Candied Croissant Croque Madame

@alexawhatsfordinner says if your croissants are stale or otherwise not very good, this is a great way to salvage them! The viral candied croissant hack makes a perfect sweet and crunchy base for a rich & creamy croque madame. Croque madame is a traditional French sandwich featuring ham, Gruyère, béchamel sauce, and a fried egg. Recipe below‼️

Ingredients (for 2 servings)
-2 croissants
-1½ Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
-1 Tbsp honey
-4 slices deli ham
-4 oz Gruyère cheese, shaved
-½ Tbsp all-purpose flour
-½ cup whole milk
-2 large eggs, fried sunny-side up
-Kosher salt, to taste
-Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
-Thinly sliced chives, for garnish

Preparation
-Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
-Using a rolling pin, roll the croissants out until flattened and thin. Evenly spread ¼ tablespoon of butter on each side of both croissants.
-Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the croissants to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, or until golden on one side. Flip the croissants and drizzle the honey evenly over the tops. Once the other side is golden brown, about 5 minutes, flip again so the side with the honey is face-down. Cook until deep golden brown and caramelized, about 3 minutes.
-Place the candied croissants on the prepared baking sheet, honey-side up. Top each croissant with 2 slices of ham and 2 ounces of Gruyère.
-Bake the croissants for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and gooey.
-Meanwhile, make the béchamel: Melt the remaining ½ tablespoon of butter in a small pan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute, until fully combined and fragrant. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook, stirring frequently, for about 8 minutes, until the sauce is thick and creamy.
-Spoon the béchamel over each croissant, then top with the sunny-side up eggs. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chives.
-Enjoy!

[hqiu]

Apparently if take a pastry that’s 50% butter and you add more butter to it, you get this comment section.

[anaturalprodgy]

It’s funny how Americans are getting mad on other countries behalf and they don’t even care smh

[_Peridot_]

Alright, jokes aside, this actually looks bussin

[eriniyin]

Honestly I’m french and I would wanna try it (the croissant with extra butter and honey, not the things in top)

[princesslazzziness]

The only problem I see here is that the croissants seems burnt

[kauze_]

People in this CS are just wild. That looks good. It’s literally a pastry with some honey, cheese, ham and an egg. Nothing wrong with that.

[mistahkrazy]

I'd make this in a heartbeat! I buy a dozen croissants every so often and they don't always get eaten quick so they do get a bit stale. This would be a great way to make sure they're eaten before they go bad.

[alayahshargois]

It’s not even that bad y’all 🤦🏾‍♀️stop complaining

[LaurenElizabethYT]

I’m not really a fan of sweet paired with cheese, so I did a desert version of this. I just added a thin layer of peanut butter on top, which got nice and melty since it was still hot, then an extra drizzle of honey. It was soo good! I was also planning on adding a scoop of vanilla Icecream, but discovered I didn’t have any lol. But definitely would’ve went well with it

[Sammiejammie]

I love a good Croque madame, and a candied croissant sounds amazing too. Might just have to try this

[lisafranklin]

That looks amazingly delicious🙌🏼savory, sweet, creamy, crispy, salty ...

Idc what none of y'all say😋✌🏼

[Lilith-pk]

People apparently want to complain about everything. This is not my cup of tea but it doesn't look bad.

[Elii]

Almost started another French Revolution

[wattz]

I know what I’m imagining I’m having for dinner tonight! 😋😋😋

[skyebethencourt]

Where I live, its common to cut through the croissant in half and stuff it with ham and cheese or chicken and salad (with anything, really, like a sandwich)

[SandiByrd]

My teenager would LOVE this. Gonna make it as a treat - thanks for the idea!

[jess_bounce]

All the Americans like “Mais non! You smashed the sacred croissant!!” And all the French are like “yeah we do that sometimes, it’s pretty good” 😂

[cls]

Holy mother of god!! That looks incredible!!!

[nutterbutter]

This looks so amazing like one of those foods you eat and think about for the rest of your life

[chariot]

As a french person I'd def try it but just without the extra butter
Also ham&cheese filled croissants are a huge thing in Iceland, so there's probably something to it!