Pepperoni Pizza Hand Pies

 

I’m always open to variations of pizzas for the kids’ lunches, because that’s an easy sell with them. We all really liked these pepperoni pizza hand pies! They were great warm and dipped in pizza sauce. If they are going to school in a lunchbox, it might be a better idea to include a bit of pizza sauce in the pies themselves instead of dipping them.

1 box refrigerated pie crust, at room temperature (14 oz.)
3 oz. sliced pepperoni
1 ½ cups lactose-free shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup pizza sauce

Preheat oven to 425 °F. Allow pie crust to come to room temperature before unrolling (see package directions).

Unroll pie crusts and cut 6 circles from each crust using a 4-inch biscuit cutter. You may have to re-roll the scraps to get the 6th (or 7th) circle. I got a total of 15 little hand pies.

Place about 3 pieces of pepperoni and a big pinch of cheese in the center of each circle. Fold the sides over and pinch the edges closed. Press the edges with the tines of a fork to seal.

Bake on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (1 inch apart) for about 13-15 minutes, until browned.

Serve immediately, with pizza sauce, if eating at home.