Ham and Cheese Crescent Rolls
This delicious combination of soft, buttery dough with deli ham and cheese makes this an irresistible meal. You'll have a hard time putting any away in the freezer.
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 cup whole milk
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast
Filling/Topping:
- 1 pound deli ham
- 1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Prepare Dough: Add ingredients to your bread machine in the order listed. Run on the dough cycle. It should be around 90 minutes for reference.
- Divide and Roll Dough: After dough cycle is complete, flour your surface. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions and roll into balls. Using a rolling pin, roll one dough ball into a circle that's about 1/4-inch thick (about the size of a medium pizza).
- Add Toppings: Sprinkle 1/3 of the shredded cheese over the dough. Add a single layer of ham slices on top of the cheese.
- Cut and Roll: Using a pizza cutter, cut into about 10 pie-shaped pieces* by cutting straight lines through the dough. (Like you would cut a pizza.) Starting at the large end, roll up the dough. Place on greased baking sheet with the end side underneath the roll. Using a pastry brush, brush the top of each roll with a little bit of butter.
- Repeat: Repeat these steps for your second and third balls of dough.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F and bake for 20-25 minutes, until slightly golden brown on top. They are best served warm.
- *Depending on the size of each dough ball, you may get a little more or less than this. The recipe yields 30 crescent rolls in all.
Freezer Instructions
Freeze For Later: Bake as stated in recipe. Let cool completely. Place in air-tight, freezer bag or container, squeeze out as much air as possible, and seal. Freeze for up to 2-3 months for best quality.
Prepare From Frozen: Let the Ham and Cheese Crescent Rolls thaw at room temperature (for no more than 2 hours), in the refrigerator overnight, or using the defrost setting on the microwave. Warm up in the microwave before eating.
Notes/Tips
- There is no need to activate the yeast prior to adding it to the machine.
- It works best to add the cheese before the ham. That way you'll lose less of the cheese when rolling them up.
- We recommend using an uncured ham to avoid preservatives. We like Applegate and Boar's Head brands.
- Shortcut for Dough: Use 3 cans of store-bought crescent rolls or 3 dough balls from a local pizzeria in place of the homemade dough.
- If you don't have a bread machine, but still want to make your own dough, use our Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Recipe.
- Variations: Try other kinds of deli meat, like roast beef or turkey, and other kinds of cheese, such as shredded cheddar or Colby jack.
- Add-In Ideas: To kick up the flavor a little, try sprinkling some dried Italian seasoning and/or garlic powder on top of the cheese before layering with ham.
- We haven't tested this with gluten-free flour, but let us know if you do.
- A reader tested freezing these before baking them and this method did NOT work. See note in the article above.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 crescent roll | Calories: 199 kcal (10%) | Carbohydrates: 17 g (6%) | Protein: 9 g (18%) | Fat: 10 g (15%) | Cholesterol: 43 mg (14%) | Sodium: 366 mg (16%) | Fiber: 1 g (4%) | Sugar: 4 g (4%)
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