The 5-Ingredient Ina Garten Appetizer I Make on Repeat During the Holidays

When I was in my late twenties, my friends and I started a dinner club that we affectionately called the Seasonal Soirée. When a new season rounded the corner, we would gather at one of our houses, and the host would serve a multi-course dinner while the rest of us brought the beverages.

Although the frequency of our dinners has since moved from seasonal to something closer to annual, we all think fondly about this special tradition and all of the impressive dinners we collectively cooked over the years.

I’ll always remember eating homemade queso, cilantro rice, and chorizo in my friend’s West Village walk-up, watching the city below from her fire escape on a lively summer night. I remember admiring the herb-crusted salmon another friend made in her Brooklyn apartment, which felt so grown up then, and trying my first negroni alongside ricotta crostinis in Chelsea.

Not all of our dishes have been winners. Endive boats with a questionable apple pie-inspired filling always make us laugh in retrospect. Nonetheless, good or bad, the meals took time and care, which was how we showed our mutual adoration. 

Why I Love This Ina Garten Appetizer

One particular Seasonal Soirée standout that I still make all the time is Ina Garten’s Mustard and Gruyère Batons.

This simple appetizer consists of Dijon mustard-filled, Grueyère cheese-covered puff pastry sticks. In the oven, the puff pastry rises into fluffy, golden, crunchy batons that are satisfying but light enough that you and your guests will want to eat more than one.

Deceptively easy, they’re layered with flavor but light and versatile enough to serve as an addition to any spread. Whether I make them as a nibble to serve alongside a beer or cocktail, a flaky and savory complement to a cheese plate, or an amuse bouche before a formal meal, these batons are always an immediate hit. 

That’s the magic of Ina. Her food is inviting and celebratory but never complicated. It’s comforting, like an old group of friends, and keeps you coming back for more, season after season.

How To Make Ina Garten’s Mustard and Gruyère Batons

After thawing and rolling out a sheet of puff pastry into a nine by 13-inch rectangle, brush the lower half of the pastry with Dijon mustard, and brush a half-inch border with egg wash. Then, fold the plain half over the mustard-coated half and chill the dough for 15 minutes.

Next, slice the rectangle into strips, brush each baton with egg wash, and sprinkle each one with shredded Gruyère spiked with a bit of Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle salt on top, chill again, and then bake for 15 minutes. After removing the batons from the oven and resting them just a few minutes, serve and watch them disappear. 

Tips for Making This Easy Appetizer

• Slicing the batons: When you’re ready to slice the pastry into sticks, use a pizza cutter to make them straight. 
• Sprinkling the cheese: Don’t worry if cheese goes everywhere. The lacy cheese bits that crust onto the parchment paper make for delicious nibbles, too. I also typically have leftover cheese, even though I coat each baton with as much as possible. So, if you don’t have as much cheese as the recipe calls for, don’t worry.
• Making these your own: Play around with your own additions. I love grinding black pepper over the cheese-covered batons. I’ve also added a little chopped rosemary on top of the Dijon before folding. Once, I spread a thin layer of fig jam on the empty half of the puff pastry before folding it over the mustard-covered half. All variations were delicious.
• Make ahead: The batons are best served warm, but you can do most of the work ahead of time. The rolled-out, mustard-brushed puff pastry can sit in the refrigerator for hours, even overnight, before you’re ready to bake. I also shred the cheese ahead of time. That leaves quick prep work—slicing and sprinkling—followed by hands-off chilling and baking. You can also shut off the oven and leave them inside to keep them warm. You can reheat the batons in the oven or toaster oven, but the pastry loses much of its fluffiness, so I prefer baking them as closely as possible to serving time.