20 Minute Ham and Cheese Tarts
These fast and easy 20 minute ham and cheese tarts are the adult version of a grilled cheese and just as easy!
Is it still okay for a grown woman of 28 to be missing The Office on TV when it quit airing like, what, two years ago? It was the first show Ben and I commited to watching together when we first started dating – or maybe I should say, it was the first show he forced me to watch by pinning me down and taking my eyes off of my hands when I tried to cover my eyes from the awkwardness that was Michael Scott.
Every once in a while I find myself missing it, the awkwardness, Jim and Pam, and well Stanley Hudson. One of the big running jokes between my friends and I is that Ben is “Old Man Keno” and he can fall into his crotchety old man ways when he runs out of fiber cereal and I throw a monkey wrench into his daily routine. So, ya know often.
But as we sat down eating our ham and cheese tarts, watching our latest marathon of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman that included Brian’s dog Pup getting rabies, Ben found the most perfect moment to drop a line of Stanley Hudson…
“No, rabies! Not BABIES. Can I put you down for a dime?”.
And I LOST it. Apparently it was the funniest thing ever. Of course the overly emotional 90’s TV show with a kid losing his dog to rabies was a serious case of All The Feels, and Ben thought that was the most opportune moment to reference The Office. Appropriate. And I am going to hell for laughing at a kid who’s dog had to die.
In other more important news!!
When it’s the middle of winter, I’m dreaming of summer. When it’s summer, I start dreaming of winter and cozy foods. This recipe seems totally backwards since we are finally getting 70 degree days – but sometimes, no wait, all the time, tomato soup and grilled cheese sounds like the perfect meal!! If you ever meet anyone that says “Nah, grilled cheese and tomato soup sounds awful”, feel free to remove them from your friendship circle immediately and drop the “It’s not me, it’s you.” It’s just better this way.
Go and enjoy the heck out of those cozy foods and don’t listen to the haters. They’re just jealous they can’t feast on these awesome tarts like you can. Only share if they promise to repent for their grilled cheese and tomato soup hating ways.
Ingredients for 20 Minute Ham and Cheese Tarts
- Puff Pastry
- Flour
- Egg
- Water
- Shredded Cheese
- Black Forest Ham Deli Meat
- Tomatoes
- Spinach
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20 Minute Ham and Cheese Tarts
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 tarts 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These fast and easy 20 minute ham and cheese tarts are the adult version of a grilled cheese and just as easy!
Ingredients
- 2 Sheets Puff Pastry, thawed
- 1/2 cup Flour, for dusting
- 1 Egg
- 2 Tbsp Water
- 2 cups Shredded Cheese
- 1/2 pound Black Forest Ham Deli Meat, thinly sliced
- 2 Tomatoes, thinly sliced (optional)
- 1/2 cup Wilted Spinach (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.
- On a lightly floured surface roll out thawed puff pastry into a 12×9″ rectangle. Cut in half lengthwise, yielding 2 4-½” strips. Cut those two strips crosswise into thirds, to yield six 4×4 ½” pieces. Repeat with second puff pastry sheet.
- With a knife, score ½” border around the edge of each piece of puff pastry. Use a fork to make five or six pricks into the dough within the border of each piece. This will help keep the middle of each piece from rising.
- Sprinkle shredded cheese in the middle of each tart. Sprinkle ham over the top of the cheese. If using tomato and spinach, add those on prior to topping with ham.
- In a small dish or cup, whisk together the egg and water. Using a pastry brush – brush the edges of the puff pastry with the mixture. This will help the edges turn golden brown and crispy.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown, on the middle rack and rotate the baking sheet half way through baking. Remove from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or room temperature.
I need more 20 minute recipes in my life! Ham and cheese? Yes, please!
These look WAY better than the traditional grilled cheese sandwich! I love this idea.
Gorg-ous! I love cozy comfort foods in the summer as well as the winter! And bahahah on the Dr. Quin medicine woman. I totally forgot about that show!
These look amazing!! Would you be able to freeze these for a quick breakfast?
I would love to make a spinach and tomato version of this as well. I’ll have to pick up some pastry sheets next time I’m at the grocery store.
These are beautiful!! Such gorgeous photos!
Sounds perfect!
I can live on tarts, especially ones like these. So incredibly great!!!
Weather is never a factor for grilled cheese and tomato soup. I love your tart version–great idea!
I miss it too!! When E and I just graduated and he was living in a pool house (true story), and we didn’t have cable, we watched the office on netflix because that’s all we had access to!
So, I totally miss it too!
I absolutely love a good soup during the summer even when its a scorching 102 degrees outside. This sammies are perfect and would go perfectly with any ole’ soup recipe.
Prettiest ham and cheese treat ever!
tomato soup and grilled cheese (in any form at all!) is welcomed year round here. These look so good Megan!
Oh my gosh I’m so glad I’m not the only one with Tomato Soup on my mind… It must be a PNW thing.. I love your little ham and cheese tarts they look amazing!
Now that’s a grilled cheese I’d LOVE to have! Genius!!
I miss The Office, too!!
These tarts have rendered me speechless. All I can think is, “OMNOMNOMNOM.”
Who cares if it’s 90 degrees out, I could gobble up those tarts and tomato soup in a heartbeat!
I think I could eat this meal everyday! Saving this recipe for the next rainy day!
I want this now, totally over the top deliciousness!
Um, I would eat this in sunny weather, snowy weather, rainy weather and just all weather! It is awesome!
I miss The Office all the time! It’s still my show-of-choice on sick day. If I have a really bad flu, I can easily pound through a season. 🙂 I am in total agreement with you regarding grilled cheese and tomato soup. It is most definitely year round food. And your photos are gorgeous!
I freaking love all of your Ben stories (fiber cereal??? Seriously, we married the same person). Also, I’m totally all over these pretty and simple tarts. Cheesy comfort and flakey crust is 100% necessary all year round.
MY GOSH – they are doppelgangers!! hahah Fiber cereal weirdos!
I feel out of it. I watch almost zip TV. Now if we were talking movies. That would be different. I think this meal in multi-seasonal. Especially from a kids point of view. Since we all have an inner child, well there your go, this is universally all ages appealing. Seriously the tarts look AWESOME
I missed the entire ‘The Office’ series on TV. Not by intention, of course, it’s just the way it was. But these tarts are definitely on my radar. And the soup. Year ’round!
Heck yes times infinity.
Haha – we loved The Office, too! Classic that you still find ways to work it into conversation! But, anyway … this awesome idea for grown-up, schwanky grilled cheese! Fabulous! So pretty, too! And I especially like the ideas for the optional tomato and spinach toppings – I’d totally add those!
I’d be dunking away in that soup- these look YUMMY.
Great little pizza replacements
Forget the plain grilled cheese. I want these babies with my tomato soup! Gorgeous!
I would love these with soup or with anything, really -they look fantastic!
These look so great! They’re almost like grown-up grilled cheese sandwhiches 😉
Daaaang! These look SO good. I made something similar this year for a superbowl party, but I really love this puff pastry deal a whole lot more!
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