Monte Cristo Breakfast Sandwiches

Monte Cristo Breakfast Sandwiches are a baked twist on the classic French Ham and Swiss Sandwich.

The Monte Cristo is most simply a ham and cheese sandwich with a side of jelly.  This sandwich became popular in the US as a toasted ham and cheese or French Sandwich.
Specifically, it is a variation of the French Croque Monsuier.  Disneyland helped to popularize the Monte Cristo by placing it on the menu of two restaurants within the park in 1966.  A Monte Cristo Breakfast sandwich is yet another variation of this retro treat!


A couple of weeks ago, I shared 2 ingredient biscuits.  On our last camping trip, I made a few small biscuits for one morning's breakfast.  I also cut out 3 big biscuits to have for Monte Cristo Breakfast Sandwhiches the next day.  If you don't have day old biscuits you could use bread or English muffins.  Whatever bread you choose should be a hearty and rich bread.  I like Sara Lee's Artisan Breads for this as they hold up well.

The ingredients for these breakfast sandwiches are likely things that you have on hand and include left overs.

Next, you will need deli sliced ham and swiss cheese.  I like this for a camping meal because we can have these items for lunches as well as breakfast.  You can choose any ham that you would like.  Leftover holiday ham is also perfect for this recipe.

Finally, you will need a jam or jelly for a touch of sweetness.  I like to use fruit spreads like a blackberry for four fruit spread.  This comes down to the taste that you like.  Fruit spreads are thick and have a better texture than jelly in my opinion.

To construct the sandwich, split your biscuit in half horizontally.  Or you will need two slices of bread or a split English Muffin.  Biscuits have enough moisture not to need any additional butter.  However, for traditional bread, you could spread one side of the bread with softened butter if you like.  The butter should go on the outside of the sandwich.

Spread your biscuit with 1 teaspoon on fruit spread.

Add one to two slices of ham onto the bread you are using.  Top with one piece of swiss cheese.  Finally, smear a little fruit spread onto the bread top.  Place over the ham and cheese.

Layer with cheese and ham.

Wrap each sandwich in tin foil.  Warm your sandwhiches in a preheated oven that is set to 375 degrees.  Let your sandwhiches toast for approximately 20 minutes.  Enjoy with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk.

Close your sandwich and then wrap in tin foil

Place your sandwiches in the oven on a baking sheet.

Until next time...

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Monte Cristo Breakfast Sandwhiches

Author: Grace Strahan
Preparation Time: Enter preparation time (also update duration code)
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4, but you can increase this to feed your crowd

Monte Cristo Breakfast Sandwhiches is a baked version of the classic French Ham and Cheese Sandwich that was popularized in the 1960's.

Ingredients:

• Leftover biscuits - one per person (or you can substitute bread or English Muffins
• Thinly sliced deli ham - 1/4 to 1/2 pound
• Deli sliced swiss cheese - 1 slice per person
• 4 tsp of four fruit spread or blackberry fruit spread
• butter - only if you are using bread or English muffins
• Tin foil

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. I use a Coleman Camp Oven. But you could do this in a Dutch Oven or a toaster oven. It all depends on your equipment. But you are aiming for 375 degrees.
2. Split your biscuits horizontally. Spread with 1 tsp of fruit spread on the bread that is going to be on the top of your sandwich. Too much fruit spread will make these fall apart.
3. On the bottom of your biscuit, place your ham. This will be one or two slices depending on the size of the ham and your meat. For a biscuit, one piece of ham is typically enough. For a sandwich, I would go with 2.
4. Place one slice of swiss cheese on top of your ham. I tore my cheese in two and layered it onto the biscuit.
5. Top your layer of cheese and meat with your bread you have smeared with the fruit spread.
6. Wrap your sandwich in tin foil.
7. Place your sandwhiches on a baking tray and into your preheated oven.
8. Bake for 20 minutes.
9. Enjoy with milk or coffee!