Jalapeno Pimento Cheese Pinwheels

You knew it was coming.  Because, really, is there anything better than adding some pastry to your cheese and mayo mixture?

There isn't, is the truth.  

My sister saw these on Pinterest and immediately texted me that THIS HAS TO HAPPEN RIGHT NOW because obviously.  And so I did.  And they were SO easy.  And we have zero leftovers.  

The thing that I think you'll adore about these is 1. their simplicity and 2. that they can be eaten hot, warm, cold, room temp - all the ways!  My MO has been to bake them and let them cool for about 5 minutes to set the cheese a bit, then eat all the bits of melty burned cheese from the edges and THEN eat the pinwheels themselves.  But that's totally up to you.   Also.   There are a few extra ingredients in this picture, but I PROMISE you could really just use leftover pimento cheese and a sheet of puff pastry and call it a DAY.  No need for the extra flourishes unless you're just bored. But if you ARE bored, add some hot sauce, cooking spray, and coarse salt to your pimento cheese and pastry.  Your call!  

First, we need to thaw the pastry.  Do this by letting it sit on the counter for 30 minutes.   Challenging.  Preheat the oven to 450F, too.  The package for my pastry says 400, but I find that if the oven is hotter then we cook the pinwheels faster and have less cheese escaping from the edges.  Just my opinion!  Toss some flour on your counter or cutting board, too.  

Now, let's roll.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat because HOLY HELL burnt cheese sticks to everything.  Then, use your fingers to stretch the pastry just a bit in all directions.  No real size we're looking for here, just looking for the rectangle to a be a bit bigger.  

Now, time to get cheesy!   Spread pimento cheese all over the pastry.   Cold, non-gooey pimento cheese is best, which is why I like to make my own.  If you're using hot sauce, sprinkle some all over the pimento cheese!  As much as you can handle.  

Use your fingers to roll the pastry around the pimento cheese over and over until you have a little log.  

Then, slice!  Very sharp knife, 1-inch pieces or so.  Boom.  

Pinwheels on parchment.  Space in between.  They spread!   If you're using the extra ingredients, spray the pinwheels with cooking spray and sprinkle on some coarse salt.  But REALLY it's not necessary to do this.  

Bake.  15-20 minutes until puffy and golden.  At this point, try not to freak out because it looks like there is just NO PIMENTO CHEESE LEFT IN THE PINWHEELS BECAUSE IT'S ALL ON THE BAKING SHEET but don't worry!  There's plenty of flavor left up in there.  

Let the pinwheels cool for a minute, then separate them and hoard all the burnt cheese bits, because there is really no better flavor in all of the world.  Then.   Serve.  

So easy!  The pimento cheese can be a week old from a party, and the hardest part of this is waiting for the pastry to thaw.  Like I said, these are great at any temperature, so they can be made ahead and just thrown directly into people's mouths when you want them to shut up.  Try these soon!

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