Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheel

Here I go again - another recipe where I couldn't follow the package instructions. Instead of making a pizza, I took a refrigerated pizza crust, cut it into strips and made a pepperoni pinwheel. After a quick bake, the dough was puffed up and golden brown and the pepperoni was beautifully seared. Plus, all that juicy pepperoni flavor infused itself into the crust. With shaved parmesan cheese on top and marinara sauce on the side, this is one unique and FUN way to eat pizza.

About the pizza crust: I used one container/tube of refrigerated pizza crust; the kind sold near the crescent rolls. You can use any pizza dough you want, including fresh dough from your favorite pizza shop or grocery store. Simply roll the dough out into a 12x15-inch rectangle and cut into 6 long strips, as directed below.

I served this pizza with warm marinara sauce on the side. Why? I didn't add sauce to the pinwheel for two reasons: 1. I didn't want the sauce to ooze out in some places. 2. I didn't want the sauce to make the crust soggy in other places. Problem solved by serving it on the side for dunking. PLUS, it's a better scenario because, after the "pizza" is cut, the strips start to separate, making them GREAT for dipping into warm sauce. Fun finger food.

Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheel

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon for brushing the pan
13.8-ounce container refrigerated pizza crust (or any pizza dough of choice, up to 1 pound)
3 ounces thinly sliced pepperoni (I used Boar's Head, but Hormel and other varieties work too); they're typically sold in 6-ounce bags
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Warm marinara sauce for serving

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the bottom of an ovenproof 10-inch skillet or 9-inch round baking dish with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil. Set aside.
Unroll the crust onto a flat surface. Cut the crust lengthwise into 6 long strips, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Top one of the strips with end-to-end slices of pepperoni. Roll up and place the roll in the center of the prepared pan.
Press pepperoni slices all around the outside edge of the pizza roll in the pan. Take a second strip of pizza crust and wrap it around the pepperoni you just stuck to the center roll - stopping when you make one full circle and the pepperoni slices are covered. Add more pepperoni slices to the outer edge of dough and then continue wrapping the strip of dough until you make another full circle and all pepperoni is covered. Continue adding pepperoni slices and strips of pizza crust until you have one complete pinwheel.

Brush the top and sides of the dough with olive oil.

Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is puffed up and golden brown.
Grate the parmesan cheese over top and serve with warm marinara sauce on the side.

Serves 4