This baked brie with cherry onion compote is the perfect balance of creamy and rich, savory and sweet, and herbaceous and sour, and the perfect impressive appetizer for a holiday party.

The holidays are upon us! While our Christmas menu is pretty much set every year (we always have lasagna, see my many layer lasagna recipe for the version we’ll be making this year), this time of year always has me thinking about recipes that other’s might want to try for their holiday tables. And while there are tons of ideas on my page for holiday mains and sides, this week I wanted to try a recipe that would be perfect as an appetizer. Something that’s easy enough to make, while still feeling really fancy and special. And this baked brie with cherry onion compote fit the bill perfectly.

There’s something about baking a brie that feels really special and fancy. It comes out of the oven super gooey and stretchy, and you can slather it all over a crusty piece of toasted bread for a small bite that’s ultra creamy and rich. But as delicious as brie may be on its own, it’s also one of those cheeses that pairs perfectly with a myriad of ingredients, everything from salty to spicy and sweet. So to make things even fancier, I started thinking about flavors that would compliment this baked brie. I wanted something that would be both savory and sweet, and would also scream ‘holidays.’ So I came up with this slowly caramelized cherry onion compote, with the cherries thrown in for a bit of sour-sweetness (and because they scream ‘holiday’ to me), and some rosemary for some extra holiday flavor.

CHERRY ONION COMPOTE

Truth be told, brie is so delicious on it’s own that you can’t really screw it up. But you can make it even better, and that’s exactly what this cherry onion jam compote. I diced the onions up into small pieces and caramelized them super low, then let them simmer with some dried cherries and rosemary (and a splash of water to get them to that jammy consistency). The rosemary brings a beautiful herbaceous-ness but also slightly piney holiday flavor. And the cherries plump up in the liquid of the jam as they cook, becoming these little gems of sour-sweetness that burst in your mouth.

Honestly this compote would be amazing on just about anything, and feel free to make it over and over again outside of this baked brie recipe (I know I will). But it really does pair perfectly with this baked brie, and it’s a condiment that, while it takes a little bit of time, is really quite easy to make while still being incredibly impressive.

BAKED BRIE FOR A CROWD… OR NOT

Now I’ll be honest here. Since I wasn’t actually making this baked brie for my holiday table, I didn’t actually make it with a whole wheel of brie. Instead I used a small chunk, just big enough for those in my household to enjoy, and baked it in a little ramekin to keep the rind-less bit of brie from melting all over the place. I’ve scaled up the recipe to work for a whole wheel of brie if that’s what you’re making. But just know this: while this baked brie may be fancy enough to serve to a crowd, it’s also easy enough to make on a smaller scale for a few people, or even just for yourself. Because I think we all deserve a special treat for ourselves from time to time, and this baked brie with cherry onion compote is most definitely my treat of choice.