Baked Camenbert

Lest you all think I forgot to post for fourth advent, here are the recipes of the week!  : )

I went on a pastry theme this week, so all the dough components are the same pastry recipe, however it is a very versatile recipe and can have a lot of uses not only for desserts but also appetizers.

First recipe up is the Baked Camenbert.

For the recipe on the Olive Penguins, check out Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white rice flour
• 1/2 cup glutinous rice flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup cold butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 small wheel of camenbert or brie cheese
• 2-3 small white mushrooms (optional)
• 1-2 tbsp raspberry jam (or experiment with other flavours, blueberry is an excellent compliment to the cheese)

Directions:

1. Mix the flours, sugar and salt together.  Cut in the butter to make a crumbly mixture.
2. Beat the egg in a small bowl and add in vanilla.
3. Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture, work it well with your hands to create a soft dough.  If it's too dry, add cold water 1 tbsp at a time until you get a workable consistancy.
4. Chilling the dough for awhile may help make it more workable at this point.
5. Roll out the pastry dough on a well floured surface (I like to roll it out on floured plastic wrap as the dough is then easier to lift off the counter). Form as close to a square shape as possible.
6. Slice the cheese wheel in half like a hamburger bun.  Spread the jam on both cut sides.  Slice the mushrooms and sandwhich them in between the two sides of cheese.
7. Place the cheese sandwich in the center of the pastry and fold the sides up and pinch together at the top to seal it.
8. If you want a crispier pastry, brush the outside with some melted butter before you put it in the oven.
9. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 - 20 minutes or until it looks golden.  This is best served warm, as it is easiest to spread on crackers then, so keep it in a warm oven right up until you serve it.