho!

It’s been a crazy, fun time in the world of KitchAnnette! And bizzzzzzzy (that’s my word for biz busy – bizzy – ha!)! But it’s also time to get your bake on – sweet and savory.

We created an EASY appetizer that is sure to WOW at New Year’s Eve gatherings or any holiday event. This was a hit at my office potluck, my Christmas Eve, & Christmas Day feasts (it’s like fancy dresses – you can make the same choice as long as there’s a different crowd at each event – wink wink!).

I’d never worked with puff pastry before and took a chance on buying some pre-made dough. Shame on KItchA-me!!! My mom set me straight immediately, reminding me of our easy rugelach recipe dough – I’ll share that when I get to the sweet baking recipes in my next post (foreshadowing…). For now, I’ll keep it to my little cheat (shhhhh…).

Ingredients: 1 package frozen puffed pastry (bring to room temp before beginning), 8 oz. slicing Brie cheese, black pepper, apricot preserves.

Directions: Preheat oven to 400°. The dough comes in 10″ x 10″ squares. Roll it out to a length of 14″. Slice Brie cheese thinly and place one layer over the dough. Sprinkle black pepper over the cheese in a light layer – best flavor when using freshly cracked peppercorns. It’s ready to be rolled into a long 14″ tube! You can do a simple roll in one direction or roll each side towards the center, palmier-style. Then roll in wax paper to set in the fridge for 10 minutes (makes it easier to slice).

Take from fridge & slice into about 1/4-1/2″ rounds. Don’t worry if they aren’t perfectly shaped. You’ll have 40ish depending on how you sliced. Place on parchment paper-covered edged pans – give them space – and top with a light layer of apricot preserves. Bake for about 12-15 minutes – check after 10 minutes and look every 2 minutes until they’re golden. Remove, let cool, and serve!

How’s that for easy! And the “feed”-back will be all smiles and Mmmmms!