As you may or may not know, I like to have fun with pizza dough. Today, I will be showing you how to make deep-dish pizza muffins. They are easy finger foods and no pizza cutter is required!
This is part three of an indefinite series of doing fun recipes with pre-made pizza dough. Click this link for chicken Parmesan pizza bites or here for Mexican queso-pizza.
So… confession time.
When I was younger, I would watch Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee. And I don’t know why I watched it because every time I did, I would get angry that she wasn’t making everything by hand!
I mean, if I wasn’t watching Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel, I was on Food Network. Yep, I was a weird kid. I grew up with Alton Brown and Emeril Lagasse. (BAM!)
Anyway, I was irritated. But then I grew up. Funny how that works, right?
There are many recipes that are so easy, I’d rather make them than buy them. Take simple syrup or Asian seasoning mix, to name just a couple.
But seeing a lump of pizza dough in the grocery store inspires me like few other things can. What can I do with this? What can’t I do with this? (Steam it. You can’t steam it. So don’t try it!)
And with this, I play with pizza dough. And then I get back to you about recipes that work.
Today’s recipe that worked: deep-dish pizza muffins
My inspiration behind this recipe is that I wanted something quick and something I could eat with my hands. But most of all, I wanted this to be completely customizable to everyone’s pizza topping desires.
If someone wants plain cheese, go ahead. If you want mushrooms, pepperoni, sausage, peppers, onions, anchovies… everyone can customize their muffins the way they want to!
But you can’t put pineapple on the pizza muffins. It’s not just because I can’t eat pineapple. It just doesn’t belong on a pizza.
Hey! Just kidding! You can put pineapple and ham in your little pizza muffins. I’ll just judge you. Silently. From afar. 🙂
What kind of toppings do you like on your pizza? Is pineapple seriously a choice for you? (Really??) Use #FDLFoods on Twitter or Instagram (I’ve been working on my insta-game!). I always want to see what you lovely folks are cookin’.
Also, I’m testing out metric measurements in my recipes. If it helps, let me know in the comments below!
Cheers!
Gem
Deep-Dish Pizza Muffins
These pizza muffins are little bites that require no cutting! They are great as an appetizer or a snack.
Note: Pizza dough is the easiest to work with when it is at room temperature.
Yields: 12 muffins
- 1 lb. (0.45 kg) pizza dough
- 1 1/3 cups shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce
- Toppings of choice (optional)
Preheat oven to 450⁰F (232⁰C).
Divide pizza dough into 12 balls (about 1.3 oz or 37g each). flatten the balls into 4-5 in. (10-13 cm) pancakes.
Spray a 12-cup regular muffin tray (or 2 6-cup trays, whatever you have on hand) with oil. Place pizza dough pancakes into the tray and shape as necessary. Place in oven for 5 minutes. The dough should be slightly hardened, very puffy, but not cooked all the way through.
Once the dough is ready, put about a teaspoon of sauce into the cups, or until it is filled to just under the top of the muffin. Place on cheese and preferred toppings. Place back into the oven for 7-9 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the crust is browned.
Let the pizza muffins stand in the muffin tin for 2-3 minutes before serving.
- Preparation time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 30 minutes
