Ham and Swiss Sitcky Buns

"A little bit of heaven on earth." That's what the boys called this recipe when they tried it. I must admit it was a pretty darn good recipe. And it reheats well too. The only thing I would say was it could use a smidge more mustard. I couldn't taste it at all, which maybe you're not supposed to be able to, but when the instructions call for "spreading" a mixture, I assume it should not just mean "sprinkle chunks of ham and Swiss," which is essentially what I did.

• 9 oz deli ham, finely chopped
• 2 cups (8 oz) shredded Swiss cheese
• 2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 (16.3 oz) cans refrigerated jumbo biscuits
• maple syrup

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Stir together first 3 ingredients. Sprinkle brown sugar into a 12-inch square on a clean surface. Arrange biscuits in 4 rows on sugar, covering sugar completely. Pinch biscuits together to form a square. Roll dough into a 12 x 16 inch rectangle (about 1/4 inch thick) pinching dough together as needed. 

Spread ham and cheese mixture over dough. Roll up tightly, starting at 1 long side, pressing brown sugar into dough as you roll. Pinch ends to seal. Cut into 16 slices using a serrated knife. Fit each slice into cups of a lightly greased 24-cup muffin pan (dough will extend over the tops of the cups). 

Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes or until golden and centers are completely cooked. Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes. Drizzle with syrup. 

NOTES: To make this recipe ahead of time you can do everything but the baking the day before. Store the dough in the fridge overnight and then let it thaw about 10 minutes before putting it in to bake. 

I think we forgot to dip ours in maple syrup, but it really didn't matter. These were plenty sweet without it. I will make a semi-suggestion though: it is very difficult to pinch the biscuits together once they have brown sugar on them. If possible, maybe do the first bit on parchment paper and then transfer the rectangle of dough to the brown sugar once it's all stuck together? My rectangle kept wanting to fall apart and it made cutting the muffins difficult. 

Also I used regular sandwich ham and sliced Swiss cheese. I took a knife to them and sliced them up into small pieces. I worked with what I had on hand at the house and these worked just fine. 

Serves: 16

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Recipe from Southern Living