I'm not the biggest breakfast person... I'd rather spend the 15 minutes it takes to make/eat breakfast snoozing. No shame. This rule holds pretty fast... except on the weekends. I adore nothing more than watching CBS Sunday Morning drinking a cup of "coffee" (I have it in quotation marks because, I'm pretty sure, the amount of cream and sugar added to my cup disqualifies my beverage from being called "coffee" anymore).
Things You'll Need:
-8 oz cream cheese
-1 roll ground breakfast sausage
-1 tube crescent rolls
-parchment paper
-baking sheet
-potato masher
I got this recipe for Sausage Rolls/Pinwheels from a friend of my moms who served them at a bridge function. She kept insisting how easy they were... and after making them a few times, I think I have it totally streamlined. Get a load of the ingredients: 8 oz of cream cheese, ground sausage of your choice (spicy, regular, italian, whatevs), and a tin of Crescent Rolls. There isn't an ingredient in that list that I don't like.
I start by popping the Crescent Roll dough out of its container and placing it on some parchment paper that's been laid atop a baking sheet. The parchment paper is CRUCIAL! Since the dough has perferations, just gently pinch/manipulate the dough into one big sheet. I've been told that they have Crescent Roll dough sheets (without perforations) but I've never encountered them. If you gots 'em... then bully on ya! Saves a step!
Brown your ground sausage- however you brown your sausage- I, personally, use breakfast sausage, but I've also tried italian- it's totally your preference. I like doing dishes almost as much as I like waking up early to make breakfast. So, if I can remove using an extra dish from the equation, I will do that thing. After browning and draining my sausage (that sounds dirty), instead of transfering it all to a bowl for further mixings, I just throw the cream cheese into the pan- after turning off my burner, of course. Not only do I remove an extra dish from my clean up, but the residual heat from the pan warms the cream cheese making the mixing easier.
Now, you can do it however you like, but lemme tell ya, using a potato masher to mix your sausage and cream cheese is the easiest way I've found to combine those two ingredients. Plus, the potato masher comes in handy later... I've used fat free cream cheese a few times and the texture turned out wonky... so, if you must make the substitution, there is a small trade-off. I've also heard of people who have added mushrooms, onions, peppers, and any other sorts of add-ins... This is one of those great recipes, where you can really make it your own. I'm kind of a purist with this one, but reach for the stars, kid!
Once you've combined your sausage/cream cheese mixture, transfer it to your crescent roll sheet. This is where the potato masher comes in handy again. It really acts like a rake to manipulate the mixture and pushing it to the edges of the sheet. Plus, again, using it saves you from getting another utensil dirty.
Once you've gotten your mixture almost to the edges of, well, the edge of your pastry sheet, here comes the fun part. If you know how to make a jelly roll then you can ignore the next instruction...
Sausage Roll/Pinwheel Rollin':
Once you've got your roll, well, rolled, cover it with your same parchment paper, and stick it in the fridge for about 20 minutes. After the dough has chilled a little (and you have, too) you can do one of the following things:
1. If you are making this for more than 4 people, you can cut unroll your roll from the parchment paper that you used to cool it and then cut it into 1/4" spiral pieces and lay said pieces on the same parchment paper you've been using.
2. If you are making this for less than 4 people, cut your roll in half (width-wise)- parchment paper and all- and stick one half in the freezer... and then cut the other half into 1/4" spiral slices and lay said pieces on the same parchment paper you've been using. This recipe freezes beautifully. When you get ready to use your frozen portion, just stick it in the fridge the night before to thaw.
Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes. You want it the pastry to be a little golden brown... but bake to taste.
*Back in High School, these are the misheard lyrics to the 69 Boyz classic, "Tootsie Roll". Though, with sausage substituted, obviously.
