Sunday, October 14, 2007

Black Raspberry-Brie Bites

I just joined a cooking club in DC called "Ladies Who Cook....Sometimes." My guess is that it started because people found that they were too busy to take their cooking seriously, and wanted to set aside some time each month to celebrate fun in the kitchen. Ideally, we'd all get together and cook, but everyone's so busy that the club has taken a potluck format. Each month has a theme, and people make dishes in accordance with that theme. Then we all get together and gorge. Sounds fun, right?

Well, this month's theme is finger food. I had originally planned to make brie and onion tartlets, but a last-minute morning walk meant I had less time than I thought I would. In a pinch, I grabbed frozen Trader Joe's puff pastry out of my freezer (it's sold flat, so it takes a mere 10 minutes to thaw) and made these brie-raspberry bites. They're the perfect appetizer to make in a pinch, and they're sweet without being dessert-y.


Black Raspberry-Brie Bites
2 sheets puff pastry, thawed and rolled to 1/8-inch thick
1/2 cup raspberry or black raspberry preserves
32 frozen raspberries or black raspberries, thawed and drained
Wedge brie cheese, cut into 32 bite-size squares
sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Working with one pastry sheet at a time, slice into 16 squares. I start by slicing into four equal quarters, then slice each of those into four quarters to make each square the same size.

In the center of each square, place 1 piece of brie, 1 raspberry and a dallop of jam.

to make turnovers:

Wet your fingers, and run them along two connecting edges of one of the squares.

Fold the far corner onto the near corner, and using two fingers, press the edges together to form a triangle. You may have to really press to make the dough stick to itself, and wetting the dough should help.

to make bundles:

Wet your fingers, and run them along all four edges of a square.

Bring the four corners together, pinch at the center, and pinch along the edges to seal.


When all turnovers/bundles are created, place them 1/2-inch apart on baking sheets. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden. let cool 5 minutes, then serve warm.

6 comments:

Sara said...

I saw these on TasteSpotting and they look delicious! Raspberry and Brie is one of my all time favorite combinations.

I am currently living in the DC area (MD to be more exact...). I'm always interested in having an outlet for cooking. Is the club you mentioned an open group?

Unknown said...

The club can always use a new member! Send me your email and I'll have you added to the list.

Sarah C. said...

Gorgeous and tasty all in one! These are perfect and I love that they can just be thrown together. I am pretty sure that frozen pastry dough is gods gift to, well, just about everybody with a freezer.

I dont live in the DC area...this is my plea for some one, anyone, to start a similar club in Indiana...I would drive miles, truly!

Rachel said...

yummy!

Anonymous said...

This reminded me of a recipe i have, except that you wrap the entire wheel of brie in puff pastry. Your version is definitely better as finger food.

Unknown said...

I do a brie wheel also, and I usually stuff apricot jam and caramelized onions between the top of the brie and the puff pastry...I thought these made for a nice change of pace.