Do you like Croque Monsieur sandwiches? You know, those crispy, cheesy French “ham and cheese” sandwiches you find at bistros and dip into raspberry jam? Well, I love them and use to have them all the time when I lived in NYC. There was this little French restaurant that I went to after work. I’d meet up with friends and this was our “happy hour” choice. (The restaurant had “crepe” in the name but it has been a long, long time since I’ve been to that part of NY and I’m sure the restaurant is gone…couldn’t find anything that rang a bell online.) But I digress…LOL. I love the sandwich and decided to make a holiday appetizer using those same flavors. And so, Croque Monsieur Appetizers were born.
Just a quick “French” lesson here. Croque Monsieur translates to Mister Crunch or Crunchy Mister referring to the crispy toast (or in this case, puff pastry cup). You’ll often hear this recipe referred to as croque monsieur maison. That simply translates to homemade or made in house. BUT, it is the same recipe.
However, croque madame will come up in conversation or you’ll find it on a menu. That tends to lead to some confusion, so let me clear it up. You’ll want to know the difference.
Croque Monsieur vs. Croque Madame
The main difference between a Croque Monsieur and a Croque Monsieur Madame lies in the presence of a fried or poached egg:
Croque Monsieur:
- Grilled ham and cheese sandwich (or in this case, a cute little appetizer)
- Made with bread (in this recipe, puff pastry)
- Filled with ham and Gruyère cheese (I went wild and added Swiss and Parm too!)
- Topped with béchamel sauce
- Grilled until golden brown (we baked our appetizers, but you get that same golden brown color)
Croque Madame:
- Everything in a Croque Monsieur PLUS
- Topped with a fried or poached egg
- The egg is traditionally placed on top of the béchamel
- Named “Madame” because the egg on top resembles a lady’s hat
One other term you might here when referring to this classic recipe is Croque Monsieur Originaux.
A Croque Monsieur Originaux refers to the original or classic version of the sandwich as it was first served in French cafés in the early 1900s. It’s actually much simpler than today’s more elaborate versions:
The Original (Originaux) version had just these ingredients:
- Buttered bread
- Ham
- Gruyère cheese
- Grilled/toasted
- And NO béchamel sauce
Let’s make this recipe!
Out comes the puff pastry. Isn’t it the perfect vehicle for making appetizers? Well, I think so. It’s pretty fabulous for lots of other recipes too including these 8 recipes using store bought puff pastry.
Here’s how to make Croque Monsieur Appetizers
It all starts with store-bought puff pastry. You can buy puff pastry in almost any grocery store. Most stock Pepperidge Farm which is perfectly fine and is the brand I use most since it is so readily available. However, if you can find it, Aldi puff pastry is more affordable but often hard to find. It seems to be hit-or-miss at my Aldi’s supermarket, but it is less expensive. Alternatively, Dufour puff pastry is excellent but much more expensive. Use the one you find at your grocery store and one that fits in your budget.
Once you have your pastry, let a sheet thaw out overnight in the refrigerator. I’ll leave it in its original wrapper or remove the sheet from packaging and put it on a plate and cover it with a towel and let it thaw in the fridge overnight.
Sprinkle a little flour on a your cutting board to keep the pastry from sticking. Open up the pastry and using a rolling pin, roll it out and flatten out the creases. You just want to roll it to about a 12 ” x 10″ rectangle. Precision is not necessary here. They will puff up and get golden when baked and all those imperfections just make them look rustic.
Once you’ve rolled out the dough, cut it into 12 equal pieces. (three cuts each way on the pastry)
Next up, spray your mini cupcake pans with cooking spray. Alternatively, I use silicone trays that don’t require cooking spray. I find that I save on unwanted calories from the spray and that clean-up is a breeze. These trays fold up and stack up saving me a ton of space too.
I stretch a square slightly and place it in one muffin hole pressing it down and up the sides of the muffin cup. I stagger the cups so the pastry has room to puff up when baking. Don’t worry about how they look at this stage. Once baked, puffed and golden, they all have their own little personality and they look great!
Once you have them all in the molds, mix your egg with water and then using a pastry brush, brush each cup of pastry with the egg wash. Put the trays in the fridge for at least 10 minutes while your make the sauce and prep ingredients.
Next, I make a sauce for the Croque Monsieur…a classic Béchamel sauce to be exact.
So, what is a Béchamel sauce?
Béchamel is one of the five “mother sauces” of French cuisine. It’s a creamy white sauce made from a mixture of butter, flour, and milk. It typically has these basic ingredients:
- Butter
- All-purpose flour
- Whole milk
- Salt
- White pepper (traditionally, white pepper is used but I used black pepper in this recipe since that is what I had on hand)
- Nutmeg (optional but traditional)
I added a little somethin’ somethin’ with the addition of Dijon mustard. Hey, how can you make ham and cheese without mustard? Besides, I kept it french and used Dijon! LOL
To make the sauce is really easy, so don’t let the name scare you. You’ll be making this like a pro in minutes.
In one small pot, add the milk and heavy cream. Heat over medium-low heat for a couple of minutes. You don’t want this to boil. You just want to warm it up.
