Baked Brie with Jam and Pecans
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Baked brie with jam usually gets pitched as a party appetizer, but I make it for the small table, not the crowd, usually at Thanksgiving or Christmas with family or on a little board for a few of us. The whole trick is knowing when to take it out of the oven, and that comes down to watching the cheese instead of the clock.
I have a big cheese family, and this is the dish that brings everyone to the table. It gets quiet once people start eating, which in my house is how I know something is good, and nobody stops until it’s gone. My husband can’t say no to it either, so it keeps showing up whenever it’s just us.
How It Comes Together
Start with the Brie cold from the fridge, score a shallow crosshatch into the top, pile the jam on, and scatter the pecans and rosemary over it. Bake it at 350°F for 12 to 15 minutes, and start checking at 12, because every oven runs a little differently. You’re looking for a rind that’s soft when you press the side gently and cheese just starting to melt out of the crosshatch. That’s your cue, no matter what the timer says.
Once it’s on the board, set crackers or baguette slices around it. If you want more to scoop with, my list of the best breads for a charcuterie board has plenty. The full ingredient amounts and step-by-step instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
Pull it at the first ooze. I learned this the hard way. I worried about a cold middle and gave it more time than it needed, and it burst in the oven. Everyone still ate every bit of it, so no harm done. But it missed the best part, which is the moment at the table when the knife goes in and the cheese runs out.
Ingredient Notes
Brie. The timing here is built for an 8-ounce round. A bigger round needs longer, so go by the cue rather than the clock. Leave the rind on. It holds the melting cheese in like the skin on a water balloon, right up until the knife goes in.
Cranberry jam. Cranberry gives it the holiday color you see here. For a variation, fig and blackberry both pair well with Brie, and raspberry or strawberry are easy swaps too. If you’re deciding between them, my roundup of the best jams for a charcuterie board goes through which ones pair with Brie.
What I’ve Learned Making This
- Keep the scoring shallow, three cuts each way and barely through the rind. If you go deep, the cheese melts out through the top in the oven and loses its shape before the sides have softened.
- Pile the jam on higher than looks reasonable. It might look like too much jam, but don’t worry. As the cheese warms and spreads, the jam settles and covers more of the top.
- Bake it on parchment and move it by the paper, the whole sheet straight onto the board, so you never have to work a spatula under soft cheese.
How to Serve Baked Brie with Jam
Set it out on a small tray lined with paper, with clusters of red grapes, round crackers and rectangular crispbreads for scooping, a handful of whole pecans, and a few sprigs of rosemary tucked around the edges. For a few people, that tray is the whole spread, and it’s an easy start on a small charcuterie board if you want to add a little cured meat.
At Thanksgiving or Christmas, the same tray fits right into a holiday charcuterie board before dinner. Wait to cut a wedge until people are gathered around, because that first cut is the moment you made it for. There are more boards for every size of table in my charcuterie recipes.
Warm Baked Brie with Jam and Pecans
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Brie cheese round, cold from the fridge
- ½ cup cranberry jam
- ¼ cup pecans chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped
- crackers or sliced baguette for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a small baking dish with parchment paper.
- Lightly score the top of the Brie with three diagonal cuts, then three or four more in the other direction to make a crosshatch. Keep the cuts shallow, since deep cuts let the cheese melt out through the top and lose its shape.
- Set the Brie in the baking dish and pile the jam on top. Sprinkle the pecans and rosemary over the jam.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the rind feels soft when you press the sides gently and the cheese is just starting to melt out of the crosshatch. Ovens vary, so start checking at 12 minutes. Left in longer, the round can burst and run in the oven.
- Lift the Brie out by the parchment and set it on a serving board or platter. Arrange crackers or baguette slices around it and serve right away.
Notes
- Fig, blackberry, raspberry, or strawberry jam can stand in for the cranberry.
- Chopped walnuts swap in for the pecans at the same amount.
- If you only have dried rosemary, use ½ teaspoon.
