Sizzling Bacon and Cheese Pinwheels
These sizzling bacon pinwheels are a combination of everything delightful: bread, cheese and bacon. The perfect New Year’s appetizer!
If you’ve stuck around this here blog for long, you may remember the Sugar Rush of last year and the year before.
It just happens to be the time of year to be talking sweetsy treats, right? And I’ve loved doing just that over the last few years.
Well, this year, I’m changing things up a bit.
I figure that since there will be a plethora of mighty delicious sugary sweetness rolling around the blogosphere, I’ll spend the next two weeks sharing my favorite appetizer recipes that might fit in with holiday entertaining (or just personal indulging).
So consider this year to be the year Sugar Rush has been reinvented to fit into the more savory side of things.
Never fear, though! On each tasty, savory post, I’ll be highlighting one of my past Sugar Rush recipes (see the green box below for more evidence). You know, so you can get salty and sweet all in one place. Perfect!
So let’s start.
This appetizer may just be one of my favorite of the season. Seriously. A throwback…a little old school…these sizzling bacon pinwheels are a combination of everything delightful in my book: bread, cheese and bacon. Amen.
Slices of thick bread are rolled thin, spread with a fabulous, lightly spicy creamy cheese mixture and wrapped in bacon. The morsels are broiled to toasty perfection, leaving the flavorful cheesy filling melted and piping hot and the bread and bacon crisp and golden.
I dare you to eat just one!
Sizzling Bacon and Cheese Pinwheels
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
- 2 ounces thinly sliced deli salami or ham, chopped fine
- 3 green onions, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce, like Tapatio
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 12 slices hearty white or wheat sandwich bread, crusts removed
- 12 ounces bacon, halved crosswise
Instructions
- Adjust an oven rack about 6 inches from the broiler heating element and heat the broiler. Set an oven-proof wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. In a food processor (or with a hand mixer if you don’t have a food processor), mix the cream cheese and cheddar cheese until smooth and well combined. Transfer to a bowl and stir in salami or ham, green onions, hot sauce and mustard. Mix well.
- Working with one slice of bread at a time, roll the bread as thin as possible with a rolling pin (don’t forget to remove the crusts!). Evenly cover the bread with about 2 heaping tablespoons of the cheese mixture. Starting at the short edge, roll the bread into a tight cylinder. Cut each rolled bread log in half crosswise to form 2 smaller rolls and wrap each half in 1 piece of the bacon (that has also been cut in half crosswise), covering the bread completely. The bacon should stick to itself as it is rolled around and stay secure, but if not, feel free to secure with a toothpick. Repeat with the remaining bread, filling and bacon.
- Place the rolls to the wire rack on the baking sheet. Broil until the bacon is crisp, 10 to 12 minutes, flipping halfway through broiling. Let the pinwheels cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm.
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Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Cook’s Country Oct/Nov 2011
I love this take on sugar rush. Should be fun!
Yummy!! We always do appetizers on Christmas Eve and today I was just thinking of some new ones to mix in with our old favorites…these are going on the list!!! I can’t wait to see what other appetizers you post!!
These sound delicious, but not so healthful! Why can’t delicious things always be good for you?
Good call on posting alternatives to all the sweet stuff! Thank you–I’ll be checking everyday!
Shonna – it’s in the section where people write in with their lost recipes or they can write and request a lost recipe. It’s kind of an obscure little section. I threw away the page it was on already (after I posted) so I don’t have the page number – sorry! But it was in a little sidebar column on the right hand side of the page, if I remember right.
These look amazing and I will definitely be making them for my open house next week. Can’t wait! Oh and I love your idea of ‘appetizers rush’. I could eat appetizers as my entire meal. Looking forward to all the recipes you’ll share with us in the coming weeks!
These look so yummy. I am in charge of appetizers this year for our family’s house to house celebration, so these will be perfect.
OK, a little help here! In the post, you credit the Cook’s Country Oct/Nov 2011 issue. I’ve gone through my copy three times and can’t find this recipe. What page is it on? Am I really so blind? Thanks 🙂
YOU just hit everything I like with this post! uh, crunch, cheese, bacon, bread, bacon, crunch. yum!
Yum. I am craving everything bacon related. Including a certain shirt on Woot today.
