Ham, cheese, and puff pastry and made for each other! These easy pastry pockets come together in no time and are so delicious. The filling is made with just ham, cheese, and 3 ingredient honey mustard sauce. Serve them as an appetizer or a quick snack.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this delicious puff pastry appetizer:
- puff pastry – use all-butter puff pastry for the best flavor
- ham – your favorite kind
- cheese – you favorite kind, I used Swiss cheese
- honey mustard sauce – you just need Dijon mustard, honey, and lemon juice to make it, you can also use store-bought sauce
- thyme leaves – optional, you could also use dried thyme or Italian seasoning, or really your favorite herbs
- egg for egg wash but milk or heavy cream will also do if you don’t want to use an egg, egg wash is just used to get a better color on the pastry but you don’t have to brush the pastries at all
I baked these pastries in a free-form rectangle shape, but you could also bake them as bundles or puff pastry bites baked in a muffin pan.
How to make it
STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
In a small bowl, whisk together Dijon mustard, honey, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
STEP 2: Roll out the puff pastry slightly into a rectangle, then cut into 6 squares. Place each square on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
STEP 3: Place a slice of ham on each square, then spread about 3-4 teaspoons of the sauce on the ham.
STEP 4: Top with shredded cheese, and sprinkle with thyme leaves.
STEP 5: Bring the four edges of each puff pastry square together towards the center and thoroughly pinch them together in the middle.
STEP 6: Make the egg wash: In a small bowl, beat the egg with 2 teaspoons of water. Brush the pastries with the mixture.
Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 320°F (160°C) and bake for 10-15 minutes or until deeply golden (keep an eye on the pastries at the end of the baking time making sure they don’t get too dark).
Enjoy!
Storage and freezing
These pastries taste best freshly prepared but there are a couple of great make-ahead options.
How to store baked pastries: make sure they are completely cooled then put them in a closed container. You can store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
How to reheat them: bake them for 5 minutes at 400°F (200°C). They will be a little bit softer at the bottom in comparison to freshly-made ones. This is a good make-ahead option.
How to make them ahead: I don’t recommend storing assembled and unbaked pastries in the fridge – puff pastry will be soggy. Assemble and bake just before serving.
How to freeze baked pastries: let them cool completely, place them on a tray in the freezer, and freeze until solid. Transfer to a closed container or zip-lock bags. Bake straight from the freezer at 400°F (200°C) until warm. These taste really good and almost as freshly-made. I don’t recommend freezing unbaked pastries.
Top tips on working with puff pastry
- Keep the puff pastry chilled. Take it out of the fridge only when you have all the other ingredients ready. It will be sticky and hard to work with when warm.
- If at any point your puff pastry will be too soft and sticky just put it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkling the pastry with flour while rolling it out also helps.
- All-butter puff pastry is more sticky than regular puff pastry made with shortening or palm fat (but it‘s so much tastier!).
- If using frozen puff pastry it‘s better to thaw it in the fridge overnight instead of quickly thawing it on the counter – it can be prone to breaking.
More puff pastry appetizer recipes you may like
- Puff Pastry Mushroom Tart
- Puff Pastry Pizza Bites
- Puff Pastry Onion Tart
- Puff Pastry Vegetable Strudel
- Puff Pastry Cheese Straws
- Puff Pastry Pinwheels
- Puff Pastry Christmas Tree
- Cranberry Brie Bites
- Spinach Puffs
Here you can find all my puff pastry appetizers.
Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!
Ham and Cheese Puff Pastry
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 sheet puff pastry about 10 ounces or 285g
- 6 slices ham
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese 150g
- thyme leaves optional
- salt and pepper to taste
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- In a small bowl, whisk together Dijon mustard, honey, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
- Roll out the puff pastry slightly into a rectangle, then cut into 6 squares (if it’s already in a rectangle shape, leave it as is). Place each square on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Place a slice of ham on each square, then spread about 3-4 teaspoons of the sauce on the ham, top with shredded cheese, and sprinkle with thyme leaves.
- Bring the four edges of each puff pastry square together towards the center and thoroughly pinch them together in the middle.
- Make the egg wash: In a small bowl, beat the egg with 2 teaspoons of water. Brush the pastries with the mixture.
- Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 320°F (160°C) and bake for 10-15 minutes or until deeply golden (keep an eye on the pastries at the end of the baking time making sure they don't get too dark).
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Thaw your puff pastry in the fridge overnight. Make sure it’s cold before you start. Take it out of the fridge only if you have all your ingredients ready.
- Egg wash is optional, milk or heavy cream will also do if you don’t want to use an egg. Egg wash is just used to get better color on the pastry but you don’t have to brush the pastries at all.
- Calories = 1 pastry (1/6 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
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