Buffalo Chicken Bites

     Yay!  J came home Friday, which means no one is in danger of being bludgeoned by their vigilante mom when she hears a bump in the night.  It also means, more food!  Seriously, when he was gone for just those two weeks I saved about $100 on groceries alone.  Monkey and I bought a gallon of milk the day after he left.  We ran out the day he got home, and now the one he bought the day he came home is gone already.  Oh, well.  It's not all bad, though.  I love the ego boost I get when he gushes about something I've made for him.  Tonight I got one of the best episodes of "gushing" so far.

    Tonight I made Buffalo Chicken Bites.  I've had this recipe "pinned" on Pinterest for a long time, and I "favorited" them on Foodgawker before I'd ever heard of Pinterest.  Let's just say that actually making these was long overdue, especially after how delicious they were.  These would made a perfect appetizer for a football game or barbeque, but they were also good as the entree to a side of coleslaw and corn on the cob.  So I'll stop rambling on and on about them and just share the recipe and some photos, shall I?

 So here's what you'll need:

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 small bowl, heat the milk and then add the 2 tablespoons brown sugar; stir 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 (I ended up adding about 1/4 cup). 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 (mine only took about 1 hour).

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).---She said optional, but I say go for it.

  Well this is going to be a short blog tonight.  I'm not that interesting when I'm not attempting to defend my home from the unknown evils that only threaten when J's gone.