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Appetizers

Ham and cheese puff pastry Christmas tree

Name: Ham and cheese puff pastry Christmas tree
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 16 pieces
Cuisine: Slovak
Ingredients: 2 packets Puff pastry (pre-rolled sheets, about 550 g total); 100 g Ham (thinly sliced); 100 g Grated cheese (such as Edam); 1 tbsp Mustard (optional); 1 Egg (for brushing)

Two sheets of puff pastry filled with ham and cheese, cut into a Christmas tree with twisted branches and baked until golden. Makes 16 pieces.

Slovak cuisine · Christmas recipes · Translated from Slovak · October 24, 2026

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Recipe at a glance

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Temperature: 200 °C (400 °F)
Servings: 16 pieces
Difficulty: Easy

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This ham and cheese puff pastry Christmas tree is a savory party snack that guests can pull apart, branch by branch. Layer ham and grated cheese between two sheets of pastry, cut out a tree shape, and twist the branches before baking.

It bakes in about 20 minutes, so it is ready in 40 minutes, including prep time.

Ingredients

Puff pastry (pre-rolled sheets, about 550 g total) 2 packets
Ham (thinly sliced) 100 g
Grated cheese (such as Edam) 100 g
Mustard (optional) 1 tbsp
Egg (for brushing) 1

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Instructions

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Prepare the bottom sheet
Preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F). Unroll the first sheet of pastry, along with its parchment paper, onto a baking sheet and spread with a thin layer of mustard.
Add the filling
Arrange the ham slices over the pastry and sprinkle evenly with the grated cheese, leaving a border of about 1 cm. Cover with the second sheet of pastry and gently press the edges together.
Cut out the tree
Use a sharp knife to cut out a large triangle with a wide base and a small rectangle below it for the trunk. Leave the scraps on the baking sheet to bake as savory pastry sticks.
Cut the branches
Cut branches about 1.5 cm wide from the center of the tree toward the edges, leaving a 2 cm-wide strip intact down the middle. Twist each branch twice.
Bake
Brush the tree with beaten egg and bake for 18–20 minutes, until puffed and golden brown.
Serve
Let cool briefly on the baking sheet and serve warm or lukewarm. Pull off the branches by hand.

Tip: Take the puff pastry out of the refrigerator only shortly before using it. If it softens, the branches will tear as you twist them; return it to the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Nutrition facts

Approximate values per piece, calculated from the ingredients

Energy: 170 kcal
Protein: 5.0 g
Carbohydrates: 13 g
of which sugars: 0.6 g
Fat: 11 g
of which saturates: 5.1 g
Fiber: 0.6 g
Salt: 0.7 g

Calculated from the raw ingredients, without frying oil. Where an amount is “to taste”, typical amounts are used. Food composition: USDA FoodData Central and product labels.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Vianočný stromček z lístkového cesta so šunkou a syrom