Baked Ham and Swiss Sliders

I have been making these little baked sandwiches for quite a few years now. I first made them for a Superbowl game watch way back before Paul and I had children and we often hosted game watches with Paul's co-workers - including the night I went into labor with Matthew. I was upstairs timing contractions while Paul was entertaining his buddies downstairs. He offered to send them home, but I'm the one who told him to let the party continue. And it was definitely the right decision because it was a loooonnng labor. I still wonder if the guys thought it was weird that I never made an appearance that night.

Anyway...These yummy sliders always disappeared as soon as I took them out of the oven - oftentimes I would not even get the chance to eat one! We made these again for Matthew's 1st and 2nd birthday parties and they were always the first thing to disappear. They are popular, I tell you.

Then, I stopped making them and moved on to different party foods for the rare shindigs we would throw. The other day while perusing the bread aisle at the grocery store, I spied those delicious, addicting King's Hawaiian buns and instantly thought back to how much me, Paul, and everyone else loves these sandwiches.

I made a half recipe of 12 sliders the other night to pair with a creamy butternut squash soup. I knew the soup would not cut it for Paul as a main course and made the sandwiches mainly for him. He scarfed down six of them before declaring himself a pig. He's the one who said it.

The kids of course wouldn't touch them because they have issues with meat sandwiches. As in, Emma pulls every component apart and eats them separately. Matthew will eat the ham but leave the cheese and bread. So, we decided not to waste these on them and keep them just to ourselves. It was a wise decision.

If you have never tried these before, make them! Perfect for game watches, tailgates, or any occasion really!

Baked Ham and Swiss Sliders
adapted from King's Hawaiian

Note: I like to tripe or quadruple the recipe for a party, assemble them the night before, and just keep them in the fridge overnight. When ready to bake, all you have to do is slide them in the oven. I can't even begin to tell you how quickly these disappear.

24 small dinner rolls (I like the King's Hawaiian rolls but GFS carries a cheaper brand of "hawaiian rolls" that are fabulous)
1 pound deli ham
1/2 pound Swiss Cheese, sliced
2 tablespoons finely minced sweet onion
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar or honey
1½ tablespons Dijon mustard
1½ teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 tablespoons poppy seeds

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick foil. Split the sandwich rolls. Layer each roll with a generous slice of ham and cheese. Replace the tops of the rolls and tightly bunch them together on the prepared baking sheet.

In a small bowl combine the minced onion, butter, sugar, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Microwave until the butter is just melted, about 30-60 seconds. Add the poppy seeds and stir until combined.

Drizzle the butter mixture evenly over the sandwiches. Let the sandwiches sit and absorb the sauce for about 10 minutes or, if making ahead of time, cover and keep in the fridge overnight. Bake in the oven until the cheese has melted and the butter mixture starts to caramelize, about 10-15 minutes. Serve warm.

Try not to eat the entire pan yourself.