Gluten-Free Ham & Cheese Roll-Ups

These are a fun and delicious lunch or dinner idea.  They're like savory cinnamon rolls - a light biscuity tasting dough (I have two variations included that you can use for your dough) filled with onions, ham and cheese.  Though I've never had a gluten-filled version of these, they're based on a recipe from one of my parents neighbors, Aundrea Esplin.  I thought the idea was so fun and could easily be converted into tasty gluten-free treats!  My family and friends have really enjoyed these.  I plan on future experimentation with alternate fillings, they're so delicious!  I find they're best warm, making them melt in your mouth! Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Ham & Cheese Roll-Ups
Makes 18 individual roll-up buns

Grease 18 muffin tins OR 9x13 pan (or make some in muffin tins, and some in a pan like cinnamon rolls) You can always fit most of them into a 9x13 pan and then put any extras in another small baking pan, since this recipe tends to make a bit more than comfortably fit into a 9x13 pan.

In a bowl, put 2 eggs (still in shells) in hot water - just to warm them up. Or just have your eggs ready at room temperature.

Mix and set aside to rest 5 minutes:
3/4 cup warm water (OR 1 cup warm water for fluffier* roll-ups)
3 tsp rapid rise yeast (OR 5 tsp rapid rise yeast for fluffier* roll-ups)
1 Tbsp sugar

*Fluffier rolls: I found the dough to be a bit more difficult to work with, but you do end up with a puffier end result.  Either way is great, it just depends on your personal taste.  The softer/fluffier the end result in GF cooking, the stickier your dough will be while you're working with it. 

Mix together in a small bowl:
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

In a large bowl, mix together:
3 1/2 cups Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix (This is a bit more than one batch of my flour mix)
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

Add to the dry ingredients:
yeast mixture
butter mixture
2 eggs, room temperature

Mix thoroughly with a large spoon, using the back of the spoon to help create a nice, smooth dough.

Line two large sheets of plastic wrap side by side on the counter, overlapping a bit.

Spoon out large scoops of the dough and place along the middle of the plastic wrap.

Pull out another two large sheets of slightly overlapping plastic wrap to cover the dough.You’ll then flatten out the dough between the sheets until you have – more or less – a piece of dough that is flattened to somewhere near 12"x20". Try to make it nice and even.You have to slightly adjust the plastic wrap as you’re doing this, since it sometimes gets caught underneath the dough.But, you’ll find the dough doesn’t stick at all to the cling wrap, which is fantastic!  Pull off the top layer of plastic wrap.

You can definitely flatten the dough with a rolling pin on top of the plastic wrap and it'll look a bit neater than this, but I tend to have little kids helping, and they like to help flatten things out.

Spread the dough with the following - the amount of filling is up to you, but the following will serve as guidelines, you may like more/less:

Ranch Dressing, a thin layer

1/4 - 1/2 onion, finely diced

ham, diced (I used 7-10 slices of ham, diced into small pieces)

3/4 - 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (A cheddar cheese blend works nicely)

Carefully roll up the dough, so you have one 20" long roll of dough.Pulling up the plastic wrap can help you get the dough to roll over.  Cut the dough, using a serated knife, into 18 equal pieces. (like you would for cinnamon rolls)

If you make the fluffier version, it won't cut as neatly during this part.

Place each section into a greased muffin tin OR 9x13 pan.   Set uncovered to rise in a warm location 30-45 minutes, until they appear that they have gotten a bit puffier.  (They won't double, but they will look a bit swollen).

The rolls on the left are the less fluffy version of the recipe, those on the right are the fluffier version. I used extra filling in the fluffier version, making them a bit messier during the roll-up.

Brush the top of each roll with:

1 egg, beaten + 1 Tbsp water

Sprinkle the tops with:

Grated parmesan OR romano cheese

Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes for muffin cups, 30-35 minutes for 9x13 pan, until golden brown and cooked through. 

Store leftovers in the refrigerator.  Or, you can freeze individually so you have ready-packed roll-ups for lunches!  Best served warm.

Enjoy!