Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Halloween Mini Pizzas


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Hi everyone! Today's recipe is another Halloween idea, another Halloween Pizza! I just love pizzas, they are one of the easiest and more versatile dishes out there, they are also perfect for any kind of party; easy to make, budget friendly, you can make them in advance, can be eaten warm or cold, so after you bake them, dinner is ready and  you can go ahead and enjoy the party, and the guests can serve themselves!


So yes, Spooky pizzas are a great dish for a Halloween Party! For this recipe I will be making my own pizza crust, but feel free to go buy your favorite pizza crust at the grocery store! It will save you a lot of time...


But if you are willing to make your own pizza, you can make it the night before, and just keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.  And even better, this crust can be frozen for up to 2 weeks!


Ingredients: (makes 8 5½in pizzas)
(For the Pizza crust)



  • 3½ cups of all purpose flour

  • 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese

  • 1 cup of warm water plus (115oF)

  • 1 package of quick rise Yeast

  • ½ tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder

  • 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar


Ingredients to make (top) the pizzas:



  • 1 14oz jar of your favorite Pizza Sauce

  • 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

  • ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder

  • 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning

  • ¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese

  • 16-24 cheese slices cut into ghost shapes (2-3 slices per pizza) (cut with a cookie cutter, I'm using White Cheddar Cheese, you can you Havarti, or any other white cheese you like)

  • 8-10 slices of bacon cut into Bat shapes (cut with a cookie cutter)

  • Black or Green Olives for garnish.


To make the crust: Combine 1 cup or warm water with 1pack. of Quick Rise Yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and ½ teaspoon of salt, mix well until the yeast and sugar have dissolved. Then add in ½ tablespoon of Extra virgin Olive oil. Mix well and let it rest for 10 minutes.


Combine the flour with 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan Cheese, ½ teaspoon of Garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning. Stir together until well combined and set aside until ready to use.


After 10 minutes or so.  Slowly combine the yeast mixture with the flour mixture. Knead until you get a soft and elastic dough; if the dough seems too dry, feel free to add up to 4 more tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon at a time. after you get the desire texture, (a very soft, non-sticky dough,) continue to knead for 2 more minutes. Then  place the dough in a bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise at room temperature for 1 hour.


Just before you start building the pizzas, preheat the oven to 450oF.


Cook the bacon in a 400oF oven for 8-10 minutes or until brown.


Mix 1 tablespoon of extra virgen olive oil with a ¼ teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, mix well and set aside for a minute.


After an hour or so,  the dough should be ready to roll out.  Place the dough on a floured surface and punch it a couple of times, just to get rid of any excess air that might be in the dough.  Roll out the dough to ¼ inch thickness.  And using a circular cutter, cut the pizza circles.


Brush each circle with the Olive oil mixture and sprinkle each circle with about ½ tablespoon of Parmesan Cheese.  (For super Crispy Pizza dough, bake these for 5 minutes in a 450oF oven, before adding the tomato sauce!)


Top the circles with the tomato sauce, you want to add plenty of the tomato sauce to each pizza. I added about 2½ tablespoons to each circle. Then top the circles with the Cheese figures, place them right in the middle of each circle, you want to add 2 or 3 slices of cheese per pizza, to make sure the figure holds its form while in the oven. If you only add 1 slice, the cheese will melt before the crust is completely cooked and the figure will disappear  right into the tomato sauce without holding its shape.


Garnish with the bacon, and sliced olives.  Use the olives to create the eyes and the mouth of your ghost.  Bake at 450oF for 10-12 minutes.


The crust will cook in 8 minutes. You want to remove the pizzas from the oven just after the crust is cooked and the cheese has melted. if you leave them in the oven for too long, the ghost will melt away, and the figure wont be very visible at all.
Thanks it, Enjoy! 


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