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These Easy Ham and Cheese Croissants only use four ingredients and can be made in about 20 minutes! Using ham, Gruyère and puff pastry, they are delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Great for using up leftover ham from the holidays!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Fred Meyer. The opinions and text are all mine.
When I was a kid, my mom and I would sometimes go to a cafe called The Perfect Cup. This was a special occasion, for days when we were out shopping and were able to afford an extra treat. With our shopping bags in tow, we sat in the bustling cafe and I got to feel like such a grown up eating my ham and cheese croissant and sipping on my New York Soda. I’m not sure how I even got the idea to order the Ham and Cheese Croissant, as I’m fairly sure I had never had one before. But after the first time I tried it, I would never order anything else when we had lunch there. This was not a sandwich, ham and cheese on a croissant, but actually had ham and melty cheese wrapped in the buttery croissant. It instantly became a favorite for me. Even now, years later, if I am ever in a cafe that has one on the menu I will order it.

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I had never really considered making my own until I found myself with an abundance of leftovers of my Flame Crafted Ham from Fred Meyer. The ham is delicious as is, fully cooked with a sweet and smokey glaze, and it makes a lovely holiday meal. It does, however, serve 11-14 people, so we had an abundance of leftovers. And in my house we can only eat the same meal two or three times in a row before we start to get antsy. There are so many options for the leftovers – I also put some in a frittata, and throwing some into a cheesy pasta dish is not a bad idea either. But my mind kept going to my beloved Ham and Cheese Croissants.

Now, if you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I generally like to keep the meals here simple, fairly quick and easy. Croissants are anything but that. The lamination process of the dough takes time and effort, and the results are worth it. But for those of us that don’t have the time or patience to spend on an authentic croissant, there is a sneaky little shortcut that gives pretty delicious results. And that ingredient is puff pastry. Is it the same as an authentic croissant? No. But it is still delicious.

With that shortcut, these four ingredient Easy Ham and Cheese Croissants are something that you can make the morning after your holiday dinner, and only spend a few minutes on. They are also pretty great for lunch or dinner with a green salad and a glass of white wine.

I used Gruyère here because the flavors are all so perfect together. The cheese is sharp which cuts the richness just a little. I also found that they best way to avoid having the cheese melt out of the croissant and all over the baking sheet was to cut them into batons rather than grating it. There will still be some cheese that melts out, so I very strongly recommend lining your baking sheet to avoid sticking and a nasty cleanup. I used silpat, but you might also try parchment paper.

Do you usually have ham for the holidays? What is your favorite way to use the leftovers?

Easy Ham and Cheese Croissants

By Meghan McMorrow | Fox and Briar

5 from 3 votes

Prep 10

Cook 15

Total 25

Servings Servings

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Ingredients

▢ 1 sheet frozen puff pastry slightly thawed*
▢ 12 ounces ham cut into narrow slices
▢ 4 ounces gruyere cut into batons**
▢ 1 egg

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper, set aside.
Use a rolling pin to roll the sheet of puff pastry into a rectangle (10-11 inches long)
Cut the puff pastry into 6 narrow triangles. Place a few slices of ham and a few batons of cheese at the wide end of each triangle. The exact amount will vary depending on the size of the triangle, but approximately 2 ounces of ham and 1/2 an ounce of cheese each.
Starting at the wide end of the triangle, roll the dough towards the pointed end, wrapping up the ham and cheese in the dough as you go.
Place each croissant on the lined baking sheet. In a small dish whisk the egg until scrambled. Brush the egg wash over each croissant. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden.

Notes

*Thaw the puff pastry for 30-40 minutes, just so that it is pliable enough to roll out. If it thaws for too long the dough will not be as flakey.
**cut the cheese into batons rather than grating it to avoid too much cheese melting out. Be sure to line the baking sheet as some cheese will still melt out onto the baking sheet.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Baked Goods/Breads, Breakfast

Cuisine: French

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