Ooey gooey melted brie in a flaky low carb pastry crust. Really, you can’t get better than this for a holiday appetizer recipe.
Okay friends, it’s crunch time. Christmas is in three days and you might be in full panic mode. Oh my goodness, I haven’t finalized my menu plan yet! Oh no, my brother invited 6 more people, what do I serve them? Argh, I know my mother-in-law expects me to create a stellar holiday cookie platter, and I need to get cracking! Oops, my husband told our neighbours we’d come to their holiday party and I have to bring an appetizer. What do I do??????
Breathe, friends, breathe. And remember that the holidays are supposed to be a time of joy and peace. As someone told me when I was stressing about my wedding day, no one is even going to notice if one or two of the little details is missing. They are too busy having fun and they are just happy to see you. Well, except your mother-in-law. If she’s the sort that expects perfection from the woman who stole her son, I can’t help you there. You just have to get cracking on that cookie platter, even if it means staying up into the wee hours of the morning. Fortunately for you, I’ve got healthy low carb holiday cookie recipes that will knock her socks off. Oh and you tell that brother of yours that if he’s going to invite extra people, HE needs to bring the extra food!
I am not actually hosting Christmas dinner this year for the first time in many years. Now that we are the left coast, we are heading up to Vancouver, BC to spend Christmas with my sister and her family. This means I am off the hook in preparing the big feast but I do have some baking to do so that I can contribute to the festivities. It’s a nice change of pace and the only thing I am really stressing about is how to get all the presents into the car! Oh, and the possibility that it will be a nasty rainy day for the 6 hour drive. Fingers crossed.
But in the off-chance that you did get invited to a last-minute holiday party and you need to bring an appetizer, I have the recipe for you. Brie is a serious weakness for me and it’s all the more so if it’s gooey and melty. Most baked brie en croute is made with puff pastry but we all know what that does to our waistline or our blood glucose. However, my low carb almond flour pastry is perfect for wrapping around a wheel of brie. It’s flaky and tender and the warm brie oozes out in that delicious way. You don’t need any crackers, because the brie and cranberries and pastry have enough flavour on their own. And it’s really not that hard to make either. The pastry is forgiving, actually. My big food processor is still packed away so I just did this the old fashioned way, cutting the butter in by hand. And it was still amazing!
- 3/4 cup fresh cranberries
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tbsp Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tbsp Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tbsp arrowroot starch OR 1 tbsp oat fiber
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp butter well chilled and cut into small pieces
- 2 to 3 tbsp ice water
- 1 8- oz wheel brie
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In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine cranberries, water, sweetener and cinnamon. Bring to a boil and cook until cranberries pop, 5 to 10 minutes. Mash with a fork and set aside.
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Preheat oven to 350F. Combine almond flour, coconut flour, arrowroot starch, sweetener, xanthan gum and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine.
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Sprinkle surface with butter pieces and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With processor running on low, add ice water one tablespoon at time until dough begins to clump together.
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If you do not have a food processor, you can work the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or two sharp knives until it resembles coarse crumbs, then add water and whisk until dough begins to clump together.
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Place a large piece of parchment on work surface and dust liberally with additional almond flour. Turn out dough and pat into a rough circle. Sprinkle with more almond flour and cover with another large piece of parchment. Roll out into a large circle, about 11 or 12 inches in diameter.
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Place brie in center of dough circle and top with cranberry sauce. Fold dough up over cheese, cutting out extra folds of dough as needed. You can pinch the seams back together and patch any cracks easily. If desired, cut out a few decorative shapes and place on top of the pastry.
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Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove and let sit a few minutes before serving.
Serves 6. Each serving has 8.13 g of carbs and 3.1 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 5.03 g**
**You lose about 1/5 of the dough when cutting it and shaping it to fit around the brie. I took this into account when calculating the nutritional counts.
Food energy: 249kcal
Saturated fatty acids: 8.63g
Total fat: 19.05g
Calories from fat: 171
Cholesterol: 42mg
Carbohydrate: 8.30g
Total dietary fiber: 3.10g
Protein: 11.26g
Sodium: 264mg
Emily @ Life on Food says
This looks great. I love baked brie. I have been known to make this multiple times in a row to feed hungry mouths. The cinnamon with cranberries sounds delicious!
Kathy says
I’m going to make this for Christmas Eve. Would this pastry be suitable for a single crust pie do you think, and if so would it fit in a 9 inch pie pan? I am going to make a batch of your mincemeat ( using your sugar free candied ginger instructions too) and was going to layer that in an individual mousse, but this crust looks so good that I am wondering about making a pie instead. Thanks….and Merry Christmas from The Great White North!
Carolyn says
You can do this as a pie but you need a little more crust. Follow the recipe for the crust in these tartlets, except roll it out into one circle: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2014/01/apple-caramelized-onion-tartlets-low-carb-and-gluten-free.html
Kathy says
Thanks so much Carolyn!
jo says
oh, yum!
Amanda says
Definitely can’t wait to try this!!!
Debra says
Hi Carolyn,
As i cannot access fresh cranberries here is there a substitute you would recommend?
Thank you
Debra
Carolyn says
You could make a sauce out of any tart berry. Raspberries would be good. Or you can use frozen cranberries too.
Katie says
Hi Carolyn,
This looks incredible and I’m dying to try this recipe! Is the arrowroot starch or oat fibre absolutely necessary for the crust or could you recommend a substitute? I’m having a difficult time finding either near me.
Thank you!
Katie
Carolyn says
The crust needs some starch to really hold together. You can try without but your crust will be extremely fragile.
Katie says
Do you think it would help to add some flax meal or chia seeds instead? I know it would drastically change the texture and flavour, but I’d be willing to give it a shot if holds as easily together with either of those!
Maye says
I would love to try your recipe! Do you think I could use psyllium husk powder or tapioca starch instead of the arrowroot starch? I don’t have arrowroot or oat fiber and I live in Mexico so these are pretty hard to find..
Julie says
Have you tried the psyllium husk powder? How did it turn out? I just saw this recipe today and want to try it.
Thanks!
Anne o says
Made this for a party I hosted last night. Very good. I have baked Brie with my kids for years using puff pastry. This was a perfect substitute. I had cranberry sauce on hand from Thanksgiving and threw this together last night. Was a crowd favorite. I don’t like to experiment with new recipes when I’m hosting a party, but your recipes have always worked out, so no stress- thanks Carolyn.
MAYE says
I loved this recipe!!! I used tapioca starch instead of arrowroot and it came out wonderful. I’m thinking of tweaking this recipe and turn it into a biscuit! I’ll add baking powder, a pair of eggs, and increase the almond flour a bit. I’ll let you know how that turns out.
Jan says
What could be substituted for xam gum?? Thank you
Carolyn says
You can try but the party might not stay together as well.
Kristyn says
Beautiful & delicious!! I could eat way more than I should! It’s the perfect appetizer for holidays & parties!
April says
I love baked brie! The cranberries and cinnamon is such a delicious combo – this is perfect for the holidays!
Katerina @ diethood .com says
YUM!! This looks faaantastic!!
Katie says
Love this! Looks and tastes amazing!