Are you searching for a fun treat for your kids, or do you just want to make an easy appetizer for an upcoming party? Try these mini calzones!
I love pizza, and I’m also always looking for different finger foods I can give to my toddler. She, too, has an affinity for pizza, and thus came this creation!
MINI CALZONES
Makes 8 calzones
Prep time: 10 mins, Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 20 mins
INGREDIENTS:
-a small amount of spaghetti sauce
-1-1/2 string cheeses cut into 16 pieces, 2 for each calzone
-1 pkg of refrigerated crescent rolls or biscuits (8 in each)
-10 pepperonis (optional)
-4-8 black olives (optional)
-any other small toppings (optional)
-a small amount of dried basil, garlic powder, pepper, cilantro, salt, and/or oregano (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
1) If you are using pepperoni, I suggest laying them in a pan that has a square of tinfoil on the bottom and broiling them on high until they are bubbling and crispy. You can then lay them on a paper towel and press another piece of paper towel over them to extract some of the grease. If they are crispy, this will also break them up into small pieces.
2) Preheat the oven to 350°
3) Lay out your crescent roll or biscuit (flatten). Note: The biscuit in the picture is not flattened, yet.
4) If you are using the herbs, sprinkle a light layer over your dough and lightly press it in.
5) Put 2 pieces of string cheese in the widest part of your crescent roll, or in center of the biscuit
6) Put some spaghetti sauce on top of the cheese. Put as much as you can without it leaking out of your dough. I would put more than I have in the picture.
7) Put your toppings on the sauce.
8) Now it’s time to wrap up our calzones. For the crescent roll, start rolling from the widest end. Roll the dough once over the filling and then tuck the ends around to seal in your filling. Then, continue rolling the crescent until all of the dough is gone.
9) For the biscuit, make sure the dough is pretty thin and in the biggest circle you can make with it. Fold the dough over so that it looks like a half moon with one end slightly longer than the other. Squeeze the ends of the dough together, and fold the longer end over the shorter end to really seal in your filling. Press down on the edges with a fork.
10) Repeat until you have your 8 calzones on your non-stick metal cookie sheet.
11) Bake the calzones for approximately 10 minutes. You will know they are ready when you press on the dough and it feels firm. If it leaves a fingerprint, it needs a bit more time.
12) Take them out and get ready for some delicious calzones! They look about the same as they did when they were raw. 🙂 You can brush them with some melted butter and sprinkle on a small amount of salt if you want a little more flavor.
What an awesome little snack idea! We do a pizza night with pizza dough and fresh ingredients once a week with my 2 little girls. This would be a fun switch from the usual pizza pie. Thanks! Lalita Malone
Sounds like a great family event! When my kids are a little older I’ll have to do that, as well. What a good mama you are!