I was at a friend’s home years ago and she was SO excited about making this brie for me.  She told me it had jalapeño, nuts, apricot preserves and brie.  I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but it sounded disgusting to me!  I tried to gently prepare her for the fact that I was probably not going to like it.  In fact, I’d probably think it was way too spicy and spit it out.  Boy, was I way off!  Not only is this one of my favorite appetizers, it’s one of those things I make for parties that just blows people away.  It’s super easy to make, but it seems fancy.  The flavors are spicy and sweet, crunchy and creamy…It’s gonna knock your socks off!  As I come into the holidays, I always pull this recipe out to take for fancy dinners, or wine and cheese parties.  It’s super easy to transport, especially if you can have it ready to go and pop it into the hostess’s oven for 10 minutes.  So here it is.  I am going to give you the measurements that the recipe uses on the Pampered Chef site.  However, I do not measure this.  I put a couple scoops of preserves, some jalepeno, some chopped pecans or walnuts or whatever I have on hand.  It’s perfect every time.  I hope you love it as much as we do!

Sweet and Spicy Brie

1/2 c. pecan halves (I always throw mine into a pan on light heat until they smell fragrant to toast them up and release the oils)

1/4 c. apricot preserves

1 jalapeño, seeded and diced

Mix the pecans, apricot preserves and diced jalapeño.  I get a lot of hot peppers from my CSA in the summertime, so I usually cut them in half, seed them, and store them in a quart bag in the freezer.  Then when I need them, I pull out a half or whole and dice it up.  It works beautifully.

Next, cut a 4″ round brie in half horizontally.  I don’t like the moldy tasting exterior (I know, that’s what makes the cheese.  But I hate it!), so I carefully cut off the top and bottom.  I leave the sides on so it doesn’t gush everywhere.  It gives it a little more shape.  But if you leave the brie in tact, it’s even more beautiful to serve.  After you cut it, spoon the mixture into the center and smooth it out.  Put the top half of the cheese on and do the same thing.  Think frosting a layer cake.

Cut a baguette into thin slices.  At this point, you can brush olive oil onto them and arrange them, or just arrange them beautifully and spray with an olive oil baking spray.  You can make this on a baking stone, but I’ve also just made it on a pizza pan.  Anything round will work.  Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  When the bread is toasty and the brie is warm, it’s ready to serve!