Pepperoni Pizza Rolls

We all have our favorite bites.  My favorite bite of a brownie is the slightly burnt corner edge.  My favorite sips of coffee are the first and the last.  My favorite part of the pepperoni pizza roll is the soft gooey center.  If you leave me alone with a tray of these Pepperoni Pizza Rolls, be prepared to come back to just the outsides because my favorite bite is the gooey center of every.single.roll.

I stand by the fact that the best part of baking is sharing what you create with people who you love.  Baking is totally a love language.  If you can share your favorite bites?… now that’s something special.  If you were to ask me to share the gooey center pizza roll bite, it would probably take me a good while before I said yes.  That’s just real.

Remember last Fall?  Last Fall I shared my partnership with Fleischmann’s® Yeast, Fleischmann’s® Simply Homemade® Baking Mixes, and Karo® Syrup as a part of their Baking a Difference Program to benefit Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry program.  I love this charity because they focus on ending childhood hunger in America.  If I can help that cause with a bit of baking, I’m all in!  One in five children in the U.S. struggle with hunger and cannot rely on having access to the daily nutritious food they need to grow and thrive, and the No Kid Hungry campaign works to end that hunger.  Big deal, right?

Last fall we made Salty Pretzel Vanilla Caramel Corn with much success, and now we get to talk about a really cool free e-cookbook and Pepperoni Pizza Rolls!

Pizza Rolls for charity?  Yea… that’s totally a thing.

Baking for a cause!

The Baking a Difference Cookbook to benefit Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry is here!

Inside this free e-cookbook is a host of homey comfort foods and classic recipes with a delicious twist.  I have a handful recipes in the book, too!  These Pizza Rolls are just a peek at all the goodness inside this e-cookbook!

Download the free e-cookbook here!

And!

It’s not too late to share the love (and the cheesy Pizza Roll centers)!

Join thousands of bakers across the country by hosting a Bake Sale for No Kid Hungry™ from May 2-4. Help blanket the country in bake sales and end childhood hunger in America. Every $1 raised can help connect a child with up to 10 meals.  I’m already plotting my future bake sale! Sign up here: Bake.NoKidHungry.org

Let’s talk about these Pizza Rolls!  Think of them as Cinnamon Rolls without the cinnamon and sugar.  Think of them as the gooiest slice of pizza rolled up into a delicious spiral.  It’s the ultimate savory comfort food!  So good!

Making these pizza rolls is much easier than you think!  If you’re intimidated by yeast, these rolls would be a great place to start.  There is only a 30 minute rising time, a rolling out of the dough and a rolling up of the dough.  It’s actually easy to pull warm, gooey, bready, pizza out of the oven!

I like to bake these pizza rolls off, and enjoy a few warm from the oven with a green salad.  The rest of the rolls can be frozen and heated up individually for afternoon snacking.  It’s a good situation top any which way you slice it!

Pepperoni Pizza Rolls

makes 8 rolls

For the Crust:

1-3/4 to 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 envelope Fleischmann’s® Pizza Crust Yeast OR Rapid Rise Yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

1-1/2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup very warm water (120° to 130°F)*

3 tablespoons olive oil

For the Filling:

¾ to 1 cup pizza sauce, plus more for topping

16-20 pepperoni slices

1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

coarse sea salt and crushed red pepper flakes

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 425°F. Grease and flour eight cups of a standard cupcake tin and set aside.

Combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the warm water and the oil and add to the dry ingredients. Mix until well blended, about 1 minute. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky. Knead on a floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes.

Place dough in a large, lightly greased bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.  Allow to rest for 30 minutes in a warm, draft-free place.  Dough should almost double in size.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured work surface.  Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a ½-inch thick rectangle, about 12-inches long and 9-inches tall.

Spread with pizza sauce over the dough, leaving a ½-inch boarder around the edges. Sprinkle with cheese and top with pepperoni.

Starting with the left side, tightly roll the dough from left to right, making sure the seal is on the underside on the roll.  Slice into 8 even slices and carefully transfer to prepared pan.

Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until dough has risen, cheese is bubbling, and rolls are golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.  Serve warm with extra pizza sauce, and a sprinkling of sea salt and crushed red pepper flakes.