Ham and Cheese Croissants - Laura Vitale - Laura in the Kitchen Episode 322
Hi guys! I'm Laura Vitale, on this episodeof Laura in the Kitchen I want to show you
how I make my delicious Ham and Cheese Croissants.They're so delicious, couldn't be easier to
make, you're going to need just a couple ingredients,so let me take you over them to get started.
You're going to need some store bought frozenpuff pastry, that has been thawed in the fridge
overnight, and then your choice of cheese,I'm just using some cheddar and some smoked
ham, you're going to need one egg and witha little bit of water, and salt and pepper.
Now if you want to, you can certainly makeyour own puff pastry, but I have made it puff
pastry in the past, plenty of times and Ican tell you its a very labor intensive process,
it takes a very long time and I just don'thave the time or patience for it. And I think
puff pastry is one of the greatest bargainsin the supermarket so, you'll find it in the
freezer section of any grocery store aroundthe country, and if you want to use it, just
thaw it overnight in the fridge and its goodto go! So, your cheese, and your ham, you
can use whatever you want. I make so manyvarieties of this, I make prosciutto mozzarella,
I make provolone and salami, you name it.So for now, we are just going to go right
into it. First thing you want to do is getyour oven hot, to 425F. Second thing you want
to do is get a baking sheet and line it withparchment paper and get that ready. So now
we are going to start working with the puffpastry. I am going to lightly flour my work
surface, because I am going to roll this outjust a little bit, because I want to get it
just a little bit thinner than it alreadyis. So, just take my rolling pin and roll
it out. That's looking good. Now what I'mgoing to do, is I'm going to cut this in half,
then cut it in half again, and then you'regoing to cut in half again, but you're going
to do it this way, so you're going to havelittle triangles when you're done. Now I put
the rest of my triangles aside and now whatI'm doing with my hands is just working it
so that you have the pointy side right inthe center. Now here is how we are going to
do this. You're going to take your ham, andthen you're just going to fit it, OK, just
like that because these are going to be foldedin anyway, top it with your piece of cheese,
you can do a little extra ham and cheese ifyou want, if you want them real cheesy, just
like so, another little half piece of cheese.Now, I have beaten my little egg here with
a little bit of water, and that's going tomake the glue, its going to make these really
really pretty as well when were done. Andnow you're just going to fold them up, which
is really simple to do, just fold them oneach other. Just roll them, just like that.
that's how I make them. you'll want the littlepointy end to be at the bottom. Don't worry
these will puff up, and they are not goingto be like these huge croissants, but they
are going to be puffed up and gorgeous. Socontinue to do those until they are all stuffed.
Last one done, look how cute they are. AndI just want to give you a heads up really quickly.
These are fantastic for brunch. They are fantasticat anytime of day. But, if you want to, you
can make these ahead up until this point,and then freeze them, so whenever you want
to make them just thaw them overnight in thefridge and pop them in the oven the next morning.
You have homemade ham and cheese croissants.I know! So, what I am going to do now is brush
the tops really well with the egg wash becauseit is going to help them brown, and get lovely
and beautiful and golden as they puff up,and then because these are savory, what I
want to do, is I want to sprinkle just a littlebit of salt and pepper over the top, just
because, well they are savory, and I likeit. If I was making say, Nutella croissants
then I would skip that step and just finishthem with a little confectioners sugar. But
for these, this is how I like them. A littlebit of salt, not too much, and these are going
to go into your preheated oven at 425F forabout 15 minutes or so, or until they are
golden brown and puffed up. My little croissantsbaked for about 15 minutes, and they are lightly
golden, they've puffed up, and are ready tobe eaten, which is exactly what I am going
to do to this one right here. I'm really excited,but its going to be really hot. So good, but
hot. So delicious, so quick, so simple, andlike I said, if you want to make them in advance
and freeze them before you bake them, morepower to you, so go ahead and do that. As
you can see, they don't take anytime at all,they just require a few ingredients, and they
come out perfect every single time. I hopeyou have enjoyed spending time with me, go
to www.laurainthekitchen.com to get the recipe,and I will see you next time. Bye bye!
To get this complete recipe with instructions and measurements, check out my website: http://www.LauraintheKitchen.com Official Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/LauraintheKitchen Twitter: @Lauraskitchen