Under the Apron Strings: Sausage Pinwheels for Christmas

My introduction to Sausage Pinwheels is ever twined to Christmas morning. My son Blake’s Nana Taylor presented them at our annual family gathering, but she used a buttermilk biscuit recipe.

Using my southern biscuit recipe, I began to make them for my boys on weekends and for the occasional appetizer. Every year late in November, when it is hog killing time, I pick up sausages from a family in North Giles County and freeze for later. A fresh sausage vendor will provide the best result for preparing these pinwheels.

These days, I never wait for a special occasion. At Harpeth Presbyterian in Nashville, we often sign up to contribute for an early church breakfast and because Alton loves them; I make sure that I have those pinwheels ready to go. Even so, they do freeze well!

Ingredients:

1 Southern Biscuit Recipe (you can use this one here by just forgoing the herbs)

1 pound of ground sausage

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

• Prepare biscuit recipe to the place where the dough is to be rolled out. Roll dough out on a heavily floured surface into a rectangle with about 1/8 inch thickness.

• Sprinkle uncooked sausage over dough leaving a 1/2 inch border free.

• Roll up the long side and pinch seams together.

• Slice 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick rounds. Use a serrated knife to slide right through. If a serrated is not available, a plain but sharp knife will provide slices that must be reshaped into flat circles by hand.

• Bake on un-greased baking sheet for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

If you freeze your pinwheels, make sure to let them thaw halfway through before reheating them in the oven, lightly wet with water. I often quote my grandmother, who said, when reheating, to “wet their little faces” and place back into the oven to reheat. This makes them taste fresh, as they did when you first made them.