Chicken, ham, and Swiss cheese are wrapped in pastry dough and baked to buttery, flaky perfection. The upcoming Super Bowl was my inspiration, but this hearty appetizer would be great for any party. They’re easy to serve and eat, and believe it or not, the first batch can be ready for the oven in an hour.
The dough is layered, but doesn’t require the trips back and forth to the refrigerator that puff pastry or croissant doughs demand. You simply mix it, roll and fold it four times, and then roll it out into a large, thin rectangle which is cut into 4-inch squares. Fill and bake. The dough resists tearing and stretches obligingly when you pull it over the filling.
I played a little bit and used dark beer in place of the milk in the recipe. It was actually very tasty (The Man was a fan of these), but I didn’t think they were as flaky . . . a little more pie crust than puff pastry. And the color wasn’t quite as pretty, though maybe a lighter beer would have made a difference. Still, you might want to give it a try, just for fun.
| Cordon Bleu Pastry Pockets | Print |
- 1 cup finely chopped ham
- 1 cup finely chopped chicken
- 1 cup finely chopped Swiss cheese
- 1-2 tablespoons cream cheese (Optional. Makes the filling easier to handle.)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into ½ inch pieces
- 1 cup cold milk
- Heavy cream OR 1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon water, to brush on pastries before baking
- In a small bowl, combine ham, chicken, and Swiss cheese. Mix in cream cheese if desired. (This will make the mixture a little sticky, making it easier to fill pockets.) Place in refrigerator.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. Toss the butter pieces in the flour and cut in, using a pastry blender, just until pieces of butter are about the size of a large blueberry.
- Stir in cold milk until mostly combined. Some crumbs are fine. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and use your hands to shape and press down, forming a rectangle.
- *With a rolling pin, roll dough into a 12-inch by 5-inch rectangle. It will be messy and crumbly. Don't worry - just do the best you can. With one short end facing you (dusting surface with flour as needed), use a large spatula or dough scraper to lift the bottom third of the dough and fold it, so the short end is in the middle. Now lift the top third and lay it over the dough so the short end is at the bottom. You should have 3 equal layers of very crumbly dough. Turn the dough to the left so the long open edge is on the right (like a book)*
- Repeat from (*) to (*) three more times. Dough should be smooth, with small areas of butter visible.
- Heat oven to 425 F. Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment.
- On floured surface, roll dough. After trimming edges, you'll need a 20-inch by 16-inch rectangle, so roll it out a little larger than that. Trim edges to make it neat and mark it every 4 inches, then cut out 20 squares.
- Mound filling in the center of one square at a time, extending toward opposite corners. Pull the top corner down to the bottom one, tucking in any stray filling that tries to escape. Press firmly all around the edge, then use a fork to go over the edge again. Use a knife or pastry cutter (if desired) to neatly trim and straighten the outer edge. Poke once with the fork on the top of each pocket.
- Place on prepared baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between pastries. Coat lightly with cream or egg wash. (A paper towel dipped in wash works better than a brush.) Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove to cooling rack.
Combine finely chopped ham, chicken, and Swiss cheese. (Stir in a little cream cheese if desired, to make it easier to handle when filling pockets.)
Toss chopped butter into dry ingredients and combine with pastry blender.
Stir in cold milk (or beer!) Just until mostly combined.
Use hands to flatten (it will be a crumbly mess) and then roll as best you can to a 12×5-inch rectangle.
Use a large spatula or dough scraper to lift the bottom short end up to the middle, then the top short end down to the bottom to make 3 equal layers. Turn to the left and repeat 3 more times.
By the 4th roll/fold/turn it will look like dough. It’s okay to see blotchy butter spots.
To get a neat, tidy 16×20 rectangle, roll it a little larger, then trim. Throw away the scraps – don’t try to re-roll them.
Add filling to center, extending to opposite corners.
Press the edges firmly. Use a fork to go over them again. Trim the very edge to make it straight and pretty. Coat with cream or egg wash and bake!
Um. I tried making football shapes. It didn’t go too well. Be my guest – if you figure out how to do it, please let me know!
And here’s the beer version:
Dips are good. I used a Red Robin dipping sauce and ranch dressing with mustard and horseradish. 
Since (once again) the Seahawks aren’t in the game, I’m not too excited about the Super Bowl. But if you are, and you have a crowd to please, give these a whirl!
Lorinda
Bring this dish to any football party and be a hero! A smooth, velvety, football-shaped cheese ball is surrounded by sturdy, homemade rye crackers…also shaped like footballs, because – well – football!
