Game day snacks
It may be March, but the recipe for these delicious ham and cheese crescent rolls was developed back in February. Why? Because of the Superbowl! Now, we don’t always watch the Superbowl (sorry), but the Philadelphia Eagles played in this year’s. Having been raised in Philly, we can’t help but feel a bit of allegiance towards the birds. And, spoiler alert – they won! So, it was even worth Emma staying up until 3 am in the UK. When it comes to the Superbowl, it’s really just an excuse to eat a lot of snacky foods, so we figured why not switch it up from the usual pølsehorn (pigs in blankets) and make some ham and cheese pastries instead.
Horn – the perfect pastry shape?
If you ever find yourself in Denmark, you’ll notice that a lot of bakeries have pastries that end in “horn”. This translates to horn in English, but this shape in English is typically known as a crescent roll or crescent shape, hence our English translation of today’s post. Why is this shape so common? Honestly, it’s a great way to keep the filling inside a pastry! And you still get the fluffy dough around it, while the filling tends to stay moist. The texture of biting into it is just perfect. On the other hand, if you make a swirl pastry or just rolls with ham and cheese in them, it’s less of a contrast between the textures and flavors of the filling vs. the dough. But, it has to be said, we love all pastries! These are just a very common and classic type to find because they are so delicious, versatile, and easy to make.
Other savoury pastry “horn” you’ll love
As I mentioned earlier, pigs in blankets are the classic original “horn” recipe, and they’re absolutely one of our favourites too, whether it’s game day or not. They’re a childhood classic in many countries, known as “pigs in blankets” in the US. Although, did you know that British “pigs in blankets” are sausages wrapped in bacon? So, for any Brits reading this, our recipe does not involve bacon – sorry – and instead, the hot dogs are wrapped in a delicious soft and fluffy dough. You can check out the full recipe here if they sound like something you’d like!
Sweet horn pastries to try out!
If you have a sweet tooth, you may also want to try some of our other “horn” pastries with sweet fillings. The first one features one of my favourite spring fruits/vegetables, rhubarb! A delicious cardamom dough filled with a sweet and tart rhubarb filling – what could be better? Similarly, although perhaps better suited to the autumn or winter months, our spiced apple crescent rolls are so tasty. Filled with warming spices, they’re so addicting and irresistible! Finally, you can’t go wrong adding vanilla custard to a crescent roll. These cremehorn are luxurious and rich and just absolutely delicious. We hope you try out these recipes!
Ingredients you’ll need for these ham and cheese crescent rolls
To make these ham and cheese horn pastries, you’ll first need the dough ingredients: milk, water, yeast, sugar, salt, flour, and butter. You can use plant-based options if you like, and they’ll turn out the same. We use instant or active dry yeast. For the latter, make sure you add it to the warm liquid ingredients first so that it’s activated, and the same goes for fresh yeast. You can use all-purpose or bread flour; it won’t make a huge difference in the final product! Then, for the filling and topping, you’ll need the following: ham, cheese, and egg, and seasoning or sesame seeds to sprinkle on top. You can use any type of cheese you like, although we prefer a cheese that has a sharp flavor but also melts well, like cheddar or gouda.
How to make ham and cheese crescent rolls
Start by making the dough by combining the ingredients in a bowl. You can use a stand mixer if you have one, and knead together for about 10 minutes until smooth and no longer sticky. You can add extra flour if it sticks to your fingers when you poke it – that’s the best way to check the consistency! Feel free to knead by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer. Let this dough rise in a warm place for about an hour or until doubled in size. Then, divide it into 12 even pieces. Pull each one into a triangle or roll it with a rolling pin. Add the sliced ham and grated cheese to the wide end, and roll it up into a crescent shape. Place these pastries on two baking sheets and let them rise a second time. Brush with an egg wash, sprinkle with seasoning or seeds, and bake until golden brown. Enjoy!
Horn med skinke og ost (Ham and Cheese Crescent Rolls)
Ingredients
- 100 ml milk
- 100 ml water
- 2 tsp instant yeast (2.25 tsp active dry yeast, 15-20g fresh yeast)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 400 grams bread or all purpose flour
- 28 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 150 grams cheese, grated
- 125 grams ham (slices or cubes are fine!)
- Egg for egg wash (you can also use melted butter instead!)
- Everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, dried garlic, etc. for sprinkling on the top!
Instructions
- To prepare the dough: heat up the milk and water, either in the microwave or in a saucepan, until it is "fingervarm" (finger warm), meaning it should feel warm to the touch but not hot. You don’t want to kill the yeast! Add the yeast along with the sugar (1 tbsp) and stir to dissolve. Let it rest 5-10 minutes until it begins to froth and bubble a little bit. (If your yeast doesn’t do anything, it may be expired. Check the expiration date on the package and start over with new yeast!)
- Add the flour, softened butter, and salt to the yeast mixture – combine in a large bowl or in the bowl of stand mixer.
- Once roughly combined, knead on a work surface for about 10 minutes until soft and smooth, or knead for 10 minutes in a stand mixer using the dough hook attachment. The dough shouldn't be sticking to your hands or the sides of the bowl, so make sure to add a little bit more flour if it's too sticky!
- Cover the dough and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to a hour.
- Once the dough has about doubled in size, turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Divide into 12 equal pieces – you can weigh each piece if you want them to be even!
- Use your hands to pull the dough into a triangular shape and roll it out flat.
- Add ham and cheese to the wider end of the triangle, about 2 tablespoon's worth of grated cheese (although we usually just grab some with our hands and adjust as needed) and usually a little less than a tablespoon's worth of ham (we also don't really measure this but roughly divide the amount of ham that we have into 12 portions to distribute evenly).
- Roll the triangle up to the point, enclosing the ham and cheese well. Turn in the ends of the dough to achieve the "horn" or "crescent" look.
- Place the pastries on two parchment paper lined baking sheets (6 on each) and cover and let them rise again for 45 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350F (175C).
- Once the pastries have risen, brush the tops of the pastries with an egg wash or melted butter, then sprinkle on the seasonings of your choice – we like to use everything bagel seasoning or dried garlic, or even just sesame seeds!
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden. Enjoy!
