Tag Archives: caramelized onions

French Onion Pinwheels

I usually concentrate on pie this time of year, and that’s great—pie is great!—but my favorite part of Thanksgiving is the hors d’oeuvres. Especially if there’s cheese involved (which there absolutely should be).

Over the years, I’ve made a cheesy tarte soleil, a flaky baked brie, savory cheddar shortbread, baked feta, and twisty rosemary Parmesan straws, all of which are worthy of the pre-meal spotlight. This year’s recipe finds you while I’m in the middle of a French Onion hyperfixation, so it’s all about caramelized onions and gruyere wrapped up in homemade (or not) flaky pastry.

Simply take a sheet of puff pastry (I used homemade rough puff) and layer on everything good.

…or to be more specific, layer on melted butter, dijon or grainy mustard, gruyere, dried thyme and the caramelized onions you made in your oven while making some side dishes. Roll the whole thing up into a cylinder, give it a brief chill, then slice and bake.

Ugh, can you even take how delicious these look? Golden and flaky, with bubbly cheese puddles and onions peeking through—simply gorgeous. And delicious, too.

French Onion Pinwheels
makes 22-24 pinwheels

Egg Wash:
1 large egg
1 teaspoon cold tap water

Pinwheels:
1 batch rough puff pastry (recipe below) or 1 sheet frozen thawed puff pastry
1 tablespoon melted butter, cooled slightly
1 tablespoon dijon or whole grain mustard
6 ounces gruyere cheese, freshly grated
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves)
2/3 cup caramelized onions

Make the egg wash. In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together egg and water. Set aside.

Make the pinwheels. Flour a surface and a rolling pin. Unfold puff pastry and roll to a 10x14-inch rectangle.

Use a pastry brush to brush a thin layer of butter over the surface of the pastry, leaving a 1/2-inch border on all sides.

Spread mustard over the butter. I find this easiest to do by dropping it in spoonfuls over the top, then spreading it out. It doesn’t have to be perfect; it’s going to be rolled up!

Scatter grated gruyere over the top, then sprinkle on the thyme. Drop caramelized onions over the cheese.

Paint the 1/2-inch border on one 14-inch side with egg wash. Starting at the other 14-inch side, tightly roll pastry together like you would cinnamon rolls. Lightly flour a pan or cutting board and place the rolled pastry on top. Freeze for 30 minutes or refrigerate for up to a day.

Preheat oven to 400F. Line two rimmed sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

When freezing time is up, remove the rolled pastry back to the floured surface. Flour a large, sharp chef’s knife and use it to slice the roll into 1/2-inch pieces. Place them 2 inches apart on prepared pans. Brush each with egg wash.

Bake 18-20 minutes, or until golden and puffed. Let cool on their pans for about 5-10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Leftovers should be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Rough Puff Pastry
makes 1 sheet

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
5 ounces unsalted European-style butter, very cold, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup water or milk, very cold

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Use a pastry blender or two forks to cut butter into dry ingredients until the largest pieces are the size of small peas. Pour in cold water or milk and stir with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.

Flour a surface and a rolling pin. Turn dough out onto surface, and use your hands to pat it into a rough rectangle. Roll the dough into an 8x10" rectangle. Fold dough in thirds, and give it one quarter turn. Roll into an 8x10" rectangle again, fold, and turn. Repeat rolling, folding, and turning until it has been done six times total. Wrap folded dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to 48 hours.

How to Caramelize Onions in the Oven

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Caramelized Onions may have hit peak popularity in the 80s, but they’re always in style in my kitchen. They add depth and sweetness to any savory dish—an ideal quality when you’re planning a holiday meal.

Need to jazz up your mashed potatoes? Add caramelized onions. Looking for a quick compound butter? Caramelized onions to the rescue. Want to change up your cheese plate? Four words: Caramelized Onion Baked Brie.

Truly, there’s no wrong way to use them. The problem is that caramelizing onions takes time and attention. If someone tells you that they can caramelize onions in fifteen minutes, they are lying—this is more of an hour spent over the stove kind of project. Or at least, it was.

Nowadays, I’ve taken to caramelizing onions in the oven. It takes a while—a couple of hours at least—but it’s mostly inactive work time. If I’ve got the oven on for something, there’s a decent chance that I have a foil-wrapped casserole dish full of onions somewhere in there too, using up that heat. It’s a hack I use often, and it’s particularly perfect for a time of year when the oven is almost always on. Two birds and all.

An added benefit to caramelizing onions in the oven is that you can make a ton at once. The onions pictured started as two full pounds, but cooked down to less than a cup all told. If you’ve got the oven space, there’s no reason not to start with four or even six pounds of onions. If you make too many for your intended project, you can easily freeze them for another day.

You know, like tomorrow…hint, hint.

How to Caramelize Onions in the Oven
makes about 3/4 cup

2 pounds Spanish, white or red onions, sliced 1/4-1/8-inch thick
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher or sea salt, to taste (I like a heaping 1/4 teaspoon)
few grinds black pepper

Equipment:
9x13” casserole dish
aluminum foil
a stirring implement

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Place sliced onions in a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Add olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 1 hour.

