Ham, Cheese, Jam: These Monte Cristo Pinwheels Really Do It All

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Classic iterations of the beloved brunch staple Monte Cristo sandwiches resemble typical ham and cheeses, with French toast-like bread dusted with powdered sugar on the outside. But how about giving the sandwiches a makeover so that they can be enjoyed as appetizers for any occasion? Developer Patterson Watkins captures all the sweet-savory essence that you'd expect from the dish in this Monte Cristo-style ham and cheese pinwheels recipe. They're "fun to make and fun to eat," Watkins tells us. 

While the end result certainly makes quite the snack, it was no easy feat figuring out how to pack all of that quintessential Monte Cristo sandwich goodness into a pinwheel. "Of course, the ham and Gruyère need to take center stage, but what of the almost French toast-like element? The condiments: jam, mustard, or both?" Watkins shares her thought process. She modified the puff pastry egg wash with heavy cream, cinnamon, and black pepper to achieve the French toast appeal and incorporated raspberry jam and Dijon mustard into the spread as a sweet-tangy sauce. "All-in-all, a pretty tasty appetizer revision of the sando," Watkins says.

While most Monte Cristo sandwiches call for regular bread, Watkins used store-bought puff pastry dough sheets for her pinwheel recipe instead. They make the process of rolling up the pinwheels a whole lot easier; just make sure that they're thawed first. To give the puff pastry a French toast-like treatment, you'll need two eggs, heavy cream, black pepper, and cinnamon for the egg wash.

The inside of those puff pastry sheets requires Dijon mustard, raspberry jam, Black Forest ham, and grated Gruyère cheese. You'll need a little bit of flour to dust the work surface as you build the pinwheels, and to get that classic Monte Cristo look once the pinwheels are baked, a dusting of powdered sugar will do the trick.

To make the egg wash, place heavy cream, eggs, black pepper, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.

Whisk to combine and set aside.

To create the filling, place mustard and jam in another medium bowl.

Whisk together and set aside, keeping ⅓ cup separate for serving.

Roll out each puff pastry sheet into 12x10-inch rectangles on a lightly floured surface.

Dollop each puff with ⅓ cup of mustard jam and spread out evenly, leaving a border around the edge.

Add 9 slices of ham on top of each puff, covering only the sauce area and overlapping slightly.

Sprinkle Gruyère over the ham evenly.

Brush the borders with the egg wash mixture. Then, set aside the remaining egg wash.

Tightly roll each sheet lengthwise into a log.

Wrap each log in plastic wrap, then place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Once the logs have chilled, transfer 1 roll to a cutting board. Remove the plastic wrap and slice into ½ -inch pieces. Repeat with the other roll.

On parchment-lined baking sheets, place the pinwheels spaced about 1 inch apart.

Brush the top and sides of the pinwheels with the egg wash, then place in the oven.

Bake for 15 minutes or until crisp and golden brown before removing from the oven.

Transfer the pinwheels to a wire rack to cool over a baking sheet.

Once cooled, dust with powdered sugar. Serve with a side of the remaining mustard jam.

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As unsuspectingly adorable as these Monte Cristo pinwheels may be, Watkins says, "I'll admit, these are a bit labor intensive: filling, rolling, par-freezing, slicing, and baking." Fortunately, there are certain tasks you can do ahead of time to make your life a little easier when gearing up to serve these pinwheels. You can essentially prepare the pinwheels in their entirety, just shy of slicing and baking, and then freeze them for up to two months. However, you need to wrap the logs really well with plastic wrap should you choose to go this route. When you want to enjoy the treats, just let the logs thaw for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing and baking.

Another option is to complete all the steps in this recipe and then freeze the sliced and baked pinwheels. If you slice but don't bake the pinwheels before freezing, they'll be susceptible to sticking and freezer burn. Just reheat the baked pinwheels when you're craving the Monte Cristo snacks. Finally, as a mini shortcut, you can prepare the mustard-jam filling a few days in advance and keep it in the fridge, but make sure not to freeze the spread. 

Watkins really manages to capture the essence of a classic Monte Cristo sandwich in this pinwheel recipe, with ingredients like ham, Gruyère, jam, Dijon mustard, French toast-like "bread," and powdered sugar. That said, there are some simple changes you can make to this recipe. "Some Monte Cristo sandos call for both turkey and ham — feel free to opt in to either or both," Watkins suggests. "Just make sure not to overstuff your puff." Otherwise, you might experience some tearing in the dough. Another common Monte Cristo ingredient is Swiss cheese as opposed to Gruyère, so if that's what you have on hand or what you prefer, it'll work just as well. 

There's also a lot of wiggle room to get creative with the format of this recipe by transforming other classic sandwiches into pinwheel form. Watkins would love to try her hand at Italian hoagie-style pinwheels featuring cold cuts, sharp provolone cheese, and Italian seasoning mixed into the egg wash. Another idea is Reuben sandwich-inspired pinwheels loaded with ingredients like corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing.

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