Halloween Chicken Crescent puffs

This is a variation of Lara's Chicken Crescent puffs.  I like taking a tried and true recipe and playing around with it.  And since October is the month I like to play with my food, well, it was just natural that I make something creative with this recipe.  (Plus I know that my boys love eating the chicken crescents as well).  You could make anything you wanted with these.  Just change the color of your egg wash.  My boys thought these not only tasted great but were super cool as well.  I hear the phrase "Mom, you're the best cook ever!" said a lot during the month of October.  Maybe I should play with my food more often. 

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Post by: Jen

Ingredients:

 2 packages of Crescent rolls, OR pizza dough (either homemade or store bought)
2-pkgs. (8-oz. each) cream cheese (I use low fat)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped red or green pepper (optional)
1-can cooked chicken (I use a can from Costco) OR 1-2 cups cooked, diced chicken breasts
(as you can see, I had already mixed up the chicken mixture before taking the picture.  If you need more of a picture, check out the recipe that this came from by checking here.)
1 egg
food coloring (I used green and orange)
pastry brush/food paint brush

Directions:

Mix together the chicken, softened cream cheese, peppers, and onion until well blended.

Unroll your tube dough OR roll out your pizza dough into a circle.  Then use a pizza cutter to cut into triangles (like you're cutting a pie).

Place 1 Tbsp of chicken mixture at the wide ends of the triangles.

 Tuck up the sides around the chicken mixture.  Make sure that there are no gaps of chicken poking through.

Start to roll it up into a ball, meanwhile tucking in any sides.

 

Once rolled up, roll the ball around in your palm ( like playdough) to make the sides smoother.

IF desired, pinch off a little end of your triangle and roll it into a little ball and stick on top of your balls.  This will be like a pumpkin.  Honestly I wish I had figured this out earlier because I would have made more pumpkins.

 

Beat an egg in a small bowl.  Add 1 tsp cold water and beat it in.  Depending on how many colors you are doing, divide it into other bowl.  I used two colors, so I divided my egg into two small bowls.

 Add desired food coloring and mix well.

 Use the pastry brush (or a wide food paint brush*) to paint your crescent balls.  Here I am making Jack-O-lanterns.  *I just bought new paint brushes that I always keep in the kitchen and use only for food.

 With a small paint brush or a toothpick, paint on faces.  (with food coloring)

 Remember those pumpkins we formed earlier?  Well here I painted them orange and used green for the stem.

 Since I have boys, I had to do something resembling a monster.  Here is my attempt at Frankenstein.

 Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes (depending on your oven) or until they are baked.  You might have to touch them and feel for the crust because the food coloring will hide the golden brown color.  Just don't burn your hand reaching inside the oven.  (I can't tell you how many times I have done that.  You'd think I'd learn!)

 I LOVE these pumpkins.  I wish I would have made more.  Now I'm getting a thought of doing this with pie dough and pumpkin cheesecake mixture.  Hmmmmm.......

 For Frankenstein, I broke up pretzel sticks into tiny pieces and stuck them in the sides of his neck.

These were a big hit with the kids. I'll probably have to make them again before the month is over.