Raspberry Baked Brie

This is a recipe for a super simple raspberry baked brie! I bake this on most family holidays but this one was for the Fourth of July.

You will only need a few ingredients, which are:

• 1 Brie wheel
• 1 Frozen puff pastry sheet 
• Jar of raspberry preserves
• 1 Egg

You will also need extra flour, a rolling pin, an egg brush, and a pan/dish to bake the brie.

First, let your frozen puff pastry sheet sit out until it reaches room temperature. I buy this kind from my grocery store: 

Pre heat your oven to 375° F

Lightly dust your work surface with flour. Take out one of your puff pastry sheets, unfold it and lie it flat on the surface. F

Dust the rolling pin and then roll the dough so it is flat and even. You shouldn't have to roll too much, you don't want the dough too thin. Cut the brie wheel in half by slicing along the side. Place the bottom half in the center of the puff pastry. Next, try to create a little shallow well on the surface of the brie by pushing the cheese inside to the edges. Spoon on some raspberry preserves as shown in the picture.

Place the other half of the brie on top of the bottom half and raspberry preserves. Spoon on more raspberry preserves! 

Cut off the corners of the puff pastry, making a large circle around the brie. Fold up the puff pastry around the brie, creating a pretty folded patter as you go. Place it in the pan. I recommend something with edges because the brie will likely flow out while it is baking (I used a spring cake pan which works nicely). 

Ball up the trimmed puff pastry, roll it out and cut it into a circle. Place the circle over the top seams where the puff pastry meets. This gives your brie a more attractive appearance. You can also decorate the brie with extra puff pastry as I did. 

Scramble your raw egg in a dish and paint it all over the surface of the puff pastry.

Bake in the oven for 375°F for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let stand for at least a few minutes. 

The brie will be very hot! When you crack into it, expect flowing raspberry cheese heaven. I brought this to my family, went inside to go to the bathroom for a second and came back to this...

Homemade Chocolate Croissants

Making a croissant may be intimidating. All of those flaky and buttery layers...how to the French do it? My mom is a big fan of croissants so for Mother's Day this year, I decided I was going to make homemade chocolate croissants no matter how badly I would screw them up. After reading other blogs and watch how-to videos, I developed my own croissant strategy. These croissants are completely homemade and surprisingly simple. My mom even said they were the best chocolate croissants she has ever had! This may have just been to stroke my ego or the butter and chocolate rushing to her head, but I think they turned out pretty well too. Here are my step by step instructions and pictures on how to create a perfect chocolate croissant.

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (80-90 F)
2 packets active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsps salt
22 tbs softened unsalted butter
1-2 cups chocolate chips
1 egg

In a small bowl of in a measuring cup, combine the warm water and two packets of active dry yeast. Mix and let sit while you do the next step.

Pour the flour, sugar, and salt into a mixer with a paddle or dough hook attachment. Mix just a little bit to evenly combine the ingredients.

Pour in the water and yeast mixture. Use the mixer to combine into a dough. Add in only 6 tbs of softened butter. Combine until the dough becomes one mass. Take the chunky mess and plop it on your counter.

Knead for 5 minutes on an non floured or lightly floured surface.  Place the dough ball in a bowl or back in the mixer. Cover and let sit for two hours until it has at least doubled in size.

While the dough it rising, put your remaining softened butter (16 tbs) in a ziploc sandwich bag. With a roling pin, make a butter "slab" in the bag, trying to get as much air out of the bag as possible. Place this bag in the refrigerator on an even surface. Let cool for at least 2 hours. (Sorry there isn't a picture of this, but you can see the butter slab in the later steps).

Punch the dough down and knead again. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Warning that the dough may expand and break through the plastic wrap like it did to me! Just briefly knead it, re-wrap, and put in the refrigerator again.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Remove the butter "slab" from the refrigerator 15-20 minutes before you begin your kneading of the dough. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll into a long rectangle  just a little bit wider than your ziploc bag of butter and little more than twice as long. Remove the butter from the bag by cutting two sides. Place the butter "slab" on one end of the dough and fold the other half over.

Roll the dough into a rectangle again, folding each end of the dough to the center. Continue doing this until you have folding the dough 4-5 times. If this turns into a butter mess, refrigerate the dough and butter again because the butter has become to soft. You my also need to use a little flour.

At this point I separated the dough in half becuase it was easier to manage but you do not have to do this if you have enough space. Cut triangle from the dough about 8-10 inches long with a 4-5 inch base. Place you chocolate chips in a row on the wide end of the triangle and roll your dough into a croissant.

Place the croissants on a baking sheet with un-greased parchment paper (trust me there is enough butter in these things they wouldn't stick to anything). Brush the tops of the croissants with your egg. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 F and then 5-8 minutes at 375 F.

Voilá! (that's the only frech I know besides crepe...). You are done and now you have beautiful homemade chocolate croissants!