Virtual Vegan Potluck – Spooky Vegan Macadamia Nut Brie en Croute

Welcome to the Virtual Vegan Potluck and my final Vegan MOFO post!

What a special night! It’s still Halloween on this side of the hemisphere and Vegan Zombies are everywhere on the loose counting down to World Vegan Day. Watch out, they’re coming to eat your brains grains. To save my pantry from a full on zombie invasion, I baked you them up this special ooey-gooey-spooky treat!

Macadamia Nut Brie en Croute

You will need to make these three recipes for this appetizer. You will also need a sheet of vegan puff pastry (if you are really awesome, make your own).

Macadamia Nut Brie

Inspired by a Vegan Brie in The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions

  • 1 C. macadamia nuts, soaked 4-8 hours in cold water, then drained and rinsed.
  • 1 C. boiling water
  • 2 T. Tapioca Flour
  • 2 T. Nutritional Yeast
  • 1 T. pure maple syrup
  • 1 T. yellow miso
  • 2 T. tahini
  • 1 T. rice vinegar
  • 1/2 t. dijon mustard
  • 1 t. sea salt
  • 2 T. Earth Balance or other vegan buttery spread
  • 1/2 package Pomona’s Pectin (only this brand of pectin will work in this recipe)

Method: Lightly oil a small round dish (I used a glass tupperware), set aside. Measure out half of the dry pectin, about 4.5 teaspoons. Combine calcium packet from pectin box with 1/2 C. water (not listed in ingredients above) in a small lidded jar and shake til thoroughly combined. Blend all ingredients except pectin and calcium water in your turbo blender or food processor until completely smooth. Add dry pectin and half (1/4 C.) of the calcium water and pulse until all combined and thick. Immediately scrape hot brie out into the small round prepared dish. Refrigerate for a couple hours, turn out on to a plate, brie will be slightly soft (as brie is) but ready to use in this recipe.

Maple Cranberry Sauce

  • 1 package fresh cranberries (I used ocean spray)
  • 2/3 C. pure maple syrup
  • 2/3 C. apple cider
  • 1/4 t. crushed thyme
  • 1/4 t. sea salt

Method: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat, pour into glass jar. Let cool and refrigerate until ready for use (this will keep up to a month in the fridge and longer in the freezer and leftovers can easily be saved for the holidays).

Savory Oven Crackers

inspired by this favorite cracker recipe

  • 1 C. whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 C. sesame seeds (I used black)
  • 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
  • 6-8 T. cold water
  • 1 t. smoked paprika
  • 1 t. veggie salt or sea salt

Method: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Process all ingredients but water til combined in your food processor. Add half the water, then add a water a tablespoon at a time (you may not need it all) while pulsing until a round ball of dough forms. Put dough on a sheet of parchment paper and roll out until PAPER thin (or as thin as you can possibly roll them out). Brush surface with water and sprinkle with a bit more sea salt or veggie salt. Cut into squares with a pizza wheel. Bake for on a baking tray for 8-10 minutes, then remove crackers from parchment paper and bake an additional few minutes  on the tray until golden.

Assemble the Brie en Croute: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out puff pastry a bit. (I reused the parchment paper I cooked the crackers on for this task) Spoon 1/2 C. Maple Cranberry Sauce into the center.

Top with Macadamia Nut Brie (smooth side touching the cranberry sauce). Leaving a few inches all around, cut puff pastry into a round following the brie as a guide. Tuck edges up in a pinwheel fashion.

Turn right side up and decorate spookily  (or festively for upcoming Holidays) with remaining scraps if desired. My attempt at a spiderweb is a little lame, but whateves. I brushed my pastry with 1 T. water and 1 T. pure maple syrup to make it extra glossy.

Bake for 20 minutes until pastry is golden. I broiled mine for 3 minutes to get the pastry to a deeper golden color and it ended up being 2 minutes too long.

Feed to Fellow Potluckers Vegan Zombies on a tray with the savory oven crackers and a side of extra cranberry sauce.

Thanks to the lovely Annie at An Unrefined Vegan for creating this incredible event, it’s been a complete honor to work side by side with her for this round of the potluck. Another thanks to Lidia at Vegan Bloggers Unite for hosting the shindig. Big fat hugs to you both.

I’m off to scare off the last of the Tricker-Treaters with my Vegan Zombie get up! See you in a week or so. 😉 Head back to check out Queens of the Wild Frontier if you haven’t all ready come from there. Continue on to The Soulicious Life to see what vittles they’ve cooked up! You can also use the cool navigation buttons below. Sometimes at a potluck there are some bad dishes and no-shows broken links along the way, if that happens and you get lost, please head back to Vegan Bloggers Unite to find the next blog on the list so that you can continue to feast your way through the potluck. This post has also been shared on the VVP Linky Potluck.

233 comments

  2. Somer!! This is incredible! I never would ever have thought..and the fact that everything is made from scratch has me bowing down to you as we speak. Totally echo Annie’s sentiments – amazing!

    Reply

    1. I had it kicking around in my head for weeks, I’m only grateful it turned out every bit as good as I imagined! You are hilarious, no bowing necessary, I just wish you were here to share it with me! xx

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    1. It’s pretty tasty, but I’ll reserve it for special occasions. I spent a fortune on those macadamias and puff pastry isn’t exactly healthy 😉 p.s. Who’s the showoff?

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    1. I’m totally obsessed with vegan cheez, and started making it just when I thought I could live without it 😉 I can’t! I quickly went through everything twice today to check for snags and broken links (plenty of each) and now I need to go back through and comment on everyone’s stuff, yours looked incredible!!!

