Pumpernickel Sausage Cheese Toasts (Hanky Panky Recipe) (2024)

ByLeslie KiszkaPostedNov 6, 2022Apr 17, 2023UpdatedApr 17, 2023

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This Hanky Panky recipe has a silly name, but not a silly taste! Ground pork sausage and melted cheese are piled atop slices of pumpernickel or rye bread and baked for an easy, crispy, satisfying appetizer.

I have been making these little sausage and cheese pumpernickel toasts for more than 20 years, so when I tell you that they've never failed me – you can believe me! My father and I used to make huge batches and keep them in the freezer for those nights when cooking feels impossible, and we'd just eat platefuls of these while we watch Monty Python.

The moral of the story is that these are an excellent appetizer and easy no fuss meal for busy nights!

What is a hanky panky?

The hanky panky recipe that I grew up making is a tasty little appetizer made of pork sausage and Velveeta on top of pumpernickel co*cktail bread.

While it's not the most attractive looking (or pleasantly-named) recipe, it's fricking delicious.

We would always make a boatload of these and keep them in the freezer so that all we had to do was pop them in the oven when we needed a little snacky-snack.

… and that's the name they chose?

I'm with you on that. It's a seriously odd choice.

Never in my life had I heard this referred to as a “hanky panky” recipe until describing them to a friend in Georgia one day. I lost it when he told me that's what his family called them.

… then I did a quick Google search and found that he wasn't alone! It's a hilarious name, and frankly, that just makes this recipe even better for me. To be fair, “pumpernickel sausage cheese toasts” is quite the mouthful.

I honestly don't even know what we called these when I was growing up. I don't even think we referred to them by a name, and just said “those cheesy sausage things”.

But I had heard them referred to as “old fashioned Polish mistakes” before. Why? I haven't the slightest clue. Your guess is as good as mine.

Ingredients for hanky panky sausage appetizers

• Pumpernickel co*cktail bread: If you can't find the co*cktail bread, you can use a thick-sliced loaf of pumpernickel and slice 6 pieces into halves.
• Pork sausage: Can swap this out for ground beef, ground turkey, whatever you'd like! It's a 1:1 quantity swap.
• Velveeta cheese: It's hard to substitute different kinds of “real” cheese to get the same texture and flavor as Velveeta. But if you'd feel better about making your own, give this DIY Velveeta recipe from The Cheese Knees a try.

How to make hanky panky appetizers

They're not difficult to make, but they do involve both the stovetop and the oven.

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Distribute slices of bread evenly across a large baking sheet, and set aside.
2. In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook pork sausage until browned. Break it apart with your spatula while it cooks so that it forms small crumbles. Carefully drain off excess fat.
3. Add Velveeta cheese, stirring over low heat until melted completely combined with the sausage. Add pepper to taste, if desired.
4. Evenly distribute the mixture across all the slices of bread.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until the tops have browned and the cheese is bubbling.

Variations

It's easy to customize this recipe to your liking, so here are some ideas of different ways to spice things up (literally and figuratively):

• Swap in a different meat: Ground beef, ground turkey, whatever you'd like! It's a 1:1 quantity swap.
• Add some more spices!
  • Garlic powder (1/2 teaspoon)
  • Minced garlic (1 clove, or measure with your heart)
  • White pepper (1 teaspoon)
  • Red pepper flake, to taste
  • Oregano (1 teaspoon)
  • Top with chopped parsley
• Speaking of spices, what if you tossed the meat with homemade Italian seasoning while cooking? Oooooo!

FAQs

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