Ham and Cheese Pinwheels

What school child could resist a couple of these in their lunch bag?

Make up a batch and pop them into a freezer bag and - good bye lunch making blues.
Right now I'm making them for a birthday open house.

I know from experience that they will be the first to go on the buffet.

The Refrigerator Rolls dough is also great for crescent or cloverleaf rolls. 

Mix it before you go to bed and bake them fresh in the morning.

Credit for this recipe goes to 2 places - a neighbour of ours when I was a child 

and an old Pillsbury cookbook.

For the Refrigerator Rolls:

• 2 cups warm milk or water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup margarine softened
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons instant yeast
• 2 eggs beaten
• about 6 cups flour - can include 1 or 2 cups whole wheat flour

1. Place 4 cups flour into bowl of stand mixer. Add sugar, salt, yeast and margarine.
2. Beat eggs and add to bowl.
3. Add milk or water (I often use half milk and half water) and let mix until dough is sticky. 
4. Add remaining flour until dough forms a medium soft ball and then and leave mixer run or knead for about 5 minutes.
5. Place in greased bowl. Cover bowl and place in refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

For the Ham Cheese Pinwheels:

• about 12 ounces of sliced ham (not too thinly sliced)
• Cheddar cheese 
• milk to brush on pinwheels
• poppy seed or sesame seed

Before taking dough out of the refrigerator in the morning, prepare ham and cheese.

I ask the deli for old fashioned ham sliced slightly thicker than usual. 

I cut the ham into 1 1/2 - 2 inch squares .

I also use old cheddar cheese sliced and cut into 1/2 - 1 inch squares.

You will need one square of sliced ham and 2 squares of cheese for each pinwheel.

1. Divide dough into 4 equal portions and roll each portion into a square about 12-14 inches.
2. Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into 12  3 inch squares. 
3. From the corner of each square, make a 1 inch diagonal cut towards the centre. Do not cut right through the centre. See photos below.
4. Place a square of cheddar cheese in the centre uncut portion of each square.
5. Top each with a square of ham and then top the ham with another square of cheese.
6. Pull the left point of each triangular cut section toward the middle forming a pinwheeel (like those the children carry in the wind). The trick is to use the same corner on each side of the square. 
7. Secure the points in the centre with a toothpick.
8. Place on parchment covered baking sheets and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk.
9. Just before baking, brush each pinwheel with milk and sprinkle with either sesame seed or poppy seed.
10. Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until nicely browned.
11. Remove to racks, take the toothpicks out and let cool. Some of the cheese will have oozed out and you can remove the cheese "puddles" before serving if you like.

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