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Pizza Pinwheels

July 12, 2010

It's not that I can't wedge a slice of pizza into Kenya's LapTop Lunch Box, it's just that it can be a bit of a challenge. When kids open their school lunch, the first thing they'll likely judge their food on is it's appearance, so a piece of pizza that's been smashed to fit in the box, doesn't seem like the easiest sell -- no matter how much they love it. That was part of the reason that I came up with these Pizza Pinwheels. If you tune in to weelicious enough, you know that we make a lot of pizza in our house and coming up with new recipes for how to present it besides the everyday slice with tomato and cheese is part of the fun for me. These pinwheels are really like a pizza "sandwich" because the filling is savory, kind of like a ham and cheese sandwich, but much cooler looking. They almost dare you not to eat them. It's also a versatile recipe in that you can substitute your fillings to fit your mood. Whether you decide to replace the ham with turkey or chicken or even go with just traditional red sauce and cheese, these Pizza Pinwheels will have your kids coming home from school asking for more!
*If you decide to buy a LapTop Lunch Box, put the word 'weelicious' into the code and get 10%off!

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Pizza Pinwheels  (Makes 35 Pinwheels)

  • Prep Time:5 minutes,
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes,
  • Total Time: 20 minutes,

Ingredients

  • 1 recipe wheat pizza dough *let dough come to room temperature before you roll it out.
  • 2 tablespoons dijon or yellow mustard
  • 1 cup or 8 slices of ham, without the rind, chopped fine
  • 1 cup mozzarella or cheddar, shredded

Preparation

  1. 1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
  2. 2. Roll out pizza dough until 1/4 inch thick and the shape of a large rectangle (about 18 x 12 inches).
  3. 3. Evenly spread 2 tbsp of mustard on the dough.
  4. 4. Sprinkle the ham and cheese on top of the dough.
  5. 5. Starting with end nearest you (the long end of the rectangle), roll the dough away from you, creating an even cylinder as you go (similar to a jelly roll).
  6. 6. Lightly sprinkle some flour on top of the roll (so it’s easier to cut) and using a serrated knife, cut the roll into 1/2 inch discs (pinwheels).
  7. 7. Place pinwheels on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and lightly press them with the palm of your hand to slightly flatten and bake for 12-15 minutes.
  8. 8. Serve.
  9. To Freeze: After rolling up the dough, cut the roll in half and freeze for later. When you are ready just take it out and let it thaw to room temperature then cut them into pinwheels and follow the steps 7-8. Or you can just cut the entire roll in pinwheels and place some pinwheels on a baking sheet, freeze for 30 minutes then place them in a ziploc bag, label and freeze. But be sure to always let the pinwheels come to room temperature then bake.
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Comments






  1. Wendy

    September 25, 2012 at 1:37 pm

    Reply

    Do you bake these in the morning before making a school lunch (and put them in fresh) or the night before?

    • catherine

      September 25, 2012 at 3:59 pm

      Reply

      I usually bake them for dinner and then they get one or two in the next day’s lunch!

  2. zaee

    August 27, 2012 at 9:45 am

    Reply

    do these stay ok after being in a lunch box for a few hours? not chewy?

    • catherine

      August 27, 2012 at 11:21 am

      Reply

      They don’t get chewy. They are pretty close to the consistency of leftover pizza!

  3. Carrie

    April 16, 2011 at 7:59 pm

    Reply

    These were AMAZING!!

  4. Stacy

    January 31, 2011 at 3:19 pm

    Reply

    Made these for lunch today, yummy! I love that I could freeze half for later, great time saver. Thanks!

  5. Kate

    October 28, 2010 at 9:22 pm

    Reply

    Can you make this ahead, refrigerate it and pop it in the oven later? I don’t have much time at dinnertime, so I’d love to be able to make this in the morning, let it sit in the fridge all day, and take it out at dinnertime and pop it in the oven. Or do I still have to wait for it to reach room temp?

    • catherine

      October 29, 2010 at 1:10 pm

      Reply

      You really need it to reach room temp so the dough cooks thoroughly, take a look at the freezing directions at the bottom of the recipe. You can refrigerate too :)

  6. MiaH

    September 24, 2010 at 1:11 pm

    Reply

    Hi,
    Can I bake all the pinwheels, let them cool, and put them in individual freezer bags to pull out for the kids lunches? So, freeze AFTER cooking rather than reserve the uncooked pinwheels?
    Thanks,
    Maria

    • catherine

      September 27, 2010 at 2:02 pm

      Reply

      You can but you will get better results if it is frozen uncooked then baked.

  7. Megan

    August 11, 2010 at 11:15 pm

    Reply

    I just did a post about your pinwheels on my blog: http://megans-kitchen.blogspot.com/2010/08/weelicious-pizza-pinwheels.html. Thanks so much for the great recipe!

