West Virginia Pepperoni Rolls

When I was 10 ½ years old, my family moved from the Baltimore, Maryland area to the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. Going through middle school, high school and college (WVU – Let’s Go Mountaineers!) in West Virginia, the almighty pepperoni roll was everywhere to be seen. They offer them at restaurants, gas stations, at football tailgate parties and even at weddings!

The gyst is simple; pepperonis (and sometimes cheese) rolled into yeast bread dough, then baked. Simple concept? Yes. But, oh my goodness are they scrumptious. Serve them as a snack or a meal. They are sure to please!

Ingredients

• 24 frozen Rhodes Dinner Rolls, thawed
• 2 bags Hormel pepperoni
• 2 pound block sharp cheddar cheese, cut into sticks

Directions

1. Remove 24 frozen Rhodes dinner rolls from the freezer. Place them on a greased baking sheet, spaced out just a bit and cover with a towel to thaw. It usually takes 3 or 4 hours to reach the desired “puffiness”. They will, at least, double in size and become springy/pliable to the touch.
2. Once the dough is ready, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
3. Begin rolling or stretching your dough balls to form flat rectangles, around 4×3 inches in size.
4. Place your desired amount of pepperoni and cheese in the center of the dough rectangle and fold up, sealing all corners, so no ingredients escape in the oven. I tend to use 5 or 6 pepperonis and 2 sticks of cheese, but use whatever makes your heart (and belly) happy!
5. Cook the pepperoni rolls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, with a little space between each one to grow, until light golden brown, around 15-20 minutes.
6. Allow to cool. Store in a resealable bag on the counter until they all disappear, which won’t take long!

Tasty Variations

• Try different varieties of cheese in your pepperoni rolls. Pepper jack, monterey jack and mozzarella are all tried and true options.
• Many people cut large pepperoni sticks into thick slices/sticks, rather than buying the pre-sliced circles, typically used on pizza. This is a tasty, but more dangerous and messy method.
• I’ve had humongous pepperoni rolls, warmed, cut open and stuffed with meat chili.

My favorite way to enjoy them is to microwave them for exactly 11 seconds, then add a bit of mayo… Yum!