Perfect for sharing, this crusty, gooey, bourbony treat is guaranteed to be a hit on your holiday table. Photographed at Bluegrass Kitchens by Emily Giancarlo
Kentucky blogger, small-business advocate and travel inspirer, Marie McLamb (BackroadBluegrass.com) has shared a recipe for a tasty holiday appetizer that is incredibly easy to make and uses local ingredients. (Warning: Once you make this for a party, your friends and family will ask you to bring it again and again!)
Ingredients:
• One 4-5” wheel of Brie
• One roll of refrigerated croissant dough
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons of Hot Honey (we used Rockbridge Farmstead)
• 2 tablespoons of preferred Kentucky bourbon
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds (or other chopped nut of choice)
• 1/8 cup chopped dried cranberries
Method:
Preheat oven to 385° F.
Unroll croissant dough and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. If your dough is perforated, pinch the perforations together with your fingers.
Use a pizza cutter to cut off 1/4 of the dough, saving for decorating the top.
Place croissant dough on a piece of parchment paper and place brie in the middle of the dough. Pull the dough up to the center of the cheese wheel until the Brie is completely covered. It’s okay if the dough overlaps a bit.
Use the pizza cutter to cut some triangles from most of the leftover dough. Create poinsettia leaves by pinching the wider part of the dough together at the bottom. Lay the leaves in a circle from the center of the Brie.
Next, roll about six to eight small balls from the dough, about the size of a small marble. Place these balls randomly on the top of the Brie.
Place parchment with croissant covered Brie on a cookie sheet and into the oven for 18-22 minutes. Check after 16 minutes to see if the top is browning evenly. If any part of the croissant is getting too brown, just use a small piece of aluminum foil to cover it and continue baking. Once the croissant crust is golden brown, remove from the oven.
While the Brie is baking, mix together the honey, hot honey and bourbon into a glass measuring cup. Cover with a paper towel and microwave for 15 seconds, stir, and then microwave 10 more seconds more until piping hot.
Slide the baked Brie onto a serving plate with an edge to hold the honey glaze.
Now the fun part! Drizzle the hot honey and bourbon mixture over and around the croissant baked Brie. Sprinkle the nuts and chopped dried cranberries on top. Voila! Cut and serve immediately for a deliciously crusty, bourbony and melty Brie paradise.
Marie McLamb is the founder of the blog Bluegrass Backroads, where she shares info about Kentucky events, restaurants, destinations and more. Photo by Emily Giancarlo