Pepperoni – in a Roll!

When I was a kid, in the small town where I lived, we would often pick up a pack of pepperoni rolls from the local bakery. As a bit older kid, my entire extended family regularly traveled to WVU football games. Each Saturday, we’d stop at this local bakery in Morgantown for these delicious little pepperoni rolls. Perfect for snacking on during tailgating. Or the long trip home. I’ve lived in WV all my life, and had heard tale of the fact that pepperoni rolls originated in West Virginia, and often can’t be found outside of our region, but I was skeptical. After all, they were present at nearly every grocery store, convenience store and bakery I’d visited.

So today I was planning on making a small pan for lunch today (the kids love them).  While waiting on the rolls to rise, I did a bit of research on the pepperoni roll. Turns out the hometown connection isn’t bogus – the little rolls do belong in the WV Hall of Fame. If you need more evidence, check out this informative Wikipedia article. In case you live outside of the greater WV area, I would hate for you to miss out on this delicious snack. So here’s my quick version of the snack, adapted from my friend Brittany’s version.

You need:
1 bag of your favorite frozen yeast dinner roll. I actually like Kroger brand. (Or if you have a great homemade recipe for yeast rolls, go for it. I just like the frozen dough so I can pick out however many I want to make and leave the rest for later).
1 stick pepperoni
Cheese (totally optional)

Let the dough raise until doubled. For frozen dinner rolls, this takes about 3-5 hours. Or if you’re in a hurry (like I was today) sit them out on your porch in the sunlight. That’ll speed things up a bit.

While you’re waiting for the dough, go ahead and slice your stick pepperoni. You’ll want about 1/4″ thick slices. One slice per roll. Then quarter the slices. Note: Do not – I repeat – Do not try to substitute pre-sliced pepperoni. That is not a shortcut that is worth taking.

Next, stretch the rolls out flat to make a bed for the pepperoni. Put four pieces of pepperoni in each roll. If you decide to add cheese to your rolls (which isn’t traditional or necessary…but some folks like a cheesy roll) you would do so now.

Finally, fold the roll over and pinch the edges closed. It reminds me of a fried fruit pie at this point.

Bake according to the rolls package directions. Eat. Enjoy. Repeat.

Note: These will keep 2-3 days in an airtight container, in the unlikely event that you have leftovers. Also, if you want a bigger roll, simply sandwich double the pepperoni between two rolls, being sure to pinch all edges.