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If you serve up a tray of sliders at your holiday party (or truly, any get-together), it's a pretty sure bet they'll be devoured almost instantly. This season, we're upping the ante by skipping the classic beef patties and opting for an appetizer that's best described as French onion soup meets slider. They're piled high with sweet and savory caramelized onions that melt in your mouth, tender slices of roast beef, and a blanket of gooey melted Gruyere, all sandwiched together on pillowy sweet Hawaiian rolls.

If you've never made Hawaiian roll sliders, you'll quickly fall in love with the easy (and fun!) technique. You'll slice the entire pack of rolls in half horizontally (keeping each half intact and connected), pile the onions, roast beef and cheese onto the bottom half, and then sandwich the top layer of rolls over top. Transfer to the oven and bake until the rolls are toasty and the cheese is melted.

The only time-consuming step of this recipe is caramelizing the onions, which needs to be done low and slow. The good news is the onions can be made in advance, and if you want a more hands-off approach, you can always use your slow cooker. Once the onions are ready, it's a breeze to pull these crowd-pleasing sliders together, thanks to pre-sliced roast beef from the deli.

A note about the cheese: As you're assembling the sliders it might feel like you're adding too much cheese, but I promise you it's just right once melted. And speaking of melting, be sure to let the sliders rest for a few minutes when they come out of the oven, which guarantees the cheese at the center has time to melt completely before you let everyone dig in.

Hawaiian Roll Sliders

Makes 12

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

2 large sweet onions (such as Vidalia), thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 (12-ounce) package Hawaiian sweet dinner rolls, such as King's

12 thin slices deli roast beef (about 12 ounces)

8 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves, for garnish (optional)

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium until melted. Add the onions and salt and cook, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes and scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until soft and deeply browned, about 40 minutes total. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, again scraping the bottom of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat. Meanwhile, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350 F.

2. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter; set aside.

3. Cut the entire pack of rolls in half horizontally, keeping each half intact and connected. Place the bottom half of the rolls on a baking sheet. Top with the roast beef (about 1 slice per roll). Spread the onions in an even layer over top, then sprinkle evenly with the cheese. Place the top layer of rolls over the cheese. Brush the top of the rolls with the melted butter. Sprinkle with the garlic powder and onion powder.

4. Cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese is melted and the rolls are lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes more. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with the parsley, if desired.

Recipe notes: The onions can be made one day in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container.

(Kelli Foster is associate food editor for TheKitchn.com, a nationally known blog for people who love food and home cooking. Submit any comments or questions to editorial@thekitchn.com.)