Appetizers

Masala Pull-Apart Rolls

Posted by iavogoodmeal on

This year I hosted my first (of hopefully many) Christmas Cookie Exchange and one thing I wanted were a few savory bites – nothing to detract from the main attraction (cookies!!!!) but something to balance out the sugar overload. A cookie exchange palate cleanser if you will! 

I decided to test this recipe out for Thanksgiving first – we stayed home and had a low key dinner and so it was the perfect opportunity to experiment. I made these in the morning just in case they bombed but my god they were delicious! Think pull apart rolls meet spinach dip in an ooey gooey fantastic mess. 

When I remade them for my Christmas Cookie Exchange I arranged the rolls in a little Christmas tree to be more festive and its an understatement how popular these were! So much so that I got a bunch of texts from friends asking for the recipe for their holiday parties and so here we are – me hastily typing up the recipe so YOU can make it for the holidays too!!! 

Tips & Tricks

  • If you don’t have Kitchen King masala on hand, feel free to substitute with your favorite seasoning: you could use paprika, cajun seasoning or even TJs Everything but the Elote – you just want a strong flavor that will hold up against all the cheese and spinach! 
  • For the block of cheese – we used Sargento Fiesta Pepperjack as it has a slight kick but you can use any cheese you want. Note that if you use mozzarella, you might want to increase the seasoning to 2 tsp as the mild cheese will dull the flavors

Recipe Information

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 16 rolls

Ingredients

  • 1 tube pillsbury pizza dough roll 
  • 1/2 cup frozen spinach 
  • 4-5 tbsp cream cheese 
  • 1/2 red onion diced 
  • 1 jalapeño de seeded diced 
  • Salt/pepper
  • 1 tsp Kitchen King masala
  • Block of cheese cut into 1 inch cubes 
  • 1 egg for egg wash

Directions

  1. Allow cream cheese to soften to room temperature
  2. Pre-heat oven to 350F
  3. Microwave frozen spinach for 1 minute and squeeze to drain out all liquid
  4. Add spinach to softened cream cheese and add: onions, jalapeños, salt, pepper and Kitchen King masala, adjust seasoning to taste
  5. Unroll the pizza dough and cut into 16 equal pieces 
  6. Divide filling equally between the pieces placing a dollop in the center of each pizza cutout 
  7. Place the block of cheese on top of the filling and press down
  8. Pinch the ends of the dough inwards so you end up with a roll and place it pinched side down on parchment paper or cast iron skillet
  9. Repeat for all rolls and arrange to touch each other
  10. Brush with egg wash and bake for 15-17 min 
  11. Serve with cilantro chutney