Bread Baked Brie with Cranberry

 

Thanksgiving is upon us and that puts me in my annual quandary -- to cranberry or not to cranberry.  Cranberries are a traditional Thanksgiving food but not something that I really enjoy.  This recipe incorporates that tradition in a fresh and delicious way!  

This makes an excellent appetizer for your holiday guests and will be loved at your next potluck or office luncheon!

You'll need:

I large loaf of unsliced Italian Bread
16 ounces of Brie (take off the rind)
3/4 cup of Jellied Cranberry Sauce
1/3 cup Dried Cranberries
1/2 cup Chopped Pecans
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1 1/2 cup Melted Butter (Kerry Gold is best)
1 teaspoon Thyme leaves

Cut the center of the bread out to create a bread bowl.  The center of the bread will be great to add to your dressing (some call it stuffing but it's dressing at our house.  

Remove the rind from the Brie and smear it into the bread bowl.  Add the Jellied Cranberry Sauce and spread it over the cheese.  Top with dried cranberries.

Add the Brown Sugar and Chopped Pecans to the melted butter and pour the mixture over the bread bowl.  

Take a knife and make small cuts on the outside of the bread bowl to make it easy to tear a piece away.  Take the remaining melted butter and mix with Thyme.  Brush the exterior of the bread bowl with the butter mixture - be sure to get butter in every nook and cranny.  Bake at 350* for 25 minutes.  

This will be a cheesy, sweet and delicious dish and your guests will be coming back for more!  

Apple Maple Crinkle

 

I am always searching for something new to bring to a potluck or family get together.  This dish was so good and I had all but two ingredients in the house!  The crinkle idea put my heart to rest on appearance as this isn't supposed to look perfect and I LOVE that!  The maple and cinnamon make the perfect complement to the tart of the apples.  I just loved this and I hope you do too!

Base Ingredients:

1/2 (1 lb) box phyllo dough, thawed (one tube)
1 cup melted butter
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar (I did 1/4 cup white and 1/4 cup brown)
½ cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons maple extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Granny Smith apple (peeled and very thinly sliced and pat them dry on paper towels)

Glaze:

3 Tablespoons melted butter

1 cup powdered sugar
¼ cup maple syrup

Garnish:

1/3 cup powdered sugar (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Pick up two sheets of phyllo dough at a time and crinkle them in accordion folds. Fit folded dough into the prepared baking dish and repeat the process until you’ve worked through one roll of dough. Fluff folds to ensure they’re evenly spaced.

Bake folded dough for 10 minutes.

Remove dough from oven and tuck in the apple slices throughout the folds.  It's super important for those apple slices to be as dry as possible.  They add a ton of moisture to the dish and you don't want it to be soggy.

Drizzle melted butter over the top. Return to oven and bake for 10 more minutes.

As the buttered dough bakes, whisk together the milk eggs, sugar, maple syrup, maple extract, vanilla, and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl.

Remove the baked dough from the oven and pour the maple mixture evenly over the top.

Bake for an additional 30-35 minutes until golden.

During the final bake time prepare the glaze by whisking together the melted butter, powdered sugar, and maple syrup.

Allow crinkle to cool then drizzle glaze over the top.  If you're super sweet - sprinkle with a little more powdered sugar too!