Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pastry Pockets

You will be surprised to discover that today’s recipe contains cream cheese. I mean, you know how much I hate, loathe and despise cream cheese, right?

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Okay, I can’t keep up this ruse. To even lie about not liking cream cheese feels like blasphemy. But at least in this recipe, I’m not using plain cream cheese, and it’s not in a pasta sauce. So that’s sort of different.

Seriously, though, I can’t say enough good things about these pastries. The filling is so creamy and flavorful, and much to my surprise, the leftovers heated up really well for lunch the next day. I made ours larger than the original recipe indicates (I’ve linked to it below) to make a meal out of them, and I omitted the sun-dried tomatoes (I don’t use them enough to justify paying nearly $8.00 for a small jar, thankyouverymuch). I think roasted red pepper would be a delicious addition to these, as would corn. They were just wonderful as-is, though, and so easy to make that I’m pretty sure we’ll be having them for dinner a lot.

(Also, the original recipe gives instructions for freezing these, which I’m definitely going to try. I’d love to have a supply of these on hand to make at all times!)

Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pastry Pockets
source: slightly adapted from Our Best Bites

1 box puff pastry (2 sheets)
1 8-ounce container chive and onion cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
1/3 cup cooked crumbled bacon
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
1 tablespoon water

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Warm cream cheese in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds to soften. Place in a mixing bowl with mozzarella cheese, chicken, and bacon. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine and set aside.

3. Defrost puff pastry sheets according to package directions. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll one sheet at a time into a 12 x 12 inch square. Cut each sheet into four equal squares.

4. Place about 1/8 of cream cheese mixture onto each square. With your finger, brush a dab of water around the edges of each square and fold over diagonally to make a triangle. Press edges together and crimp with a fork to seal.

5. After stuffing and folding each pastry, place on a baking sheet. Whisk egg and water together and brush over the top of each pastry. Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Can also be served at room temperature.