Going back about 5 years now, I used to teach my students how to make pinwheels using Pillsbury dough. They were delicious, obviously, but pinwheels are really meant to be made with puff pastry. For a few reasons, really…One is that they’re flakier, airier, lighter, and present better to guests. Do you really need another one? Ok the other reason is that puff pastry’s ingredient list, at least the Trader Joe’s brand that I buy, is pretty darn short. There’s flour, butter, water, shortening, salt and yeast. I could make that myself, with my own ingredients (but the beauty here is that I don’t have to).
Once you have the puff pastry, the rest is not only easy, it’s a great way to attempt some creativity. You could keep it easy with Italian cheese, herbs and chopped prosciutto, or even easier with chocolate chips and peanut butter – that’s right – sweet and savory work equally well with puff pastry.
These made my house smell crazy amazing (a perk when having guests over). Don’t like artichokes? Sub them out for about 2/3 c. prepared pesto. The green would make them perfect for the holiday! Want to make ahead? Flash freeze the prepared pinwheels prior to baking (freeze them on a baking sheet for about thirty minutes then combine in a gallon sized ziplock bag) and then bake from frozen at the same temp.
Artichoke Parmesan Pinwheels
Serves 4-6
6 oz. jarred marinated artichoke hearts, drained and finely chopped
1 tsp. fresh chopped thyme leaves
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1/3 c. ricotta cheese
2/3 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
black pepper to taste
1 egg
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir artichoke hearts, garlic and thyme leaves together until combined.
2. Unroll puff pastry. Spread evenly with ricotta cheese.
3. Spread artichoke mixture evenly atop ricotta cheese. Sprinkle cheese on top of that.
4. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste.
5. Roll up (doesn’t matter from which side, it’s a square) tightly. Pinch the seam at the end and edges.
6. Slice gently with a serrated knife and place on a baking sheet, lined with parchment or silpat. Beat egg together with 1 tsp. water in a small bowl. Brush over top of each pinwheel.
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.
If serving later, cool to room temperature and store in the fridge. Before serving, place in 300 heated oven for 5-10 minutes or until crisp and heated through.Â
Amazing. Gonna try to make these this week to plan ahead for the holidays!
Yay Nicole! Let me know!
I got the artichoke hearts yesterday. Then as I was shopping I found a roasted red pepper and artichoke tapenade. If it tastes good I plan on spreading some of that on and trying it out. I’ll let you know. Making your ginger bread cookies with the kids tonight. They’re so excited!
Hey Becca! The tapenade is super good. I made the first sheet with ricotta and about 2/3 C tapenade. I rolled tightly but my filling was coming out. I thought I did an okay job of pinching the seam but (probably because of the filling) almost all came undone. They TASTED awesome but I wanted them to look better. So, for the second sheet I used ricotta and less than 2/3 C prepared basil pesto and left about a 1/2″ on three sides of the square plain. When I rolled this time my filling stayed in and I was able to get a much better seal. They didn’t come undone BUT I should have rolled them tighter. I got 12 pinwheels out of each sheet. I’m curious if maybe I need to let my sheets thaw more? Any thoughts? Oh – my kids LOVE them!
Hey! Glad they liked but sorry the roll didn’t go well! So the dough should be thawed completely but still nice and cool (chilling it in the fridge keeps it workable and not so sticky). You might be overfilling the filling? I wasn’t sure about my exact amount because I used the 6 oz. jar (didn’t measure out the cups). When rolling anything jelly roll style (cinnamon rolls, pinwheels etc) one trick I use to get a tight roll is that I “pull and tuck”, if that makes sense. I pull the roll towards me as I roll it… stretching the dough slightly and then as I roll it again I act as if I’m going “up and over”. This is SO HARD to put into words.. but it’s not just a straight roll. There is pulling and tucking action involved.