Touchdown Calzones

Prep: 45 min | Cook: 25 min | Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

Filling

• 1 1/4 pounds spicy Italian sausage
• 3/4 cup pizza sauce
• 4 cups (16 ounces) shredded Italian cheese blend

Dough

• 1 (16 ounce) package hot roll mix
• 1 1/4 cups hot water
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Garlic Butter

• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Filling

1. Remove sausage from casing. Sauté sausage in large skillet, breaking up with fork, until sausage is cooked and browned, 5 to 8 minutes.
2. Drain well and set aside.
3. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Dough

1. Make hot roll mix according to package directions for pizza, replacing egg and butter with hot water and olive oil. Let dough stand for 5 minutes.
2. Divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into an oval about 5 x 7 inches.
3. Place 1/4 cup of Italian cheese blend in center of each oval.
4. Top with 1/3 cup cooked sausage.
5. Spoon 1 tablespoon pizza sauce over sausage.
6. Sprinkle with another 1/4 cup cheese.
7. Bring up edges of dough and seal securely. Transfer calzone to lightly greased baking sheet, placing seam side up to form a "football" shape.
8. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Set calzones in a warm place to rise, covered with towel, 25 minutes.
9. Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

Garlic Butter

1. In a small skillet, heat butter and garlic over low heat until butter is melted and garlic is tender, about 3 minutes.
2. Remove calzones from oven when lightly browned.
3. Brush hot calzones with garlic butter and sprinkle each with 1/2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese.
4. Return to oven until cheese melts, about 2 minutes.
5. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

* To make "football laces" on calzones, cut thinly sliced mozzarella into thin strips. Arrange on calzones after brushing on garlic butter and sprinkling with Parmesan cheese.

Calzones can be baked and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance. Reheat at 350 degrees F until hot, about 20 minutes.

Attribution

Recipe and photo used with permission from: American Dairy Association