I feel as if you need a wacky appetizer in your life.

winter fruit stuffed brie with a pinot poached pear I howsweeteats.com

Okay, so I get it.

Most times I also just want a super easy, throw-together-on-the-fly appetizer that I can take to holiday parties. I don’t want something fussy, something that is going to take a million steps to prep OR something that is near impossible to transport to a friend’s house. I HEAR YA.

winter fruit stuffed brie with a pinot poached pear I howsweeteats.com

But. Sometimes I want an unrealistic, impractical, dramatic and insane version of an appetizer. Basically, an appetizer version of myself. You know?

winter fruit stuffed brie with a pinot poached pear I howsweeteats.com

I blame it all on MTV’s My Super Sweet 16. That started the unrealistic expectations in my life and then heck, pinterest came along and it was like WHYYYY don’t I have 20-foot ceilings with neon pink walls and a bright yellow couch and three marbled bathrooms and also, why do I not have a VSCO filter built into my eye lens? I’d like one, please and thank you.

winter fruit stuffed brie with a pinot poached pear I howsweeteats.com

This would be the reason that I’m placing a perfectly pinot poached pear (hands up alliteration!) on top of your wheel of brie cheese that is literally going to melt into a slop pile mess the moment you serve it.

And why I actually STUFFED the caramelized fruit into the brie cheese. Double the brie, double the fun.

It’s pretty! It’s Christmas! We all deserve to be a little unrealistic at times.

winter fruit stuffed brie with a pinot poached pear I howsweeteats.com

Let’s talk about the fruit. Apples, pears and cranberries swirled with butter and sugar and cinnamon. It’s essentially caramelized fall and winter fruit. Scoop out a very shallow piece of brie so you can stuff the wheels and place them together. It’s up to you where that brie goes but I’m thinking that there’s a bag of pita chips with your name on them.

Once you cut into the brie, there is tonnnns of delicious warm fruit oozing into the cheese. Not only is it completely delish, it’s so super pretty! And it’s hot pink. Winnnnning.

winter fruit stuffed brie with a pinot poached pear I howsweeteats.com

The adorable seckel pear is poached in pinot noir infused with cinnamon sticks. It’s edible, you’ll just need to cut it into pieces.

OR.

You can tell everyone that it’s not edible and save the entire thing for yourself. Booze soaked fruit is everything I want on December 20.

The rosemary is just for decoration because, well… pinterest.

winter fruit stuffed brie with a pinot poached pear I howsweeteats.com

Caramelized Winter Fruit Stuffed Brie Cheese with a Pinot Poached Pear

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Ingredients

  • (8 ounce) wheels of brie cheese
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • pinch of cardamom
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 apple peeled and diced
  • 1 pear peeled and diced
  • 1/4 cup whole cranberries cut into half

pinot poached pear

  • 2 cups pinot noir
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 seckel pear peeled (or more, if you just want to share, you can probably fit 3 in the pot)
  • 1 cup sugar if you’d like to make syrup once the pear is poached

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a baking dish or pie plate with nonstick spray. I suggest using the dish you’d like to serve this in so you don’t have to transfer it.
  • Take both wheels of brie and on one side, gently slice a shallot 2-inch wide hole in the center of both. You are going to place the fruit in one of the openings and then cover it with the other wheel of brie!
  • Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the butter. Stir in the apples, pears and cranberries. Stir in the sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and salt. Cook, stirring often, until the fruit is soft and golden and the sugar is bubbly, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the fruit from the heat.
  • Scoop as much of the fruit into the opening of the brie that can comfortably fit. Top it with the other wheel of brie, placing the cut-open side down on the fruit. Your fruit should now be inside of two brie wheels! Save the remaining fruit for topping.
  • Bake the brie for 10 to 15 minutes, just until it almost bursts and the cheese is melty. Gently top the brie with the remaining fruit (if there is a lot, you can place it on the sides of the brie), the poached pear and a rosemary spring. Serve immediately with tons of crackers, breadsticks, crostini or whatever you’d like.

pinot poached pear

  • Heat the pinot and cinnamon sticks in a saucepan over medium heat. Once simmering, add the pear(s). Keep it at a light simmer and cook the pear, tossing occasionally, for 10 minutes or so. Just until it’s fork tender, but still holds together. Remove the pear with a slotted spoon and place it on a plate.
  • If desired, you can turn the pinot poaching liquid into syrup! Remove the cinnamon sticks. Add about 1 cup of sugar (you want the same amount of sugar that you have to liquid, so it will be quite a bit. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the sugar dissolves. Once simmering, remove from the heat and let sit until it cools to room temperature. You can drizzle it over the pear and the brie, or just store it in the fridge for other delicious uses. Keep it sealed in the fruit for about a week or two.
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winter fruit stuffed brie with a pinot poached pear I howsweeteats.com

Now isn’t that just melty goodness.