Buffalo Chicken Pizza Puffs

It's been a rough week already...well, since Sunday anyway. With accidentally deleting ALL of my blog pics from the Picasa album that housed them, being out of town and not having time and/or the original pics to repost, and then the general chaotic start of Monday, I was glad to see the end of it. Today is Tuesday, and I feel it will be a better day. I'm getting my hair cut, my teeth cleaned, and I made some adorable cupcakes for a staff meeting at work. If miniature cupcakes can't start a day off right, I don't know what can. Except buffalo chicken pizza puffs...

With my buffalo chicken obsession kicking into high gear lately, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to wrap it in some delightful homemade pizza dough, now could I? And let's just say that they were so good....those crispy outside, ooey, gooey inside little puffs...that I had to take them all to work or I would have eaten every single one of them.

I used the pizza dough recipe from Pizza on the Grill, and then followed most of the basic steps from Taste and Tell, but cooked my own chicken instead of using canned. these little (well, some not so little) puffs were an amazing ball of buffalo chicken goodness that will definitely be making more appearances in my oven!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza Puffs

Adapted from Taste and Tell

Ingredients

• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
• ¼ cup buffalo sauce
• ½ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Pizza dough (recipe below)
• 1 egg

Pizza Puff Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large pot, cover chicken with water, and boil until cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat, drain water, and put in Mixer bowl. Using paddle attachment, shred chicken on low speed.
3. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese until smooth. Add in the chicken, blue cheese, buffalo sauce, and mozzarella. Mix until completely combined.
4. On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a 12x10 rectangle and cut into 6 squares.
5. Divide the chicken mixture between the squares, about ¼ cup of the chicken mixture for each of the six squares. Working one at a time, pinch the edges together to form a ball of dough around the chicken mixture. Pinch to form a seam, making sure there are no holes. Place on the prepared baking dish, smooth side up. Repeat with the other 5 rolls.
6. Beat the egg lightly and mix in 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the egg wash lightly over the top of each roll.
7. Bake the rolls in the preheated oven until the dough is golden brown and cooked, about 10 minutes.

Pizza Dough

Source: Pizza on the Grill

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for coating the bowl
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Preparation

1. Mix the water, honey & oil in a bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit until it gets foamy.
2. In another bowl, combine the flour & salt. Add the water mixture 1/2 cup at a time until fully incorporated. If the dough is sticky, add more flour; if it is stiff, add more water. Continue to mix until it feels elastic. Spread onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and easy to work with. Do not overwork or it will be tough.
3. Oil a third bowl, and place the dough in it, turning to coat all sides. Drizzle a little extra oil over the top of the dough. Seal tightly with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise, about an hour. Dough will double in size.
4. Punch the dough down and knead on a slightly floured surface until smooth.