Buttery Croissant Ham & Cheese Hots

 

I picked up some nice smallish all butter croissants in the grocery store the other day and thought that they would make great slider/hot sandwiches.  These were just the right size to serve as hearty appetizers at a get-together or for game nights.  Football season is just around the corner!

I decided to make a riff on my Heavenly Ham & Cheese Hots sandwiches.  They were a delicious hot sandwich/slider recipe that I had in m Big Blue Binder.  I believe I copied the original recipe from one of those "The Best of Bridge" cookbooks many years ago. 

Those were the best cookbooks.  They were filled with loads of simple, really delicious and approachable recipes compiled by bridge playing groups across Canada. 

 

I used to have several of them, but I left them in the U.K. and have never replaced them. Not yet anyways.  I used to take cookbooks out of the library when I was a young bride and hand copy recipes from them on looseleaf paper to put into my Big Blue Binder.  This binder is full of lots of gems when it comes to recipes.  All of my tried and trues.  

Recipes shared with me from family members, friends, magazine clippings, copied from cookbooks, etc. Back in the day before computers put these things at our fingertips. I started collecting recipes in it when I was a teenager and it has traveled back and forth across Canada with me and across the pond and back from the U.K.  There was no way I was leaving this treasure behind when I had to come back to Canada!

In any case these delicious mini-sandwiches are a riff on the original and very delicious. I hope you will be inspired to give them a go!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BUTTERY CROISSANT HAM & CHEESE HOTS

Just a few simple ingredients. If you use the best you can get of every simple ingredient, you can be sure that your sandwiches will be amazing!

For the butter sauce:

• 1/3 cup (80g) butter, melted
• 1/2 TBS Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp soft light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp onion powder, not salt
• 1/2 TBS poppy seeds

For the sandwiches:

• six very small croissants (no more than 3 inches in size)
• 2 TBS full fat mayonnaise
• 2 TBS ranch dressing
• 6 slices of good quality deli-ham
• 3 slices of Swiss cheese, cut in half

 

My croissants were very tiny all butter croissants that I got in the bakery section of the grocery store. There were 10 in the box. They were very tiny, no more than 2 1/2 to 3 inches in side. They were perfect for this.

I use salted butter. That is all I keep in my house. It works fine. I find that the butter available today is not as salty as it used to be and you can use it for just about anything. If I think it will be a problem, I just cut back on any salt in the recipe.

Don't leave out the brown sugar. It is an integral part of the glaze for these tasty sandwiches.

I used Grandpa Sikorski's deli ham. It is an excellent ham and worked beautifully in this. I used a low fat Swiss cheese because that is all I could get at the store. It worked out fine. 

 

You don't have to use Swiss cheese if you don't want to. You could also use a cheddar, or any good melting cheese actually. I like Swiss for its sweet and nutty flavor notes.

 

HOW TO MAKE BUTTERY CROISSANT HAM & CHEESE HOTS

These are very simple to make and are delicious. Great for entertaining. You can easily double or triple the recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a small baking dish large enough to hold all of the croissants in one layer. (Mine was 7 by 11 inches.)

Whisk together all of the topping ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Whisk together the mayonnaise and ranch dressing to combine in another small bowl.

 

Cut the croissants in half through the middle. Spread the bottom halves with the mayonnaise mixture and place cut side up in the baking dish.

Top each croissant half with a slice of ham, folded and pleated to fit. Place a half slice of cheese over top of the ham, and then the tops of the croissants over top of the cheese, cut sides down.

 

Brush the tops and sides of each croissant with the butter mixture, using it all up. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer, until golden brown and the cheese has melted.

Serve hot.

 

These were the perfect little bites.  No more than two or three bites per sandwich. Not much bigger than a Hawaiian roll. One would make a great appetizer. Two would make a fabulous lunch or light supper. 

I enjoyed two of them as a lunch with a few cheeky potato chips on the side.  But if you were serving them as a meal some air fryer chips would be really nice on the side, and/or a salad or some coleslaw!

 

If you are a fan of the hot sandwich, you will probably also really enjoy the following taste tempters!

FRIED EGG AND CHEESE TOASTIES - A hot mess of a sandwich that is deliciously edible with a fried egg, some cheese and toasted bread.  Served up with some hash brown waffles.  Not very pretty and a bit messy to eat, but boy oh boy does it ever taste good!

CROISSANT REUBEN SANDWICH - This juicy homemade Reuben Sandwich recipe, using flaky and buttery fresh all-butter croissants is a real winner! Not traditional, but incredibly tasty!  I also added a tasty homemade Thousand Island Dressing.  This delicious sandwich was everything a good Reuben sandwich should be!

Yield: 6 small sandwiches

Author: Marie Rayner

Buttery Croissant Ham & Cheese Hots

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 40 Min

This is a small batch version of an old favorite, using small croissants instead of slider buns. You can serve this as either an appetizer for six, or for a tailgate party, or as a main dish for three. They are delicious any which way you choose.

Ingredients

For the butter sauce:

• 1/3 cup (80g) butter, melted
• 1/2 TBS Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp soft light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp onion powder, not salt
• 1/2 TBS poppy seeds

For the sandwiches:

• six very small croissants (no more than 3 inches in size)
• 2 TBS full fat mayonnaise
• 2 TBS ranch dressing
• 6 slices of good quality deli-ham
• 3 slices of Swiss cheese, cut in half

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a small baking dish large enough to hold all of the croissants in one layer. (Mine was 7 by 11 inches.)
2. Whisk together all of the topping ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Whisk together the mayonnaise and ranch dressing to combine in another small bowl.
3. Cut the croissants in half through the middle. Spread the bottom halves with the mayonnaise mixture and place cut side up in the baking dish.
4. Top each croissant half with a slice of ham, folded and pleated to fit. Place a half slice of cheese over top of the ham, and then the tops of the croissants over top of the cheese, cut sides down.
5. Brush the tops and sides of each croissant with the butter mixture, using it all up. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer, until golden brown and the cheese has melted.
7. Serve hot.

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