      Reply

  6. om loordddd…u made them crackers, the sauce, the brie , those spidey webs… you are insane somer!!!!
    that is one one potluck post.. insane. i tell you insane..
    i want all of that and more!..

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    1. Totally insane. I was like a crazed mad woman praying it would all come together 😉 Glad it did. Girl, I’d love to come spend some time in your kitchen with you. If only the VVP was for real!!! xx

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    1. Haha, sorry! But that sourdough bread you brought was incredibly impressive. I need to go back through and take the time to comment but raced through couple times to make sure things were working (kind of) and stopped for a while and drooled over your post!

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  11. Looks yummy Somer. Well done Cranberries are delicious 🙂 I wonder if VVP will run okay…. the sites I go back and forward do not show any VVP, never mind I like the idea.

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    1. It certainly has timing issues! We will work it out for the next round. I messaged you by email, on your site and on facebook. I need you to bring a beverage to the party! 🙂 🙂 😉

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    1. Cracking me up! I love the little dialogue between you and Emmy! and how cute that you are next to each other in the potluck?!? You’ve both brought lovely soups. Can’t wait to go back through all this unfrenzied and comment properly. xx

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  14. Oh wow! That is one super fancy dish!!! Looks totally scrumptious.

    I’m having so much fun going through the potluck posts. This whole blog circle module with the neat navigation buttons is such an awesome idea!!

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  15. Wow, this is so impressive! There is so much from-scratch-ness going on in this post, and the spider web is extra Halloweeny. That all looks delicious!

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    1. I think they’d actually taste better if made with vegan butter spread instead of olive oil, but that’s just my own critique 😉 Thanks Lucy! Lets get you on board next round! xx

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        2. We had a lot of dropouts the DAY OF! It was maddening, lets just say they won’t be invited back next year. I’d much rather reliable bloggers like yourself!

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    1. The brie is actually as simple as the crackers are. People are afraid of making vegan cheez, but it’s really quite easy! I adore your mint truffles, can’t wait to go back through and comment properly!

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  20. Waw! The endproduct just looks like the real brie in puff pastryt! Waw!

    I also love the added home-made cranberry sauce in here! So indulging looking & so healthy too, except the puff pastry! Woehoe! You are a real vegan genius : a vegan queen! 🙂 xxx!!!!

    Reply

  24. Wow, Somer!! That brie en croute is GORGEOUS! My husband and I were talking just yesterday about any favorites we have left to veganize. He’s all done. I said I just had brie en croute. And here you are! I can’t wait to try it. The macadamia nuts for the cheese sound wonderful!

    Reply

    2. I love that! Other bloggers are always answering my vegan conundrums! What would we do without this community!? Let me know if you put it together, I’ll bring the crackers!

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  25. This just looks more amazing than anything I’ve ever seen! I really need to get into the vegan cheese making – I just ordered the Artisan Vegan Cheese book so hopefully it won’t be too long, but I really want to give this brie a go 🙂

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much Jenny! That book looks really fantastic! I’ve heard there’s a lot of steps involved though. My vegan cheez making techniques are a bit simpler. I guess my recipes may not be as sophisticated, but they work for me!

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  27. Wow, you are my hero – all of this done in one day/night? And I am totally borrowing this idea for my party at the end of November (we have a house party every year where we try to impress houseguests with my husband’s cooking, but this one will be all mine). Though please forgive me if I use regular brie. The cranberry sauce and the crackers look amazing.

    I’m off to check out Shira’s post, then will come back tonight to read through the rest..

    Reply

    1. It was an idea weeks in the making but the actual recipe was put together in an afternoon. The crackers are quick. And regular brie might just be less expensive! I paid $15 for a pound of macadamias to make this! I used up all of them in test batches. Oh well, it paid off in the end. We loved the result!

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    1. I’ll tell you a secret, I didn’t share either, and the non-vegans that came to our house for a Halloween shin-dig didn’t touch it…Lots-o-leftovers!

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  29. I have been looking for a vegan cheese recipe forever!
    Your bree recipe sounds AMAZING. I need to look up a few ingredients and I hope I can find them
    Those crackers with the paprika and the seeds are really tempting me to walk into the kitchen and make some

    Reply
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  36. This looks so good! I always loved brie cheese, and I’ve seen pictures of cheese wrapped in puff pastry like this but this is just a million times better looking. and better tasting I’m betting!

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  44. That looks CRAZY good! I just made some mofo coconut cream cheddar yesterday and will be using it melted over something gorgeous later on today and it looks like I am going to need to pick up some macs soon to have a go at this delectable looking creation! Look at how degustatory I am becoming! mac-n-cheeze? Forgedaboudit! Its brie, cheddar and croutes all round guys! 🙂

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  49. Oh yum! You don’t stop, do you? 🙂 I’m just loving your cheese recipes… I need to get some pectin and get busy with them. Now, can you make me some vegan muenster? I’ve been vegan so long that I would never be able to figure out how to recreate the taste, but I did love it…. Thanks for the fabulous recipe!

    Reply

  50. OH. MY. GOSH. This looks absolutely delish! This is my first time participating in VVP and I’m only in the appetizers and have bookmarked them all so far. Yours has an extra star….I’m thinking Thanksgiving. Oh, happy day!!

    Reply

    1. YES! This would be perfect for Thanksgiving, plus you can simplify it with store bought cranberry sauce and crackers to save time! Thanks!

      Reply

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