Recipe: Pizza Turnovers (Pizza Pockets)

I’ve been trying really hard to stay out of the drive thru, avoid take out and refusing to call for delivery.  That means trying to change up the same-old-same-old meals we’ve been having so we aren’t bored.  Check out these pizza pockets.  Perfect for little hands!

Serves: Makes 24 pockets

Prep Time: 1 hour start to finish

Dough ingredients

1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base

1/2 teaspoon garlic, fresh, minced

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon rosemary, dried

1/2 teaspoon oregano, dried

1/2 teaspoon thyme, dried

1/4 teaspoon basil, dried

1/2 cup butter, cold

Filling Ingredients

1/3 cup ricotta cheese

1/3 cup marinara sauce

3/4 cup mozzarella, shredded

Crust Treatment Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted

parsley, dried

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together bouillon base, garlic, milk, and egg.  Set aside for a future step.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, parmesan, baking powder, salt, rosemary, oregano, thyme, and basil.  Stir to thoroughly combine.
4. Cut the cold butter into 4 or 5 chunks.  Use a fork to blend the butter into the flour until the mixture looks crumbly and the butter is evenly distributed in small lumps throughout the flour mixture.  This step will take about 3- 5 minutes until there are no large clumps remaining.  The easiest way is to press the fork into the side of the bowl and “shred” it between the fork tines.
5. Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture.  Mix until dough comes together into a loose ball.  It might will be dry enough to handle and not so wet as to appear shiny.
6. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured countertop.  Knead the dough a few times turning it over onto itself and turning 90 degrees.  Keep it lightly floured so it doesn’t stick.  You should fold and turn about 10 times moving quickly so as not to heat up the butter.
7. Use rolling pin or a straight sided glass (not your hands) to roll out to a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick
8. Use a 2-1/2 inch round cookie/biscuit cutter.  Make sure to flour the cookie cutter cutting edge to make sure it doesn’t stick to the dough.
9. After you cut out all the dough into circles, you’ll thin the centers of each circle to about 1/4 inch.  I do this by pressing down with my fingers.  This will enlarge the circle a little and leave the outside edge a little thicker.
10. Combine ricotta and marinara ingredients in a small bowl.
11. Place the crust circles on a cookie sheet.  Spoon 1 rounded teaspoon of filling onto the center of each crust and sprinkle with some mozzarella.
12. Fold the crust in half and press together the edges.  You can use a fork or your fingers.  Your goal is to seal the edges so the filling stays in.
13. Bake at 450 degrees for 13 – 15 minutes until crust is lightly browned.
14. After the pouches come out, brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with parsley.

TIPS:  If the dough is a little wet and sticky you can add about a tablespoon of flour and knead a little.  If the mixture is too dry and leaves too much flour in the bowl, you can add a teaspoon of milk and stir gently.