These cute ham and cheese pinwheel appetizers are only one of many things you can create with puff pastry. These delicious appetizers are so easy to make, and they taste impressive too!
Do you feel stuck in a rut when it comes to appetizer recipes?
My general go-to is to put together a colorful plate of veggies and dip....or a cheese plate or a bowl of Spiced Nuts.
While these are all perfectly reasonable, delicious, and visually appealing appetizers, sometimes, I just want to make something that seems a little more dressed up. I don't want to spend hours in the kitchen, especially if I'm hosting the party.
These Super Easy Ham and Cheese Appetizers are perfect. They are delicious, easy, and look simply adorable!
What I love about these Savory Puff Pastry Appetizers
- Frozen Dough: You can buy it frozen, so you don't have to make a thing.
- Super Easy: Making appetizers using puff pastry is so incredibly easy and versatile.
- Versatile: You can use what you have on hand to fill the puff pastry dough, so you have an unlimited variety of easy puff pastry appetizer variations.
Foodology Geek Recipe Notes
Puff pastry is the perfect canvas for a million varieties of appetizers. I use it often because it always looks impressively gorgeous. I use puff pastry dough as the base for my Bacon and Fig Tart and my Caramelized Onion and Gruyere Tart.
Ingredients
- Frozen puff pastry dough: I like DuFours
- Ham: Thinly sliced deli ham is the easiest to use for this recipe. If you have leftover ham, give it a quick chop in the food processor.
- Mustard: Use a good quality mustard. I like Maille. You can use traditional dijon or the sweet hot variety.
- Gruyere: Gruyere cheese pair amazingly well with the mustard and ham and provides a nice sharp note against the buttery pastry.
How to Make Ham and Cheese Pinwheels Appetizers
Ham and cheese puff pastry appetizers couldn't be simpler. Here are a few helpful tips to make sure this recipe comes out perfectly.
- Thaw The Dough: Put the pastry dough in the fridge the night before and let it thaw.
- Roll out the dough: Dust your counter with a little bit of flour. The puff pastry comes in a flat sheet. You don't need to do a lot of rolling, but a few swipes with a rolling pin helps to make sure the dough is even. I like to roll it into a 10 x 14-inch rectangle.
- Add the toppings: Start by spreading the mustard on the rolled out dough. Then add a layer of cheese and a layer of ham.
- Roll into pinwheels or palmiers: From the long end, roll the dough into a pinwheel. For a palmier shape roll each end to the center.
- Slice: Use a very sharp knife to slice the roll into ½ - inch thick slices.
- Bake: I like to rechill my puff pastry dough before I bake it. Having the dough cold ensures the maximum amount of puff! Bake at 425℉, until the pinwheels are puffed and a rich golden brown. Do not underbake.
A few more puff pastry appetizer ideas:
Just keep in mind a simple formula: (1) a not-too-wet sauce, (2) something melty-like cheese, and (3) a thin-sliced (or small diced) protein.
- Ham and Cheese: Ham, mustard, and gruyere or parmesan.
- Italian: Prosciutto, seasoned tomato paste, parmesan cheese, and basil.
- Pesto: Chicken, pesto, and mozzarella.
- Olive: Olive tapenade.
- Fig Jam: Fig jam with goat cheese and bacon.
- Caramelized Onions: caramelize onions the onions and sprinkle with crispy bacon and thinly sliced granny smith apples.
A few more Appetizer Recipes to Try
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Ham and Cheese Puff Pastry Appetizers
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry thawed
- 2 tbsp mustard dijon or hot sweet
- 1 cup Gruyere cheese shredded
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 4 oz baked ham very thin deli slices
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry to a 10 x 14" rectangle.
- Spread a thin layer of mustard over the pastry.
- Sprinkle the two cheeses evenly over the top of the mustard.
- Arrange the ham in a single layer over the top of the cheese.
- Lay a piece of waxed paper (or parchment) on top of the ham. Use a rolling pin to gently compress the layers together. Carefully remove the waxed paper.
- Cut the rectangle in ½ to make two 10 x 7" bands. Take one band - gently roll one long edge of the band to the center (rolling the the ingredients to the inside). Repeat this with the opposite edge so that the two rolls meet in the middle. (You should end up with a scroll shape.)
- Use a VERY SHARP knife to slice each band into ½" slices. Place on a parchment-lined or non-stick baking sheet.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool on a rack and serve just slightly warm.
