Baked Brie with Pimenton Toasts

Baked brie makes a perfectly rich and gooey snack or first course. I received a double-cream brie from Ile de France and immediately knew I wanted to bake it to a state of molten goodness. I found this recipe on Epicurious, but I omitted the garlic to keep the flavors a little simpler.

Softened butter was combined with pimenton de la vera, and I really could eat that on everything. Here, it was spread on small pieces of bread and toasted for about 10 minutes in the oven. Meanwhile, the brie was taken out of its wooden container, the covering was removed, and it was returned to the wooden container. It went into the oven for 20 minutes. Then, the top rind was cut away to allow for dipping. The hint of smokiness in the pimenton was a nice accent, but I used a small enough amount to let the brie flavor take the lead. Melty, drippy, beautiful brie was made so easy to scoop onto the bread delivery system. This may be the simplest yet most satisfying cheese recipe there is.