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Hey there, fine reader.
It’s Valentines Day, you know.
I sure hope you have a little (or big) someone you like to kiss and hug. Because hugging and kissing is pretty nice to do on Valentines Day, don’t you think? A long kiss on the lips of your sweetheart, a gentle kiss on the forehead of your scraggly haired 5 year old, a sweet kiss on the cheek for dear old mom, or how about a nice big bear hug for your teenage daughter or son. All good. All great in fact.
I hope you get to have all (or at least one) of the above. 
And if not…don’t sweat it. Tomorrow the day of love will have passed and there will be a lot of cheap Valentines Day candy on clearance at Walmart. Happy days are here again, right?
These Hot Ham and Cheese Pinwheels are absolutely scrumptious, come together in less than and hour and will put a lovely smile on the face of all the folks you love. They are wonderful served warm from the oven. They are also pretty great cold from the fridge. I tucked them into my kids’ lunches for a few days last week. They seemed to think that was pretty cool.
Let’s make them, shall we?
Hot Ham and Cheese Pinwheels
Time: 45 minutes start to finish
Yield: 24 pinwheels
Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!
1 1/2 C warm water
2 T sugar
1 T yeast
1/2 t salt
4-4 1/2 C flour
1 pound deli ham, sliced thin
2 C cheddar cheese, shredded
1. Pour 1 1/2 C warm water into your stand mixer and preheat your oven to 170 degrees. (You read it right…170 degrees is all you need.)
2. Add 2 tablespoons sugar
and 1 tablespoon yeast. Turn the mixer on low for about 30 seconds allowing the ingredients to combine. Let it rest for 5 minutes, or until it gets all bubbly.
3. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt
and 2 cups flour. Turn the mixer on to low and let the flour mix in. Add the rest of the flour (2 1/2 cups worth) one cup at a time. When the dough pulls itself away from the side of the bowl, you have enough flour.
4. Turn the mixer to medium speed and allow it to mix for 5 minutes.
5. Spray your counter with cooking spray, divide the dough into two equal parts and allow them to rest on the counter for 5 minutes. Don’t skip this step, ok? If you don’t let the dough rest it won’t roll out nicely and then you might start to cry and then your kids would think you have lost you mind. Thanks for your cooperation.
6. After the dough has rested roll the old girl out into a large rectangle.
7. Cover it with half of the ham
and sprinkle it with 1 cup of cheddar cheese.
8. Roll the dough up starting at the longer end.
9. Spray a large knife with cooking spray and slice the roll into 12 rounds.
10. Place each pinwheel onto a large cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
11. Repeat steps 6-10 with the other half of the dough.
12. Place both pans into your warm 170 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until they start to rise just a bit. You don’t want them to get super puffy, you just want the dough to have the chance to expand a little, like you see in the picture above.
13. Turn the oven up to 350 degrees (don’t take the pans out of the oven) and let the pinwheels bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown along the top and bottom.
14. Take the pans out of the oven and let the pinwheels rest for about 5 minutes…then gobble them up.
Enjoy!
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
These look super yummy!! Just wondering a couple of things. About how big did you roll out your rectangle and would these freeze well?
I love this recipe! I will be making these this weekend. I might put a little mustard on them before I bake them. Thanks for the tip of letting your baked goods rise in the oven while it heats up. That works so well. Have a great day Jamie!
I LOVE this idea! I think it will be great in my son's lunches. I guess my question is, are they still yummy cold??? Do you have any other lunch “sandwich” ideas, my son does not like the standard PB&J or really any sandwich for that matter! Thanks!
Yummy! These look delicious and I know my family would love them! Can't go wrong with ham and cheese
Thanks for your question. They are pretty darn good cold, as well as hot. I sent them in my kids lunch for several days after I made them. Good luck! Hope you enjoy them.
~Jamie
Roll the dough out about as wide as your rolling pin, about 15 inches by 20 inches…give or take.
I haven't ever tried freezing them, but my thoughts are that they would freeze really well. Good luck!
~Jamie
I was just going to ask the same thing about freezing them, but I think they probably would. I am definitely going to try these out tomorrow! And I'll freeze some and let you know how it works out… Thanks for the recipe!
These really look delicious. I am new to your blog and based on this entry decided to spend sometime browsing through your earlier posts. I'm so glad I did that. I really like the food and recipes you share with your readers and I'll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
What a wonderful recipe–I really like that you make your own dough! My boys will love these!
Hey Jamie, do you think I could get away with making these with swiss cheese?
Would frozen bread dough work with these?
Hi, again, I was the one who asked about packing these in my sons lunch. WELL…..He LOVED it, so did my kids who are still at home (I loved them too!). So easy to put together and so good. The dough is beautiful! The crispy cheese on the bottom is the best! Thank you for ANOTHER great recipe! (Makes me wonder why I never did this before, I am constantly making homeade pizza and pizza rolls……thanks for coming up with it and sharing!)
I make a similar recipe. I sprinkle on some dried onion soup mix. It is one of my 22 year old son's favorite meals.
first the crispy cheddar chicken and now these. I just love your stuff. so happy to be following you. when you get a chance check out my blog http://www.questfordelish.blogspot.com
Ok so I think if I made 24 of these I would end up eating the extra 12. Not really on the diet plan! Do you think you could do cinnamon rolls out of the other 1/2 of the dough? Would you cook them the same? Yes, cinnamon rolls would also NOT be part of the diet plan but I can avoid sweet easier than I can avoid savory. Or would freezing the dough work better to have for next time? What is your expert advice?
Tracy,
However, if you would like to make cinnamon rolls, this dough would work well for that. The dough itself doesn't freeze very well. Good luck! Hope you love the recipe.
I would go ahead and make the whole batch, then freeze half of them in a gallon sized ziploc bag. Then you can have some for another meal.
~Jamie
I made these and they were really good, but I didn't have to add more than about 3 cups of flour. 4 -4 1/2 cups of flour would have been way too much. Is the the measurement right for the flour?
Hi Anonymous,
I usually add right around 4 cups to mine, however this changes depending on the weather. I'm so glad you liked them. Thanks for letting me know.
~Jamie
Hi… these do look wonderful! Question about freezing them… would you suggest freezing them prior to baking or after?
Hi Inger,
It's best to bake them first, then let them cool and pop the leftovers into a freezer safe ziploc bag. Good luck! Hope you enjoy them.
~Jamie
I really think these would be good with scrambled eggs and fresh fruit for breakfast, brunch or breakfast for dinner.
This may sound silly, but can I hand mix the dough? My fiancè bought me a nice mixer for my Birthday, but I can not use it while living in my parent's solar-powered house.
Hi Jessie,
You can definitely mix them by hand. I would knead the dough for about 5 minutes, then cover it and let it rise in a warm spot for about and hour. Then you'll be ready to roll it out and shape it.
Good luck! Hope you get to use your mixer soon!
~Jamie
Thank you! I hope to make these soon.
oh BE STILL MY HEART! LOL! yummy yummy yummy!
I make these all the time except I mix a little mayo and dijon mustard together, spread on the dough, then top with the ham and cheese. Also, I use swiss cheese, but that’s just a personal choice.
FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD TECH!! Ft. Bradley
So good!!! Just made these!!!
Hi Jamie,
I’ve made these before and absolutely loved them. I visit your site often and would like to thank you for all the amazing recipes. I was wondering if its possible to make these the day before, put them in the fridge and then cook them before guests arrive. Thanks again for sharing.