Homemade Hot Pockets

There are many recipes on the Internet to create your own Hot Pockets. Not only can you make pockets for lunch, but Hot Pockets can be made for breakfast, too.

Store-bought Hot Pockets have a Crispy Buttery Crust, Garlic Buttery Seasoned Crust, Croissant Crust.

Doughs you can use:

• For Croissant Crust (I always like the Croissant Pockets with ham and cheese the best.):
  • store-bought crescent rolls (pinch two rolls together to form a rectangle, press each rectangle to form a 6×4-inch rectangle - you get 4 pockets from one tube of crescent rolls).
    For an appetizer size, use the triangles as you would for crescent rolls, and stuff them with a filling below
  • frozen puff pastry (roll out the dough until it has almost doubled in size, cut into quarters - you get 4 pockets from one sheet of puff pastry, 2 sheets in a box for a total of 8).
• Crispy, Buttery Crust: a type of pie crust - combine 1/8 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp baking powder, and 1 1/2 cups flour. Cut 6 tbsp cold butter in. Add 2/3 cup milk and stir with a spoon. Knead for 5 minutes adding in more flour just until the dough doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl. Add in flour by the tablespoon until it reaches the non-sticking point. Refrigerate 1 hour. Roll the dough out into a 20 by 12-inch rectangle. Cut dough out into 8 squares with each measuring about 5 by 6-inches. Fill each square with the desired filling and pinch down the edges to seal the dough. Brush the filled hot pockets with milk and garnish with dry herbs (oregano, garlic powder, and parsley.) (This recipe was posted by poster making a pizza pocket. She said after trying pizza dough, which tasted more like a calzone, she came up with the above recipe - https://www.alyonascooking.com/)
• Garlic Buttery Crust: Infuse garlic in melted butter and brush on formed hot pockets. You could alsos sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.
• Biscuit Crust:

Fillings:

• Ham and Cheddar Cheese with croissant crust or crispy, buttery crust (I always like the Croissant Ham & Cheese Pockets the best): For 8 pockets, melt 1 tablespoon butter and add 1 tablespoon flour. Whisk this until smooth to create a roux. Stir in 3/8 cup milk. Reduce heat to medium low, add 2 cups lightly packed shredded mild Cheddar cheese, 2 oz cream cheese, ⅛ teaspoon paprika (⅛ teaspoon onion and ⅛ teaspoon garlic powders optional) and stir until combined and completely smooth. Stir in ½ lb thinly sliced ham strips. The box shows thin slices of ham folded over, perhaps to hold the cheese inside. Set aside to cool.
  FMM: The cheese mixture was not too bad. I did have to add more milk than originally called for and updated the recipe. I used a ham I cooked and sliced it as thin as I could, but I think deli sliced ham may be better. The thickness of the ham seemed too much and I ended up making adding broccoli to some and eggs to others. (I had made one test hot pocket with just the ham and cheese sauce.) Rather than make the sauce, I think a processed cheese that melts would work just as well.
• Ham, Broccoli & Cheese with crispy, buttery crust: For 4 pockets, in a medium bowl, blend 1 Tbsp. melted butter, 1 Tbsp. milk and 4 oz. cream cheese until smooth. Add 1 1/2 c. cooked chopped ham, 1 c. chopped broccoli, 1/4 c. chopped green onion, and 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese.
• Chicken, Broccoli & Cheese with crispy, buttery crust or croissant crust: For 8 pockets, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons mayonnaise. Top half of each rectangle with chicken mixture and broccoli, 2 cups of broccoli total. Fold dough from the top over the filling, pressing the edges to seal.
• Chicken Pot Pie Hot Pockets with flaky crust (pie crust emulation). See Chicken Pot Pie recipe and modify to make the sauce thinner.
• Pizza Pockets with crispy crust or garlic buttery crust which mimics pizza crust: layer 2 to 3 teaspoons of pizza sauce, followed by 2 tablespoons grated mozzarella, followed by 1 tablespoon diced or sliced pepperoni and a sprinkle of fresh basil or dried oregano. Maybe some grated Parmesan
• Beef Taco with seasoned crust: For 8 pockets, make 1/2 recipe Beef taco filling, without stirring too much, add 1 cup refried beans. Layer with grated Cheddar cheese on one side of the pastry.
• Philly Cheese Steak with seasoned crust: peppers, onions, beef, and cheese
• Ham, Egg & Cheddar Cheese with croissant crust or biscuit crust: For 4 pockets, scramble 4 large lightly beaten eggs, layer with 4 ounces thinly sliced ham, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Bacon, Egg & Cheese with croissant crust
• Sausage, Egg & Cheese with croissant crust

Directions:

Step 1: Prepare your chosen dough and filling as described above. Hot Pockets are 5.5 inches long 3.75 inches wide and .75 inches tall and you will need to roll your dough so once they are formed, they are about this size. You will need about 3-4 tablespoons of filling for each pocket.

Step 2: Place the filling ingredients on one half of the dough. Fold the other half of the dough over the filling and crimp the edges with a fork. Or brush water or egg wash on the edges and roll the dough up keeping the filling somewhat flat; pinch the side edges under to seal. Brush each pocket with egg wash and make a few small slits on the top to let steam escape.

There are a number of ways to seal the edges of the puff pastry and other doughs:

• Water – brush all the edges with warm water. Fold the pastry and press the edges tightly together
• Egg wash – whisk and egg and add 1 teaspoon to turn it into egg wash. Brush the egg wash on all edges to be sealed, fold the pastry, and then press or pinch the edges together
• Fork – fold the pastry and press them together with the tines of a fork, just like you would seal a piecrust

Step 3: Grease a sheet pan and place the pockets on it, evenly spaced. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes at 375°F (400°F for puff pastry to ensure it puffs) , or until they are golden brown.

Step 4: Remove and, if desired, brush with herb garlic butter (melt unsalted butter, rosemary sprigs or other herb, and garlic cloves in a small saucepan) and top with flaky salt.

Tips:

• If you use any meat or vegetables such as broccoli in your homemade hot pockets, they must be cooked prior to baking. Green onions do not have to be previously cooked.
• Keep the puff pastry, if using, as cold as possible before it bakes. This helps preserve the puffing power of that fat and get a nice flaky crust.

To freeze:

For freezer friendly hot pockets, bake the pockets 5 minutes short of regular baking time. Don't try to freeze them completely raw. Pockets can be individually wrapped in freezer, wax, or parchment paper and kept sealed in a freezer zipper bag or plastic container for up to 6 months. To reheat from frozen, cook in the microwave for 3 minutes on 50% power (or 1 ½ minutes on high power); or bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 350°F, or until heated throughout.