  8. Amy V.

    August 2, 2010 at 4:47 pm

    Reply

    Yummy!!! I snuck a bunch of veggies into this too, broccoli and carrots were a hit. Thanks so much for a wonderful “save for later” recipe.

  9. Betsy

    July 31, 2010 at 12:24 pm

    Reply

    These were super yummy! And my little guy LOVED them. Thanks so much!! :-)

  10. Brittany

    July 29, 2010 at 5:02 pm

    Reply

    I made them with turkey taco leftovers! Mild taco sauce, ground turkey, and mexican cheese. A huge hit!!! Thanks so much for all of the great ideas.

  11. Theresa

    July 28, 2010 at 1:59 pm

    Reply

    Instead of mustard could you use pizza sauce and make it more like real pizza? Is there a reason you choose mustard instead?

    • catherine

      July 29, 2010 at 2:10 pm

      Reply

      No reason, you can put any ingredients you like :)

  12. Eryka

    July 22, 2010 at 9:51 pm

    Reply

    Amazing! Thank you so much!

    I baked them for a picnic lunch for a change instead of sandwiches. They were a huge hit, especially with the kids. They are fab cold too!

  13. Sheryl

    July 22, 2010 at 8:48 pm

    Reply

    I used TJ wheat dough and cooked at 450 for just over 12 mins and they turned out great. I can’t wait to make there for a party.

    • Kathi Leckrone

      February 11, 2013 at 10:51 am

      Reply

      sheryl, you just did and they were awesome and it’s what brought me to this page.
      btw… what was the other option you made? desmond ate the ham mustard.

  14. Dena

    July 21, 2010 at 2:05 pm

    Reply

    This was a big hit with the whole family, thanks! Any tips on working with the TJ’s dough? Had trouble rolling it out to the large rectangle without holes. Will definitely be making this one over and over!

    • catherine

      July 21, 2010 at 3:16 pm

      Reply

      Did you let it come to room temperature first? If you roll it out too thin, you will get holes.

      • Dena

        July 22, 2010 at 4:30 pm

        Reply

        Let it sit out for 40 minutes, but it still fell apart on me. Pinwheels were still delicious (just fewer of them and some of the dough had too much flour). Thanks!

  15. Melissa

    July 20, 2010 at 10:17 am

    Reply

    I have the weelicious whole wheat pizza dough frozen. Do I let come to room temp, then prepare or cook for 400 on 7 min and then…?

    • catherine

      July 20, 2010 at 12:44 pm

      Reply

      yes, let it come to room temperature and then prepare and bake :)

  16. KatieJ

    July 14, 2010 at 3:21 pm

    Reply

    Would these freeze well?

    • catherine

      July 15, 2010 at 3:10 pm

      Reply

      Yes! After rolling up the dough, cut the roll in half and freeze for later. When you are ready just take it out and let it thaw to room temperature then cut them into pinwheels and follow the steps on cooking. :) Or you can just cut the entire roll in pinwheels and place some pinwheels on a baking sheet, freeze for 30 minutes then place them in a ziploc bag, label and freeze. But be sure to always let the pinwheels come to room temperature then bake. This is a great snack!

  17. Dori

    July 13, 2010 at 8:27 pm

    Reply

    I just followed this recipe to the letter and it all burnt. Every last one. I used parchment paper, and even that started to brown. 450 for 12 minutes is WAY too high.

    I cooked the last 4 pieces that didn’t fit on the cookie sheets in the first batch at 425 for 10 minutes and that was perfect.

    • Jill

      August 12, 2010 at 11:03 pm

      Reply

      Dori, thanks so much for the heads up- I also needed to lower temperature. (I used homemade dough. I don’t know if that made a difference.) Catherine, thanks for this and all the other wonderful recipes. These were delicious and a big hit! :-)

    • catherine

      July 14, 2010 at 2:10 pm

      Reply

      So sorry to hear that, every oven is different. Did you buy pre-made dough? I buy the ones from Trader Jo’s and on the instructions it says to cook them at 450. Also your oven temp setting could be high. Or even the altitude can affect it. I hope you try them again at 425. Let me know!

  18. Sarah

    July 12, 2010 at 9:29 pm

    Reply

    Love.it. On the menu for later this week. You rock!

  19. Benjamin Frear

    July 12, 2010 at 12:12 pm

    Reply

    Wow these look great! Very creative

  20. lindey

    July 12, 2010 at 12:57 am

    Reply

    brilliant…can’t wait to try this for my 17 month old who hasn’t mastered feeding herself with utensils without making a huge mess. she is super independent though, so these will be perfect! thanks!!



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