Anyone who’s ever enjoyed a hot pocket, can get behind these pizza hand pies (basically every child or grown child anywhere)! By using pre-made empanada dough, you save yourself tons of time and cleanup. And warm a little extra marinara to make these babies extra fun and dip-able. Best yet is any leftovers can be frozen for later (that is if you have any left over)!
Pizza Hand Pies
Makes 10 Hand Pies:
Ingredients:
1 package frozen discos for empanadas
Tomato Sauce (see my Very Veggie Bolonese for a tip on adding invisible veggies)
8 oz. grated mozzarella cheese
1 package of pepperoni
Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
Italian seasoning, optional
Make It:
Defrost your discos for about 2 hours. I do this first thing when I wake up in the morning. I defrost as I’m making coffee and throw them into the refrigerator before I leave for the day.
Next, preheat your oven to 400F. Line two baking sheet with parchment paper and lay out your empanada dough. Add a little less than a tablespoon of sauce to the middle of each empanada disc. Then top with 3 slices of pepperoni and a large pinch of grated mozzarella. Pinch and seal the empanada into a half circle. An easy way to do this is to press all along the seal first with your fingers and then again with a fork. To create a slightly prettier coil design, there are tons of 1 minute YouTube videos on how to pinch and seal an empanada.
Next, in a small bowl whip your egg with a tablespoon of water to make an egg wash. This is an important step that separates pale pie crusts from deliciously golden ones. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of all your pizzas with egg wash. Then sprinkle the tops with Parmesan and Italian seasoning (note: if you have kids wildly averse to green anything, skip this step as it will add a beautiful herb topping).
Bake for about 28 minutes until the top crust is a lovely golden brown and the filling has slightly bubbled up through the air vents. Allow to cool before serving.
Note:
You can make these in advance and freeze! This is a great way to make it once and enjoy it twice if you double the recipe.
