Pizza Bites AKA The Perfect Party Food

Hopefully you know that this past weekend was the superbowl.  I try to keep track of when the superbowl is just because it is an awesome excuse to make a bunch of food you might not make otherwise :-)!  I feel so lucky to have such great friends that also enjoy trying new things in the kitchen.  We had so much food that I’m still eating the leftovers.

Usually for a superbowl party, we would’ve made”Rotel Dip” – a slightly disturbing, but admittedly delicious concoction made entirely of Velveeta cheese and a can of Rotel tomatoes. Gourmet it is not, but at any party we’ve ever had the bowl is licked clean.  But as much of a hit as rotel dip is, I think these are going to be my new go to party food! First of all, they don’t involve any over-processed cheese; and secondly,  they are like pizza (the ultimate after party food), but in a cute little bite!  They were way easier to make than I thought they were going to be (especially if you already have a batch of my favorite pizza dough in the freezer), and they can be made earlier in the day and baked later.  I actually made one tray with real pepperoni, and John made the other tray with turkey pepperoni.  Yes, John made them.  That’s how easy they are :-). But seriously,  shout out to John because he is really becoming a big help in the kitchen, and he is an excellent dishwasher!  He even ended up making these again, but the second time he filled them only with cheese so that his vegetarian friends could also enjoy them.  He’s taking them into work tomorrow, so I will have to hear how they turned out!

Pizza Bites

– Makes one 9 inch pie pan

• 1/2 batch Pizza Dough
• 20-25 cubes Mozzarella Cheese (about 4 ounces)
• 20-25 Slices Pepperoni

For the Topping

• Olive Oil
• Grated Parmesean Cheese
• Italian Herbs (I bought a small disposable grinder of “Italian Herbs”)

Divide the dough into 20-25 equal pieces.  (I used a food scale, in order to make sure they were even, but eyeballing works as well.) Press a slice  of pepperoni and a cube of cheese into a piece of dough, and pull the edges of the dough up around the fillings and pinch shut.  Place the balls seam side down in a greased pie plate.

When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Brush the tops of the rolls with a little olive oil, and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and italian herbs.  Bake for 20 minutes.  If you want the top crusts to be golden, try broiling for an additional 2 minutes.

For dipping sauce, you could try the New York Style Pizza Sauce, but I would blend it with a food processor or immersion blender to make it less chunky for dipping.  Ranch dressing is also a good choice, but for the most part I ended up eating these plain because they are just that good!

Recipe from Annie’s Eats