In a second small pot, melt the butter. Once melted, add the flour and using a whisk, blend everything together creating a roux (DON’T BE FRIGHTENED…roux is a fancy word for a paste). The roux (pronounced rooo) is the thickening agent for the sauce. Whisk this mixture for about a minute to make sure all the flour is incorporated into the butter and roux starts to brown slightly.
Once the flour and butter are well combined, start to add the warm milk slowly into the pan. Continue whisking until all the milk and all the roux are combined and the mixture is a nice, thick sauce. Remove from the heat.
Add the nutmeg (freshly grated is best, but you can use already grated nutmeg), the mustard and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir, taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed. Put the sauce to the side.
Note: you can buy whole nutmeg and grate it yourself using a hand grater. The taste is amazing and it take just a minute to elevate your dishes. Give it a try.
Next up, prep your ham and cheese. Chop up your ham and shred your cheese. Mix the two cheeses (Swiss and Gruyere in a bowl). Grate your Parmesan and have that in a separate bowl.
Note: Any ham will do. If you want to be authentic, and can find it, use a Parisian ham. Otherwise, any ham you have will be fine. Chop into small pieces. Do shred your own cheeses from blocks of cheese. Why? Oh, there are so many reasons:
Pre-shredded cheese is typically coated with anti-caking agents to prevent the shreds from clumping together in the package. The most common ingredients used are:
- Cellulose (powdered wood pulp) – the most common coating
- Potato starch
- Natamycin (a mold inhibitor)
- Calcium carbonate
- Cornstarch
This is why pre-shredded cheese often:
- Doesn’t melt as smoothly as freshly grated cheese
- Can feel slightly powdery
- Stays separated in the package
- May not work as well in some recipes, especially cheese sauces like béchamel
For the best results in recipes where cheese melting is important (like fondue, cheese sauces, or gratins), I recommend grating your own cheese from a block. Block cheese typically has:
- Better melting properties
- No added preservatives
- Better flavor
- More moisture content
- Often costs less per ounce (Did you hear that? It is cheaper too!!!)
Once you have your ingredients ready, remove the muffin trays from the refrigerator and start assembling your Croque Monsieur appetizers.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In each pastry cup, add about a teaspoon of the sauce. Top with some of the ham, then about a teaspoon of the mixed cheese, then some more ham, and another teaspoon of the mixed cheese. Do this with all the pastry cups. Finish by sprinkling the grated Parmesan over the top. NOTE: You could also use shaved Parmesan to top the cups; both work.
Pop the trays back in the refrigerator for another 10 minutes to completely chill the pastry. If you are holding this for more than 10 minutes, cover the tray and hold in the refrigerator up to an hour before baking them.
Bake for about 25 minutes until the cheese is melted and the puff pastry is cooked through and golden brown.
Let the pastry cool for about a minute then remove the appetizers from the trays with using the tip of a paring knife to assist. Be careful, they are hot! Place the pastry on a serving tray or platter and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves. Serve immediately and enjoy.
These should be enjoyed immediately after baking.
Did you like this recipe? Leave a rating below and comment on how you made it your own. I love to hear about the twists you all add to customize these for yourself.
Looking for other puff pastry appetizer recipes? I’ve got so many that I make on a regular basis. Try some of these:
Brie, Fig & Pecan Puff Pastry Bites
Scallops and Mushrooms in Puff Pastry with a Bourbon Cream Sauce
Croque Monsieur Appetizers
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed overnight
- 1 Tbsp. Flour, plus more to roll pastry
- 1 Egg
- 1/2 Cup milk
- 2 Tbsp. Heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp. Butter
- 1 Tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1/8 Tsp. Fresh nutmeg, grated
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 Cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
- 1/3 Cup Swiss cheese, shredded
- 4 Oz. ham, diced or chopped
- 1/4 Cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- Fresh thyme, chopped to garnish
Instructions
- Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. (Alternatively, use a silicone tray and you don't need the cooking spray.)
- Roll out the sheet of puff pastry to a 12” x 10” rectangle and cut into twelve squares. Gently stretch the squares slightly and press into the bottom and up the sides of the muffin cups. In a small bowl, whisk the egg with a tablespoon of water and using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash over the dough. Place in the refrigerator while you continue with the recipe. Let chill for about 10 minutes.
- In a small pot over medium-high heat, mix the milk and cream and heat for about 2 minutes.
- In another small pot, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the flour and whisk, creating a roux, and whisk until golden brown. This will take about two minutes. While you continue to whisk, slowly add the warm milk and continue whisking. Cook and whisk for about 2 minutes more until it thickens. Remove from the heat and add the mustard, nutmeg and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix. You have just made Béchamel sauce.
- In a bowl, combine the Gruyere and Swiss cheeses.
- Remove the muffin tin from the fridge and add about one teaspoon of the Bechamel sauce to the bottom of each cup. Add a couple some diced ham to each cup and top with one tablespoon of the cheese mixture. Add some more diced ham and another tablespoon of the cheese blend. Finish with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
- Place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 10 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the Croque Monsieur starters for about 20-25 minutes until gold brown and the cheese is bubbling.
- Place pan on a wire rack and let cool slightly. Use a paring knife to remove the cups from the pan. Place on a platter and sprinkle with the chopped thyme. Serve and enjoy.
