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
- 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.
- Once the dough is ready, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Begin rolling or stretching your dough balls to form flat rectangles, around 4×3 inches in size.
- 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!
- 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.
- 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!