Baked Cheese en Croûte

I was a little upset when I looked over my blog and realized that I had only blogged three posts this month. I was going strong for a while, but then midterms took their toll on my cooking. I decided that since it was the last weekend of the month, I had to at least make something new. Due to the fact that I did not have a lot of time to spend on a recipe, I searched for one that could be done with pre-made ingredients.

As always, I went through tastespotting.com looking at beautiful pictures of food and clicking on anything appealing. Of course most of the recipes required more effort than I was willing to put in and I had to leave them for some other time. However one recipe stood out as completely do-able and it came from a blog that I have been following. I have already made some of the recipes from Annie's Eats and every single time they're a big hit. This time was no exception; the family loved the cheese and ate it all up faster than I had anticipated. In fact, my mom said that she was going to run out to the store the next day to buy another round of cheese.

The original recipe called for brie cheese, but I used goat cheese because that's what we had on hand...and because I've been addicted to it lately. You can pretty much use any soft cheese that comes packaged in a round. Also, I used peach preserves because they were in the pantry, however the original recipe used apple. Quite frankly, you can use any fruit you like because the idea is to balance the saltiness of the cheese with the sweetness of the fruit. Whatever ingredients you choose, just know that there's almost no way to go wrong and everyone will be raving about your creativity.

Baked Cheese en Croûte

• 1 package crescent dough
• 1 round soft cheese with rind (brie, camambert, goat cheese, etc.)
• 1 jar preserves (peach, apple, cranberry, etc.)

1. Combine the pre-cut triangles and roll it out to about 1/4" thickness and big enough to fold over and cover the cheese almost completely when placed in the center.
2. Cut the disk of cheese horizontally across to create two thinner disks. 
3. Place the bottom disk, rind side down, in the center of the puff pastry and cover with an even layer of fruit preserves.
4. Place the top disk, rind side up, over the fruit and cover with another layer of preserves. Don't be afraid to use a little extra on top...it will taste great.
5. Fold the remaining dough up an over the edge of the cheese and pinch into pleats. The dough should cover most of the cheese and fruits so that only a little bit is exposed in the middle.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, or until the dough is golden brown and a little crispy. If you notice the edges are brown but the middle is still doughy use aluminum foil to cover the edge and leave the middle exposed. Cool for five minutes and then transfer to a plate with crackers.

Update: Recently I have been making this recipe in a slightly different way that makes pre-portioned individual servings rather than a large one that has to be cut.

1. Combine the pre-cut triangles and roll it out to about 1/4" thickness and then cut out 2" circles. 
2. Place the circles into a mini muffin pan and press the dough up along the slides. 
3. Cut the cheese round in across and then into walnut size chunks. Fill each well with a piece or two of the cheese and top with some preserves. 
4. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-13 minutes.