J Dub’s Buffalo Chicken Calzones are great with a fresh green salad on any busy weeknight. You can also slice these up and serve as an appetizer with a side of wing sauce and some blue cheese dressing. Super Bowl, anyone?
Ingredients
2 packages frozen pizza dough
1/2 cup Frank’s Original Wing Sauce
2 generous cups cooked Rotisserie chicken, chopped
2 generous cups mozzarella, shredded
4 tablespoons butter, divided and melted
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic, divided
Flour to keep dough from sticking when you roll out and to sprinkle on pans
Directions
- First, preheat ovens to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- After the cream cheese has softened, add sour cream to cream cheese, and stir until spreadable. ( I use a fork to to mix it together.)
- Add 1 teaspoon granulated garlic to this mixture and stir again.
- Set the mixture to the side while you prepare the chicken and dough.
- Pour wing sauce over the chopped chicken and stir to coat.
- After the dough comes to room temperature, sprinkle flour on your surface.
- Now, using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rough 12 inch Circle. If the dough is still cool to the touch and won’t stretch, pick it up and hold it by the edges. Turn the dough in a circle using your fingers. It will start to stretch.
- Once you have your circles formed, spread the cream cheese mixture over the center of the ENTIRE circle of dough, leaving a 1/2 inch boundary around the entire outside of the circle.
- Top 1/2 of each circle of dough with approximately 1/2 cup of mozzarella, leaving the 1/2 inch boundary.
- Top1/2 of a circle of dough with 1/2 of the chicken mixture (approximately 1 cup) over the cheese mixture. Make sure to keep this only on 1/2 of the circle. Repeat with other circle.
- Next, top the chicken mixture with the remaining mozzarella cheese, using approximately 1/2 cup for each circle of dough.
- Gently grab the edge of the circle (the side with no toppings) and fold it over the chicken and cheese mixture.
- Pinch the edge of the calzone to seal in the fillings so that it doesn’t ease out the sides while baking. You can also use a fork to make creases around the sides to seal.
- Grease and lightly flour your pizza peel.
- Slide the calzone onto a pizza peel, and then onto the pizza pan. I use a peel to move my calzone from my work surface to the pizza pan.
- Once you have the calzone on the pan, brush the top of each calzone with 2 Tablespoons of butter and then sprinkle the top with sea salt to taste.
- Next, place it in oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until top is golden brown.
- While calzone is baking, add 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic to the remaining two tablespoons butter.
- Finally, remove the calzone from the oven and top the melted garlic butter.
Try J Dub’s Buffalo Chicken Calzones and let me know what you think! If you are looking for more great recipes for your next Super Bowl party, don’t forget to try out J Dub’s Queso for a Crowd or J Dub’s Black Eyed Pea Dip!
Tips:
- I use The New French Bakery Artisan and thaw it in fridge overnight. After it has thawed, I allow the dough to rest on the kitchen counter for about an hour until it comes to room temperature.
- If you don’t have double ovens you can bake these one at a time.
- I like my chicken lightly coated, not soaked. Feel free to add more sauce if that is what you like.
- If you don’t own a peel, two large spatulas will work to move the calzone from the work surface to the pan.