Christmas Baked Brie

Christmas Cupcake Murder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F., rack in the center position.

* 1 package frozen puff pastry (I used Pepperidge Farm, which contains 2 sheets)
* 1 wheel of Brie or Camembert cheese (7 to 10 ounces by weight)
* 1 small jar of mincemeat (you will use 1/4 to 1/2 cup)

### Directions

* Prepare your baking pan by spraying a cookie sheet with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. Alternatively, you can line it with parchment paper and spray that with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.
	+ **Hannah's 1st Note:** *If your grocery store doesn't carry jars of mincemeat, you can usually order it from Walmart, Sam's Club, or Amazon. If you're in a hurry and don't want to wait for your order to come, you can substitute your favorite kind of chutney or use whole berry cranberry sauce.*
* Place a bread board (if you have one)' or a large square of wax paper on your kitchen counter. Sprinkle the Tablespoon of flour on it and spread it around a bit with your impeccably clean palms to form a light coating.
* Unwrap one sheet of puff pastry (it usually comes with 2 sheets to a package) and leave the second one in the freezer.
* Place the sheet of frozen puff pastry in the center of the space you've floured and thaw it according to package directions.
* When your puff pastry has thawed, spread a little flour on your rolling pin and roll the puff pastry out into a square that's large enough to wrap around your cheese.
* Transfer the puff pastry square to the center of the baking sheet you've prepared.
* Move your wheel of Brie or Camembert cheese to the counter and place it in the center of your puff pastry square. Make sure there's enough pastry dough to bring it up the sides of the cheese and ALMOST cover the top. '(You'll want to leave a little bit of your mincemeat topping showing in the very center of the cheese.)
* Open your jar of mincemeat and use a spoon to spread from a quarter-cup to a half-cup of mincemeat on the top of your cheese.
* Using both hands, wrap the puff pastry up over the sides of the cheese, patting it in place. Then bring it over the top of the cheese wheel, leaving a little room so that the mincemeat can bubble up in the center when it bakes.
	+ **Hannah's 2nd Note:** You may have to fold some of the edges so that your guests can see the mincemeat topping inside.
* Bake your Christmas Baked Brie at 425 degrees F. for 12 to 16 minutes or until the top of the puff pastry is a lovely golden brown.
* Take the cookie sheet out of the oven and let your Christmas Baked Brie cool on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack for 15 minutes.
* Use a wide metal spatula to transfer your creation to a wooden cutting board and carry it to the table.
* Cut your Christmas Baked Brie into wedges with a long sharp knife. (A chef's knife would be perfect.) Do this by first cutting it in half and then turning the cutting board so that you can cut it in half again. This will give you 4 pieces.
* Continue by cutting the 4 pieces in half to make 8 pieces.
	+ **Hannah's 3rd Note:** This is easier to do than to describe. It's like cutting a pie into 8 pieces.
* To make this easier for your guests to transfer to appetizer plates, insert a food pick in the center of each piece so that they can pick them up.
* To serve, present the cutting board to each guest so that he or she can choose their own slice of Christmas Baked Brie. Be sure to serve this tasty appetizer while it is still warm. This is especially wonderful when it's served with wine or champagne.

## Conversion Charts

See Baking Conversion Chart for non-USA baking conversions.