These look wonderful! May have to try them at my Christmas party next week. 🙂
I am SO happy you are doing this. I have to admit I would choose a yummy (cheesy) appetizer over most desserts! Can’t wait to see all the yumminess!
I am so thankful that you will he highlighting appetizers this year! I’m hosting two Christmas parties and a Birthday party this month and have had the hardest time finding a trusted recipe source with easy appetizers. Yeah!
I’ve never seen this done with already baked bread! I’m going to have to try it this way, thank you!
Okay perfect! I have a party where we’re supposed to bring our favorite party dish, and who cares if I’ve never had these before! I trust you implicitly and you can’t go wrong with bacon and cheese!
Thank you so much for doing this. I get SOOOO sick of cookie and dessert recipes in December.
Wow, that looks amazing! Of course your recipes are always wonderful! Your blog is by far my favorite food blog. Looking forward to the change up this year.
Ohh can’t wait to try this year’s offerings! These look so yummy!
I’ve never seen anything like these before. I think my family would live them. Thanks so much!
these look like the perfect holiday treat! Can’t wait to serve them to guests!!
These look perfect and all ingredients easily at hand. Will definately try this.
oh man. i bet i could eat a whole batch of these babies.
Thanks for the great recipe! My friend and I are doing an ugly sweater Christmas party this weekend and we are on the food portion of planning. These would be great to serve! I like this idea of switching up the sugar rush!
I’m so glad you are doing savory and not sweet! Although I do love my sweets, it’s definitely harder to find the savory ones this time of year. My husband loves bacon and my neighbor loves salty so I’ll be sure to make these and share the savoy love ;). Thanks!
This looks amazing! YUM!
It’s always great to pick up a new appetizer recipe and this one’s gotta be “da-bomb” – come on, cheese, bread AND bacon?!!!! Gotta be da bomb!
I had something like this once at a party and they were sooooooooooo good. I’m so glad I finally have a recipe and can make them again.
My teenage son will LOVE these! Putting them on the list for our New Years Day menu (we do sandwiches and finger food-things). With 7 kids, though, I’ll have to make a double batch… LOL
These look awesome! Just made bacon wrapped dates for thanksgiving, I will have to try these for Christmas…thanks!
Mel – you are a wonder. my nephew introduced me to you and now I have shared you with my parents. I am more of a salty, savory gal who can’t wait to make these. YUM!!
This is cruel! I am reading this late at night – too late to make this but not too late to be totally hungry and want it! I love anything bacon. Dipped bacon in chocolate last time I was pregnant. I am making this tomorrow!
So glad you did something savory. So many of us are trying to stay away from sugar, but still want scrumptious things to eat. Can’t wait to try them! Will serve with a salad for a yummy supper.
Tammy – I have to admit that I didn’t even know ovens came with broilers on the bottom. If I were you, I’d skip the broiling part and bake them at 425 or 450. I’m afraid of your broiler. 🙂
Okay. I’m lame. I missed the instruction to flip them. Still wondering if you can help me w/ the broiler thing. 🙂
These look soooo yummy!! Two questions though. Does the under side of the bacon get cooked okay without having to turn them over during cooking? And how in the world do I use an oven that has the broiler on the bottom!!? I am in this rental house that has it on the bottom. I didn’t even know that existed.
We do love bacon at our house. So this is sure to be a hit. Can’t wait to try them.
These sound delicious, can’t wait to give them a try!
Bacon . . . cheese . . . bread . . . yum!!!
Oh yum!! Can’t wait to try these!
These look absolutely delicious!!!
So I have been working off some weight I gained in my last pregnancy and it’s hard when I want to make so many yummy things, sweet and savory. But I really do love your blog. Thanks for everything you share!
These look awesome! I love bacon and cheese. Thanks for many great recipes!
I love sugar rush! I’m glad it’s here again!
These look amazing!!
Yum! These look really good! We love bacon around here. 🙂
Thanks for the recipe. My hubby will LOVE these- bacon & cheese=perfect food for him 🙂
You’re a genious!!!! We get the best of both worlds. Now, back to looking up that recipe I was going to use for tonight’s dinner!
I know these will be on our holiday party trays, thanks for sharing!
you had me at bacon!
Love the idea of appetizers! I’ll miss your new Sugar Rush recipes but I could certainly use more appetizer recipes–Perfect!