Easy Baked Brie with Figs and Honey

Easy Baked Brie with Figs and Honey ~ this elegant baked cheese is your ultimate Fall and holiday appetizer, but it’s so rich and decadent you could even serve it for dessert!

Famously successful hosts, last minute party-throwers, and those neighbors with an open door policy have a closely guarded secret ~  baked Brie.  It’s the world’s easiest and most glamorous appetizer and it makes your guests feel welcome and well fed, all for a couple of minutes work on your part.  Pretty smart, huh?

There aren’t too many people on this planet who don’t appreciate the charms of molten cheese and a dribble of honey.  This is the genius of this kind of app ~ it plays on everybody’s weakness.  All you’re gonna need is a wheel of Brie, some figs, a few pistachios, and some good honey.  You’ve got this.

TIP: Unopened wheels of Brie will last a long time in the fridge, so stock up on a few at the beginning of the holiday season.

Figs are one of the oldest, and most luscious fruits.  There are a few different varieties that you may come across, depending on the season, but I used the purple skinned Mission (or California) fig for this recipe.  It has the softest, sweetest, most flavorful flesh.  You can use any of them for this baked Brie, and it helps if they are ripe.  But beware, figs are very perishable once ripe, so use them right away.  Unripe figs will continue to ripen on the counter, like bananas.

• Mission, they’re the most common (purple skinned, syrupy sweet flesh)
• Adriatic (pale green with bright pink flesh, great for eating raw)
• Brown Turkey (elongated, with brownish skin)
• Calimyrna (green skin, brilliant pink interior)
• Kadota, the original ‘Fig Newton’ fig (yellowish skin, amber flesh)

TIP: To preserve ripe figs for a few days, dunk them in a solution of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water. Pat dry and store in a single layer the refrigerator on a paper towel, loosely covered.  This works with delicate berries, too.

Photo © Kenneth A. Wilson/Getty Images

TIP: When you’re baking Brie you don’t need to go for the expensive stuff, so don’t splurge.  This is going to be runny and delicious no matter what.

This baked Brie with figs appetizer is stunning, and really fun to present to a crowd.  And like I said up top, don’t be afraid to serve it for dessert, either!  If you do decide to try it as dessert, I think it would be amazing with Carr’s Whole Wheat Crackers ~ they’re slightly sweet, kind of like an adult version of a graham cracker.

Wine pairings for Baked Brie with Figs and Honey~

• Champagne, if you’re in the mood to splurge
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Voignier (one of my favorite wines)
• Pinot Noir

TIP: Whatever wine you choose, go for a dry variety to balance out the sweetness of the figs and honey.

Fresh figs are an exotic treat, even in this era when foods regularly travel across the globe, so when you see them, pick them up, a quick Internet search will give you tons of ways to use them.  On my blog alone I’ve got everything from a ROASTED FIG GELATO recipe to an amazing FIG AND FRIED GOAT CHEESE SALAD.  And don’t fret if yours go from perfectly ripe to ‘mature’ before you can use them, my CARDAMOM FIG JAM is a delicious solution.

Make it your own ~

• You could use maple syrup or agave syrup instead of honey.
• You can slice the figs into round slices instead of wedges.
• Brush the figs liberally with melted jam (apricot works well) instead of the honey.
• If you love the combination of figs with Brie, try this recipe for Brie stuffed figs.  But figs also go well with goat cheese, and this galette makes a gorgeous appetizer or vegetarian main course.  If you want a simple decadent dessert, I love these Amaretto Soaked Figs, I’d serve them with a little whipped cream, yum.  And did you know that you can make Homemade Fig Newtons?  Let’s hear it for FIGS!

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