Halloween is right around the corner and to start celebrating, this weekend I went to my friend Julie’s pumpkin-carving party. I wanted to bring a little something to snack on even though she was covering most of the food herself. I found a bunch of appetizer recipes that sounded tempting and asked my mom to help me narrow them down.

©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

This recipe looked like it wouldn’t be a hassle to make and possibly the yummiest, so Pizza Puff Pinwheels it was. I had +Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry in the freezer so I thawed a sheet of it in the refrigerator overnight (wrapped in plastic wrap). The next afternoon, I rolled it out on my butcher block counter sprinkled with flour. I couldn’t get it to stretch out much bigger and in fact, I think it ended up more like a square than a rectangle but oh well. I used pepperoni instead of ham, shredded cheddar instead of grated because I already had a bag of it in the fridge, and plain, tomato pasta sauce.

©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

I baked them for about 8 minutes at home then covered the baking sheet with foil and brought them over to my friend’s house and threw them in the oven for the last 4-5 minutes to crisp them up. I could have cooked them all the way at home and served them lukewarm as well. The pinwheels came out very cute looking and tasted cheesy and flaky. I think they could have used another couple minutes in  the oven to make them crispier, so maybe steer towards the full 15 minutes baking time. Here are my pretty pizza puffs:

Good Food Pizza Puff Pinwheels ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

Pizza Puff Pinwheels

Recipe from: Good Food Magazine, February 2004
Makes 16-18 pinwheels

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed if frozen
• 5-6 Tbsp. ready made pasta/pizza sauce (not too chunky)
• 4-5 slices wafer-thin ham or 12-15 pepperoni slices, diced
• 1/4 cup sharp cheddar, grated
• 1/4 cup mozzarella, grated
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp dried oregano or Italian Seasoning

Directions: 
1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Unroll the pastry onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out a little thinner to a large rectangle.
2. Spread a layer of pasta sauce over it, leaving a thin border around the edges. Arrange the ham evenly on top, then scatter the grated cheeses over it all.
3. Starting at one of the short ends, roll the pastry up as tightly as possible. Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes or so.
4. Take a very sharp knife and cut the roll into 16-18 equal slices, laying them flat on a large non-stick baking sheet as you go. Brush each pinwheel lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle over the herbs. Bake for 12-15 minutes until puffed and golden. Leave to stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.