A Savorfull November - Gluten-Free Pizza Pinwheels

November's Savorfull box included:

• Enjoy Life Sunbutter Crunch chewy bar (Top 8 Allergen-Free - GF, WF, EF, DF, PN, TF, SF, SFF)
• Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Pizza Crust Mix (GF, WF, EF, DF, PN, SF)
• Skinny Pop 100 calorie popcorn (GF, WF, EF, DF, PN, TF, SFF)
• Lucy's Gluten-Free cookies Chocolate Merry Mint (special seasonal flavor!) (GF, WF, EF, DF, PN, TF)

All four items are gluten-free, and made in peanut-free facilities (the Pizza Crust Mix is made in a facility with tree nuts and soy, though.)

Savorfull is a monthly subscription service that sends you a carefully selected assortment of trial-sized and full-sized allergy-friendly food items (usually peanut-free and/or dairy-free and also gluten/wheat-free.)
While we don't have any food allergies to worry about, the nut-free items would be safe to take to her nut-free preschool for her personal snack. Or the boxes often include "ingredients" (flour, baking mixes, etc) I could use to whip up a safe class snack. [And by "whip up" I mean "flub in some way."] 
Everything they choose is artificial-free too, which is what sold me on trying them out!
The Savorfull box is only $15 per month, with no added shipping charge! That's a fantastic deal, since most sampler boxes I've tried are either smaller, more expensive, or tack on a monthly shipping charge as well!
Are you interested in trying them out too?
Use code BITINGMYHAND for $1 off 1 month, $9 off 6 months, or $20 off a 1-year subscription!

Due to a fortuitous error in my planning, I got TWO of these Savorfull all-natural allergy-friendly boxes this month! Mmmm.

I can't tell you how the popcorn was. After opening the boxes and taking pictures, I went to feed the baby. Apparently the schools are teaching my older child how to use scissors! Doh!

The first Enjoy Life Sunbutter Crunch bar was snarfed up right out of the box (just before the Pilfering of the Popcorn.) The second was saved for another day and cut into little heart-shaped bites using a mini cookie cutter, and divided between a friendship-themed lunch and preschool snack.

Snack: orange and yellow carrot hearts, apples,
Enjoy Life Sunbutter Crunch bar bites

I'm wavering between saving both boxes of Lucy's cookies for her morning preschool's Winter Holiday party, since she has gluten-free and peanut-allergic classmates, and I hate bringing anything that excludes someone; or eating one box now and only bringing one to the party... Omnomnom. I think one of these cookies crumbled over vanilla ice cream or yogurt would be soooo goooood!

Since Keeley had already posted about using the Bob's Red Mill mix to make Cinnamon Roll Bites, I wanted to try something else with my pizza dough mix!

I followed the directions on the package for the pizza crust, but wasn't sure how to cook it. The pizza directions said to bake the crust for a bit first, then add the sauce and toppings. But that wouldn't work for pinwheels. So I ignored that part and went to work.

I let the yeast activate in the warm water. I mixed all the wet ingredients before adding the mix. I let the whole thing rise for 20 minutes. I rolled it out as rectangularly as I could, spread on my home-made ketchup (which tastes horrid as ketchup, but GREAT as tomato sauce!) and sprinkled on cheese. I rolled the whole thing up and ripped several holes in it and generally messed it up as much as I could, then cut it into pinwheels. Note for the future: Plastic pie crust mat is NOT a cutting board. Doh! 

I put the pinwheels in a greased casserole dish, and put them in the oven at whatever crazy high temperature was called for. A few minutes in, it occurred to me that, hey, there's a cinnamon roll recipe on the package too... That might be a better guide for cooking temp and time! 

I lowered the temperature and reset the timer for longer... And then fretted about the rising. See, the cinnamon rolls are supposed to rise after you cut them into wheels. Fret fret fret. Should I take them out and try to let them rise again? Is it too late? I left them in, and went about my business.

The Verdict : FAIL!

Meh. They were edible. They weren't terrible. But I would definitely not make them again the same way. I think I should have had them rise after cutting, rather than before (hindsight is 20/20, right?) Maybe roll the dough thinner? And maybe more sauce. Or a runnier sauce. Mine was super thick, as it was designed to be ketchup. And definitely more cheese! I put out some extra ketchup for dipping, and it really helped.

They were somewhat dry, and I don't know if that's because I overcooked them (I was expecting more of a golden brown. I've never baked gluten-free before,) or if there wasn't enough moisture in the sauce. When I went back for seconds, I sprinkled more cheese on top and reheated them in the microwave. Much better. 

Baby loved them, and kept trying to snatch one off my plate while I took photos, but it was too hot. They took too long (in her mind) to cool down enough to eat, so there were some major baby tantrums as I was eating my still-hot ones.

Z kept making barf noises, but managed to choke one down with the aid of some "reg-a-lur ketchup. Not Mommy's ketchup!" Hubby was working late and hasn't had one yet.

I completely think this was user error, rather than a bad product. I tend to ruin anything involving baking of any kind (unless I can cajole my husband into doing most of it for me! I'm fine at cracking eggs and measuring liquids. It's those pesky dry ingredients that thwart me every time!) I think I'll have my husband make be making cinnamon rolls or bites with my second package of mix!

*Update: I was advised in the future to add spices or seasonings to gluten-free dough/batter mixes, as they have a unique taste. Extra toppings can also help, as I learned with my extra dipping sauce and melted cheese on my re-heats. Some garlic powder (or even minced garlic) and Italian seasoning, plus a little salt would probably have made these taste amazing! And I should have sprinkled garlic and salt, plus a little cheese onto the tops, for that little something extra!

Disclaimer: I received one Savorfull box this month free for the purposes of a review. Making pizza pucks was just an unfortunate side effect.