Brie en Croute with Raspberry and Pecans

I have been baking this amazing appetizer for nearly 3 years. I first saw this on the Food Network and over the years I've made a few modifications. Brie is one of my favorite kinds of cheese and "en croute" actually means "in crust" in French. This recipe takes a wheel of brie, tops it with jam and toasted pecans and then bakes it in a pastry crust. Your guests will never know how simple this is to make as the flavor combinations give this a very gourmet feel. The recipe below serves about 6. Enjoy!

HELPFUL HINTS
1. Make sure the puff pastry dough is fully thawed but not so thawed that it is too hard to work with. You want it a little bit firm and not overly stretchy. I have found that the best results are to thaw the sheet in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. You can take it directly from the freezer and thaw it at room temperature for 20 minutes but I've found that method to be inconsistent.
2. You can use any kind of jam or nut that you prefer. I've found that raspberry or boysenberry jams are our favorite and we usually stick with pecans. You can use preserves instead of Jam if that's all you have.
3. This can be eaten as is or combined with some of your favorite crackers.

INGREDIENTS
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, defrosted
1 Tbs butter
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1 8oz wheel of Brie
1/2 cup raspberry jam
1 egg, beaten

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
3. Saute nuts in butter until golden brown, approximately 5 minutes.


















4. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Lay puff pastry out on a very lightly floured surface and gently roll it to increase the size of the sheet 1 to 2 inches in each direction.















































6. Move pastry onto cookie sheet lined with non-stick bakeware.

















7. Remove the top rind from the Brie.

















8. Center the wheel of Brie on top of the pastry sheet.

















9. Spread jam evenly on top of Brie.

















10. Place pecans on top of jam in heaping mound.

















11. Bring all four corners of the sheet together above brie and twist slightly to form a bundle.















































12. Tie gathered pastry with kitchen twine, then form hanging pieces into a bow.
































13. Arrange the pastry until you are satisfied with the bundle shape.

















14. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
15. Remove from refrigerator, then brush eggs over the pastry, making sure you also brush underneath the bow.















































16. Bake for approximately 25 minutes until pastry is golden brown.
17. Remove the string by pulling both ends apart from each other. This will tie the middle in a knot, enabling you to pull the string out without pulling the bundle apart.