Remove the pan from the oven, lift the foil, and stir the onions. They should be fully soft and translucent at this point, and starting to turn a very pale brown.

Cover the pan with foil again, then bake for another 30 minutes before stirring again. The onions should be turning darker at this point. If any of the edge pieces have burned, lift them out and discard. Some of the sugars in the onions may char at the edges of the pan—this is normal.

Cover the pan again and bake in 15-20 minute increments, stirring between, until your desired color and consistency has been reached. The onions pictured went about 2.5 hours.

Once your onions are to your liking, remove them from the oven and let cool. Use as desired. Leftovers may be refrigerated for a few days or frozen.

Baked Brie with Caramelized Onions

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Baked Brie with Caramelized Onions If you go back and look at the order of recipes on this blog, you can clearly see my train of culinary thought. Last week, I posted three pies back-to-back. Last month, I posted a cake per week. Earlier in the year, I was making doughnuts right and left. I can’t help that my inspiration is so obviously linear. Baked Brie with Caramelized Onions This week, I’m caramelizing everything. On Wednesday, it was Brussels sprouts. Today, it’s onions. But they’re not just any old caramelized onions. Nope. These are nestled with a wheel of brie, wrapped in buttery pastry, and baked into a puffy, golden appetizer worthy of any Thanksgiving spread! Baked Brie with Caramelized Onions Baked brie is always a holiday hit—what’s not to love about the combination of melty cheese and flaky pastry?!—but I am all about the sweet addition of caramelized onions here. They’re cooked low and slow until they’re soft, sweet, and deeply browned. I like to add some minced garlic and fresh rosemary (it’s another thing I’m into right now) at the end of cooking, just for a little dimension. Baked Brie with Caramelized Onions After the onions cool, it’s time to assemble the baked brie. Roll out a sheet of puff pastry (I use rough puff, but the frozen all-butter stuff works too) and pile the onions on top.Smear a little dijon on one side of a wheel of brie and place it on top of the onions. The mustard flavor isn’t too pronounced here, but it’s sharpness helps offset the richness of the cheese and pastry. Baked Brie with Caramelized Onions Wrap everything up tight, give it an egg wash glaze, and decorate with some little pastry leaves, if that’s the sort of thing you’re into.Bake the brie until the pastry puffs and turns golden. Wait a few minutes before serving it with seasonal fruit and the crackers you made your roommate go get from the overpriced cell-phone-dead-zone grocery store behind your building (and you didn’t even complain when he came back with some weird flavor instead of plain because you’re an adult and someone did you a favor)… Baked Brie with Caramelized Onions …um, what was that? Oops. Back to baked brie.You’re going to love this brie, y’all! It’s rich and buttery, and oozes in the best possible way. One bite of this melty, cheesy, salty-sweet treat is worth every second it takes to cook those onions, I promise. I know all your holiday guests will agree.
Baked Brie with Caramelized Onions
makes one 5-inch (13.4 ounce) baked brie

Rough Puff Pastry:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
5 ounces unsalted European-style butter, very cold, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup water or milk, very cold

Caramelized Onions:
2 medium sweet onions, sliced into thin half-moons
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

For Assembly:
1 5-inch (13.4 ounce) wheel of brie
1-2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 large egg
1 teaspoon water

For Serving:
seasonal fruit
bread or crackers

Make the pastry. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Use a pastry blender or two forks to cut butter into dry ingredients until the largest pieces are the size of small peas. Pour in cold water or milk and stir with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.

Flour a surface and a rolling pin. Turn dough out onto surface, and use your hands to pat it into a rough rectangle. Roll the dough into an 8×10″ rectangle. Fold dough in thirds, and give it one quarter turn. Roll into an 8×10″ rectangle again, fold, and turn. Repeat rolling, folding, and turning until it has been done six times total. Wrap folded dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to 48 hours.

Caramelize the onions. Melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until they reduce in volume and are deeply browned (but not burnt!). Add garlic and minced rosemary and cook just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Do not rush this process. Set aside to cool completely.

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Set aside.

Assemble the baked brie. Flour a surface and a rolling pin. Unfold dough. Roll dough out to 9×12-inch rectangle. Slice off a 2×9-inch strip and refrigerate it for later. Place onions in a 6-inch circle in the center of the remaining dough.

Spread mustard on one side of the brie. Place the brie, mustard-side-down, on top of onions. Fold pastry over the top, leaving no exposed cheese. Place wrapped brie, smoother-side-up, on prepared pan. Refrigerate.

Make an egg wash. In a small bowl, combine egg and water. Whisk with a fork until smooth.

Remove reserved strip of dough from the refrigerator. Use a knife or decorative cookie cutters to cut decorative pieces, if desired.

Remove brie from the refrigerator. Paint with egg wash. Top with decorative pieces and paint with more egg wash. Bake brie for 25-30 minutes, or until puffed and golden.

Let cool for at least 15 minutes before removing to a serving platter. Serve with fruit, bread, or crackers, if desired.

Baked brie is best on the day it’s made, but may be wrapped tightly in the refrigerator for a few days.
Baked Brie with Caramelized Onions

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Tag Archives: caramelized onions

French Onion Pinwheels

How to Caramelize Onions in the Oven

Baked Brie with Caramelized Onions