Ham and Cheese Puff Pastry
These Ham and Cheese Puff Pastry goodies are incredibly easy to make with very little prep time. You just wrap them and bake them, and they come out so good. Great for kids' parties, picnics, appetizers, or as a snack/lunch on the go, and everyone loves them. Since they are extremely easy, and I can prep them earlier, it's a win for me too!
Thawing Puff Pastry
You can thaw puff pastry in the fridge or on the counter. Thawing in the fridge is the best method in my opinion cause avoids the risk of bringing the puff pastry to room temperature (I'll explain why this is bad in the next chapter). It also helps the entire pastry sheet to thaw evenly and remain at the same temperature.
If you are in a hurry, you can thaw it on the counter, too. In case it softens too much, pop it back into the fridge for a few minutes. If I thaw my puff pastry on the counter, I usually place it on a cooling rack, especially in Summer when my counters tend to get warm.
Handling Puff Pastry
The biggest mistake many people make is not handling the puff pastry the right way. Puff pastry is made with layers of butter folded between layers of dough. So when you bake them, the butter and the dough create steam, which helps to push the layers apart. Also, the butter fries the dough, creating the flakiness that we all love in puff pastry.
When you handle the dough, you need to be extra careful that you don't work it until the dough comes to room temperature and the butter melts into the dough. When the butter and dough mix together, it won't create layers.
If you are making a bigger batch, you can keep a portion of the dough in the fridge until you fill the rest of it. And then refrigerate the pastries that you filled with ham and cheese, until you fill the rest of the puff pastry sheets.
Prepping early to bake later
These pastries are wonderful to prep early and bake later. If I'm making a big batch of it, let's say for a gathering, I always make them a day ahead, arrange them on a baking tray, and refrigerate. On the day I want to serve, I directly pop them into the oven, and they always come out perfect. You may need to increase the baking time by a few minutes, depending on how cold the dough is.
More ways to shape Ham and Cheese Puff Pastry
There are many ways that you can shape these pastries.
A very common way is making Ham and Cheese Puff Pastry Pinwheels. For this, layer all the ham and cheese over the puff pastry. Roll it and refrigerate. And then cut into 1-inch thick wheels, egg wash, and bake.
You can make them into squares that have sealed edges as well. Place ham and cheese in the middle of the puff pastry piece. Fold it in half and seal the edges using a fork. Eggwash and bake as usual.
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Flaky and Golden Ham and Cheese puff pastries made easy with store-bought puff pastry sheets.
- 1 Store-bought puff pastry sheet (I use pepperidge farm)
- 1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)
- 6 slices of Ham (6oz pack)
- 6 thin or regular slices of Cheese (Swiss/cheddar/provolone)
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Everything bagel seasoning
Thaw the puff pastry sheet according to package instructions or until it's not frozen and you can bend it without breaking the pastry. (Do not bring it to room temperature. It should still be cold.)
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Unfold/unroll the puff pastry sheet. If there are any tears in the dough, gently press them back together. optional: Roll with the rolling pin to make it evenly thick.
Cut the pastry sheet into 6 equal sized square or rectangular pieces.
Optional: Add about 1/4 tsp of dijon mustard to each pastry. Spread it in the middle. (skip if you don't like mustard flavor)
Fold each ham slice and place it diagonally in each square, from one corner to the opposite corner. Break the cheese slice into halves and place them over ham.
Crack and egg into the bowl (do not whisk yet). Apply egg whites on the two empty corners of the puff pastry. Fold those corners to the middle, press them together to stick.
Whisk the egg and apply the egg wash to the pastries using a brush. Add a few sprinkles of Everything Bagel Seasoning (Black sesame seeds and poppy seeds are also great if you want to avoid salt in the seasoning mix)
Transfer them to a baking tray, lined with parchment paper for easy cleaning. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown.
When they are done, immediately transfer them to a cooling rack to stop the bottom of the pastries from getting soggy.
