Pocket Pizza Pies
A flakey, herb crust wraps around mozzarella, basil, tomato sauce and pepperoni in these pocket pizza pies (like a way better hot pocket.)
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch cubes (141 grams)
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (173 grams)
- ¼ cup cup ice-cold water (56 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano and/or rosemary
- 1 14-ounce can pizza sauce
- 3 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded or cut into small pieces
- 20 slices pepperoni, from a 4oz. bag cut in half
- 12 leaves fresh basil thinly sliced
- parmesan cheese, for sprinkling optional
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt and oregano together.
- Dot the butter pieces evenly over the flour, then pulse several times until the butter pieces are about the size of little pebbles.
- Drizzle two tablespoons of water evenly over the mixture, then pulse a few times. Drizzle in one more tablespoon of water and pulse just until the dough starts to clump together. (If it looks too dry, repeat with another tablespoon of water.)
- Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a flat disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for about an hour.
- Once the dough has chilled, flour your work surface (or use a silicone mat or parchment paper) and roll out your dough until it’s about ⅛-inch thick. Using a 2-inch or 1.5-inch cookie cutter (depending on how many you want) cut out as many tops and bottoms as you can.
- Place the cutouts on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover and chill them for just a few minutes to firm up.
- On half of the cutouts, use your beaten egg to paint on a border. These are your bottom crusts.
- Assemble the pie pockets in this order: bottom crust, a teaspoon of pizza sauce, 3 pieces of mozzarella (or about a pinch-full if shredded), 4 pepperoni halves, then a pinch-full of basil strips. (For smaller pies, use a half-teapoon pizza sauce, 2 pieces of mozzarella and 3 pepperoni halves.)
- Stretch out the top crust just a little bit and place on top to seal off all the ingredients. Use a fork to crimp the edges.
- Brush on the egg wash over each pocket, then place them in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- With a small knife, poke two vents in each pocket, then brush with egg wash a second time. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, if desired.
- Bake the pizza pie pockets for 16-18 minutes. Serve with leftover pizza sauce as a dip!
Video
Notes
- I recommend using high quality mozzarella cheese. Look for ones that come in a ball — these tend to melt better. However, shredded mozzarella from the bag will also work.
- I used a more specialty pizza sauce in one of the earlier tests for this recipe and, while the flavor was slightly better, it was more watery which made the pies difficult to fill and crimp. This is why I recommend using a thicker, store-brand pizza sauce. Sorry pizza purists!
