Baked Brie with Cranberry Sauce

Looking for an easy way to gussy up your cheese board this Christmas?  Give this baked brie recipe a try!  Chances are you'll have all (or most) of these ingredients on hand during the holidays, and it only takes 2 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes in the oven.

Ingredients

16 ounce round brie
Cranberry sauce (recipe below)
Walnuts (chopped)
Orange zest (optional)
Cinnamon (optional)

Directions

Unwrap your cheese and cut the top rind off with a serrated knife.  Place the cheese on a flat, oven-safe, surface.  (I used the bottom of a spring form pan.)

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with 1/2-3/4 cup cranberry sauce.  Then add chopped walnuts, orange zest, and cinnamon (all optional, depending on your taste).  Place back in the oven for another 5 minutes.

We served this with a smoked cheddar, Gruyere, and goat cheese.

While you can certainly use the cranberry sauce from a can for this, homemade cranberry sauce is even better (and really easy).  All you need is:

12 ounce bag fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup fresh squeezed OJ (2-3 oranges)

Put cranberries in pot and pour in sugar and OJ.

Cook on medium-low heat.  After a few minutes you'll start to hear the cranberries start to pop open!

Make sure to stir frequently as it's cooking so it doesn't stick.  Cook for another 8-10 minutes, as it starts to gel.

Then remove from heat.  Refrigerate (so it'll congeal) or serve warm.