Keeping up with the Joneses

This recipe originates from a close friend, Nurse Julian, who mentioned it in passing once and we ran with it. It’s relatively easy and is always a party favorite.

Poor Man’s Baked Brie

8 oz. block of cream cheese
8 oz. Pillsbury crescent roll dough (in the tube)
4-5 tbsp jam or chutney
2-3 tbsp chopped nuts (optional)

Roll out half of the crescent roll dough and press the seams together to make a solid sheet.

Place the block of cream cheese in the center. Pull up the dough on the sides to box in the block and make a ridge along the top. Fold the extra dough in along the ends.

Place a couple of tablespoons of your favorite jam or chutney on top of the cream cheese and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Here we used our Cranberry Chutney (from post on Nov 22) and chopped walnuts.

Roll out the other half of the crescent roll dough and press the seams together to make a solid sheet. Measure off a 1-1/2” strip along the edge. Using a small cookie cutter or knife, cut out some decorative shapes.

Place the rest of the sheet of dough over the cream cheese and toppings. Tuck the edges along the bottom to create a neat loaf. Place the decorative dough pieces on top.

Wrap up the loaf in foil and bake at 350° for an initial 20-25 minutes.

After that time, pull back the foil to allow to brown and continue baking another 5-10 minutes or until crust turns a nice golden baked brown (golden brown without a shadow falling across it).

Serve on a platter with crackers and watch it disappear.