If you want a super-delish and easy bread item, try these easy cheesy caramelized onion pinwheels. In just a few minutes you can have some impressive pinwheel biscuits as a side for any soup, salad or main dish. More substance than a plain biscuit, and quicker than a yeasted bread, these pinwheels really hit the spot!
I love biscuits. There’s nothing so comforting as a nice, fluffy biscuit, straight out of the oven… not every meal, of course, and not even every day… at least not at our house. But sometimes, nothing can replace a good biscuit.
And for a good biscuit, you have to have a good biscuit recipe! I’ve used the same recipe for so many years, and it never fails me, so I knew this would be a good base for something a bit more fancy than just a regular biscuit.
I also tweak this recipe to make scones, like these candied ginger scones that are out of this world. But I wanted something savory the other day and these pinwheels were born.
Pinwheel biscuits are perfect as a side to go along with a nice bowl of soup, or with a salad or a main dish… just anything, really, so long as your main dish is not cheesy, because these pinwheels are super-cheesy!
Let’s Make Some Easy Cheesy Caramelized Onion Pinwheels
We’re going to start off by caramelizing some onions. You need a nice, hefty amount of onions, because they do tend to shrink up significantly during the caramelizing. If you like garlic, you can also add garlic to the onions while you are frying them. I love garlic, but we don’t put it in everything, so add some garlic if you want… it will only enhance the recipe if you love a bit of garlic in everything. ?
Then you’ll grate your cheese. See how easy this recipe is? I used a mild but flavorful white cheddar cheese for this recipe, but you can also use Gouda or Edam, or your favorite cheese… but it should be a bit sharper than not… in other words, I wouldn’t use a mild Jack cheese if you want a strong flavor punch.
I added a pinch of pepper and some dried rosemary to the dough, but you could also add different herbs if you want… basil, thyme or oregano would also work well for this recipe.
If you want these pinwheels to be piping hot and right out of the oven, you’ll need to have the rest of your meal ready to plate before you make up the biscuit dough, because (as you may already know) biscuit dough will begin its rising process due to the baking powder. As soon as you add the wet ingredients, you have a short window if you want your biscuits to rise to the maximum.
Flat biscuits are just so disappointing, so you want to pop them into the oven as soon as possible. And then, you’ll want to serve them ASAP as well. They do reheat nicely, and they taste alright at room temperature also, but I like to serve biscuits right out of the oven.
So, when the filling is ready, you’ll preheat your oven.
You’ll add the dry ingredients for the biscuits into a mixing bowl stir to incorporate. Then cut in the butter. When the butter is about pea-sized and interspersed throughout the flour, you’ll then add the milk and quickly form into a rough ball. No need to knead (ha ha) just quickly form a ball and then immediately place the ball onto a floured cutting board.
This process is just like making cinnamon rolls…
You’ll flatten the ball and roll into a rectangle approximately 7″ x 9″ in size.
Add the grated cheese and then sprinkle the caramelized onions on top of the cheese.
Roll the dough tightly and moisten the end that meets the roll with water to seal. Turn the seam side down on the cutting board and cut into two inch wide sections. You can cut the pinwheels thinner if you want flatter ones, or more pinwheels. You will get approximately 6-8 pinwheels, depending on how thick you cut them.
Place the pinwheels on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 8-12 minutes. The pinwheels are done when the bottoms are slightly browned and the cheese is melted but not too bubbly.
Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
See how easy that was? Just a few extra ingredients and a little time to roll the pinwheels and they turn into something that looks like you spent much more time preparing! I do hope you try them when you are in the mood for something a little extra, onion-y and super cheesy!
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Easy Cheesy Caramelized Onion Pinwheel Biscuits
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 1 medium white onion
- 1 TBSP oil or butter
- 1-2 pinches salt more to taste; less if your cheese is salty
- 2 cups Gouda or Cheddar Cheese or cheese of your choice
For the Biscuits:
- 1-1.5 teaspoons dried rosemary more or less according to preference
- 2 cups flour
- 1 TBSP baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup cold butter
- ⅔ cup milk
Instructions
- Slice onion into rounds and separate the slices into rings.
- Add oil or butter to a large skillet and heat on medium heat until melted. Add onions and stir regularly, letting the onions first brown, then carmelize. You can stop as soon as they get as dark as you prefer. Set aside.
- Grate cheese and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400°
For the Biscuits:
- Place a little bit of water in a small bowl (for sealing the biscuit roll) and set aside.
- Combine all dry biscuit ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Cut in cold butter, making sure the butter becomes pea-sized and evenly throughout the flour. (I do this with my fingers but you can use a pastry cutter or two knives if you prefer)
- Drizzle the milk over the mixture and gently incorporate to form a rough dough. Do not overmix!
- On a floured cutting board, roll the dough to a (roughly) 7" x 9" rectangle.
- Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the dough, leaving about ½" around the edges.
- Sprinkle the caramelized onions evenly over the cheese.
- Roll the dough lengthwise (like cinnamon rolls) and seal with a little bit of water along the edge that meets the roll.
- Turn the roll seam-side down on the cutting board and, using a sharp knife, cut into 6-8 even pieces.
- Place the rolls on an ungreased baking sheet, making sure that they are nicely rounded. (I don't use parchment because they don't really stick, but you can if you prefer)
- Bake from 8-12 minutes until the rolls are lightly browned on the bottoms and tops. Be sure to check for doneness at 8 minutes as cooking time may vary depending on how thick you cut the biscuits. The cheese will likely have melted and oozed out here and there… yum!
- Remove from oven and serve immediately.