Cranberry Pecan Baked Brie
By: Jesse
With the holiday season around the corner, I'm always looking for fun and festive recipes to serve to my guests. I love having something hot to serve as soon as people arrive to warm them up from the chilly weather. Baked brie is an excellent way to get your party started because you can prep everything and pop it in the oven the moment the doorbell rings. It bakes in 10 minutes and is filled with festive flavours like cranberries, maple syrup, and pecans.
When shopping for brie and dairy products in general, I highly recommend buying organic whenever you can. There are countless ethical reasons to do this, but today I'm going to focus on the four main health reasons to buy organic dairy products.
Organic milk has more Omega-3s than conventional milk. Omega-3s are super important for your overall health. They prevent inflammation, support brain health, boost energy levels, and reduce arthritis symptoms.
Organic dairy doesn't contain growth hormones. Conventional dairy farmers give their cows growth hormones to help them product more milk. This is very unnatural for the animals and those hormones end up in our bodies. We have enough hormones racing around our bodies; we do not need to deal with artificial hormones from our cheese.
Organic farmers don't use antibiotics. Conventional farmers give their cows antibiotics preventatively to make sure they do not get sick. Organic farmers only give antibiotics to sick animals. These animals are no longer considered organic once the antibiotics have been administered. Trace amounts of antibiotics found in conventional dairy products can negatively impact the good bacteria we have in our gut.
Organic farmers do not use synthetic pesticides or feed their cows GMO feed. Conventional farmers routinely spray the GMO corn and soy fields that feed their cows. Trace amounts of these pesticides can be found in our milk and can have a negative impact on our health. Cows are also not meant to eat GMO corn or soy. Organic farmers allow their cows to graze on fields of grass that have not been sprayed.
Cranberry Pecan Baked Brie Recipe
Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 11 minute | Serving size: 12 people as a small appetizer
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup dried unsweetened cranberries
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 250g organic brie wheel
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Toast the walnuts in a saucepan for 1 to 2 minutes; keep an eye on them because they go from toasted to burnt really quickly!
Place brie in an oven-safe dish or pan and top with cranberries, walnuts and maple syrup. Bake until brie is soft and warm, about 10 minutes.
Serve with fresh bread or crackers.