Buffalo Chicken Bites

Buffalo Chicken Bites

One of my favorite guilty pleasures is buffalo wings, especially dipped in blue cheese dressing. There's something about the buffalo chicken and blue cheese combo that really appeals to me and I had a craving for it lately. When I came across a recipe for ham and cheese stuffed pretzel bites, I figured I could substitute it with chicken and blue cheese. That's when I decided to make these Buffalo Chicken Bites... yum!

These are such an awesome snack, which could be a meal in itself if you have enough of them. It's not hard since they are addictively delicious! I made a few changes to the original recipe aside from the filling substitution, including omitting the process of boiling the bites before baking. I feared the filling would ooze out during the boiling process so I just baked them after filling and they came out perfectly.

I plan on making these again and experimenting with other fillings such a steak, provolone, sauteed peppers and onions for Philly Cheesesteak Bites... or even pepperoni, italian sausage, mozzarella and mushrooms for Pizza Bites. The filling ideas are endless!

Ingredients:

1 cup finely diced cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup hot sauce (Frank's brand is what I used)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 1/4 teaspoons rapid rise dry yeast

2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup warm milk ( I used 2%)

2 1/2 cups of flour

To make the buffalo chicken mixture, in a small bowl, combine the chicken, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, melted butter and hot sauce; set aside.

In a 1 cup measuring cup, heat the milk and then add the 2 tablespoons brown sugar; stir into warm milk until dissolved; place in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.

Add 2 1/2 cups flour and yeast to the stand mixer and mix on low speed until a soft dough forms, adding up to 1/2 cup additional flour, a little at a time, if necessary. Allow the dough to knead in the stand mixer for 5-7 minutes. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times to form a smooth ball. Place dough into a clean bowl that's been lightly oiled. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled and bubbles appear on surface, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 4 equal pieces. Lightly dust your hands with flour, then gently roll and stretch 1 piece of dough to form a 12-inch-long rope. Flatten dough and arrange so a long side is nearest you, then roll out to a roughly 12- by 4-inch rectangle with a lightly floured rolling pin. Gently press one fourth of buffalo chicken mixture into lower third of rectangle, leaving a 1/2-inch border along bottom edge. Stretch bottom edge of dough up over filling and press tightly to seal, then roll up as tightly as possible to form a rope. Cut rope into 12 pieces and transfer to a sheet pan. Make 3 more ropes with remaining dough, filling and cut into pieces, transferring to sheet pans. Let rest at room temperature, uncovered, 30 minutes (dough will rise slightly).

Bake buffalo chicken bites in the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned. Remove from oven (some cheese may have melted out.) and brush tops with melted butter before serving (optional).