Sausage & Cheese Pinwheels

Makes approximately 30.

Gather all of your ingredients together along with a pastry cutter (or fork) and a rolling pin.

Sift all of your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, combining thoroughly.

Add the shorting in small pieces to your dry mix and work it in well with a pastry cutter. If you don’t have a pastry cutter a fork will work fine.

Add half a cup of milk and mix well. With your hands work everything together into a nice neat dough.

Divide your dough into two smaller balls of equal size and refrigerate for about 15 minutes or until completely cooled. The dough will be easier to work with after that.

After your dough has cooled sprinkle a little flour, along with some herbs if you like, over the surface of your work area. Roll out each dough ball into a neat rectangle as far as it will spread without being too thin or tearing. If you are using prepackaged dough go ahead and lay out the dough. If you need to, roll it out a little bit to give yourself a larger surface to work with.

Divide the sausage using 1/2 pound for each piece of dough. Spread the sausage in a thin even layer over the dough.

Generously sprinkle with cheddar cheese and add more herbs if you like.

Starting with the end of the dough rectangle, tuck it under and simply roll, like you would with a jelly roll, until you have a roll approximately 2×8 inches.

Smooth out the edges as much a possible and tuck in the ends.

Wrap the rolls in wax paper and place in the fridge to cool for about 30 minutes. You can easily make the pinwheel rolls ahead of time for parties during the holidays and keep them refrigerated or frozen until you need them.

Slice them no more than an inch thick, I slice mine 1/2 inch.

Lay them on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray and bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees (F) for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown and the sausage has cooked all the way through.

Enjoy!

Shari/Red