Basil Pesto Rolled up Goodness

I was wandering around the internet one night and ran across this recipe. Savory Pesto Rolls. They are like having cinnamon rolls – for dinner. Instead of cinnamon – basil garlic pesto. AWESOME . They were great. On a difficultly level? Not really too difficult to make, just somewhat time consuming.

We had friends over for dinner the day I made these. I had a towel over them so they would stay warm. When I took the towel off.... eye rolls. "You made those?" they said... um... sheepishly I said yes. They loved them and kept going back for more. Even after dessert – just had to have one more roll. This recipe – a keeper for sure.

http://savorysweetlife.com/2010/02/pesto-rolls/

Savory Pesto Rolls
What you need!
1/2 cup warm water (115 degrees F)
1/2 cup warm milk (115 degrees F)
1 egg (room temperature), slightly beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4-5 cups bread flour
1 (.25 ounce) package (2 1/4 tsp) instant dry yeast
1/2 cup pesto (Savory Sweet Life pesto recipe)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
*Dough can be kneaded by hand, bread machine, or KitchenAid Mixer using the dough hook. However, directions below are written for a KitchenAid.
*You can also use store bought frozen dinner roll dough and pesto to save time!

What to do!
Place water, milk, egg, melted butter, sugar, and salt in a K.A mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of flour on top of all the liquid mixture sprinkling yeast on top. Using the dough hook, knead bread mixture on speed 3 until dough is smooth and elastic adding additional flour as needed (approx. 5-7 min.). Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a wet towel. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour in a warm area.

*Hint: I typically preheat my oven to 200 degrees while dough is kneading and turn the oven off when kneading is complete. From there, I stick my covered bowl into the oven and leave the oven door cracked open to allow the dough to rise.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle slightly larger than a 9×13 pan (rectangle). Spread surface evenly with pesto and sprinkle shredded Parmesan cheese on top. Beginning with the long side, roll dough pinching the seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal slices and place them in a greased muffin tin, cut side up. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from muffin cups and serve warm. Enjoy!

Basil Pesto Recipe with Garlic
What you need!
2 cups of fresh basil, packed
3 cloves of garlic (more of less depending on how spicy you like it)
1/4 cup of pine nuts
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil *canola oil can be substituted
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
A pinch of salt and pepper to taste

What to do!
In a food processor, pulsate basil, pine nuts, garlic, and Parmesan cheese until everything is mixed in with each other. Slowly add extra virgin olive oil and pulsate again until everything is fully combined and incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!