Baked Brie Jack O' Lantern Board Recipe

Cheese and charcuterie boards are quintessential crowd-pleasers, offering a delectable array of textures, flavors, and aromas that cater to a wide range of palates. Picking your own selection encourages creativity and artistic flair, making each board a unique experience. Serving one on Halloween is a particularly brilliant idea, as it provides a sophisticated and indulgent counterpoint to the sweet treats traditionally associated with the holiday. For adults, while the younger crowd revels in candies and chocolates, a cheese and charcuterie board offers a more refined, yet equally festive treat. 

To make things extra festive, a baked brie fashioned like a jack-o-lantern not only elevates the Halloween spirit but also serves as a delightful centerpiece that marries both the tradition and culinary artistry of the occasion. This ensures that the adults too have their own special treat, allowing everyone to partake in the holiday. Recipe developer Taylor Murray walks us through how she makes a charcuterie board with a spooky feeling.

The main ingredients needed for this board are an 8-ounce wheel of brie, fig butter, and refrigerated pie dough. The fig butter could be any jam of your choosing, but a darker jam will make the jack-o-lantern's face pop. We used an egg to brush onto the pie crust to give it a bit more golden brown color, and a piece of a pretzel rod and a sprig of sage helped create the look of a pumpkin stem. For the rest of the board, a mixture of nuts, cheeses, crackers, fruit, and salami is needed, but the exact items are up to you. 

For fall, fruits like apples, pears, and figs are seasonal and delicious. "When I make a cheese board, I like to have a good variety when it comes to the crackers. Firm crackers are necessary for spreading soft cheeses without breaking, but thinner ones go well with hard, pre-cut pieces of cheese," says Murray. For the meat, it's nice to have at least one kind of whole-muscle cured meat, like prosciutto or speck, and one kind of salami like soppressata or finocchiona. A good cheesemonger can help you pick cheese, but you should shoot for one soft, one hard or aged, and one blue (if you like it). 

Preheat oven to 425 F. Unroll pie dough, or roll to an 8-inch circle. Gather the brie, fig butter, egg, pretzel rod, and sage. 

In the center of the dough, spoon the jam into a circle roughly the diameter of the brie.

Place the brie in the center of the jam.

Fold the dough around the brie and pinch to seal.

Turn the dough over and use a paring knife to cut a jack o'lantern design in the top. If needed, spoon a small amount of jam back into the eyes and mouth to fill in any holes.

Whisk the egg with a teaspoon of water. Brush the dough all over with the egg.

Transfer the brie to a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet. Bake until dough is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Transfer the brie to a large cutting board or serving platter. Make a small incision on the top and insert the pretzel twist and sage to serve as the leaves and stem.

Add the salami and nuts to the board. Salami is easier to grab and more visually interesting if you take the time to fold the pieces in half or quarters. You can use small bowls or cheese to keep the pieces in place.

Next, add the cheeses around the board. Make sure to thinly slice or crumble the cheese first.

Fill in the open spaces with fruit, crackers, and anything else you'd like! Serve to your guests immediately, or cover with damp paper towels until ready to serve.

Absolutely! Candied nuts, dark chocolate pieces, or even Halloween candies can be a delightful touch, bridging the gap between traditional trick-or-treat goodies and your sophisticated board.

Dark red wines, craft beers with a hint of pumpkin or apple, or even thematic cocktails like a "Bloody Mary" or a dark "Midnight Sangria" can be excellent accompaniments to your Halloween board.