pizza pops and a calzone bonus (my 5th Project Food Blog challenge)

 

{UPDATE: You can vote for these HERE.}

For the fourth time, a huge thank you to all who voted for my cookie witch legs for the Project Food Blog contest! I made it through to another round!! Thanks for sticking by me this far. And speaking of sticks...That's how I interpreted the 5th challenge: put my own spin on pizza. I don't often openly toot my own horn very loudly, but these mini pizzas on a stick.... Oh. My. Goodness. Awesome. My plan worked perfectly (it never does), they tasted absolutely delicious, and they were ridiculously easy to make. So toot.

 How did my pizza pops come to be? Anyone who reads this blog or my other gig knows that I love tiny versions of things and I especially love tiny versions of things on lollipop sticks. So when I saw this challenge, I knew precisely what I would do. Then I remembered that I've already seen pizza-on-a-stick. And that I already blabbed about it here. Dang. Not an original idea. But I hope to at least claim a tiny bit of credit for this method. Though I suppose dough, sauce and toppings, in that order, is hardly an original idea for pizza either. Hmmm. Perhaps we should just get on with things.

how to make pizza pops

you will need*
roll of refrigerated pizza crust

lollipop sticks

2 1/2 inch circle cookie cutter

assorted toppings

baking tray

parchment paper

*I used the Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough, Classic, not Thin Crust. Find lollipop sticks and circle cookie cutters in the baking aisle of the craft store. I chose these assorted toppings: tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil, arugula, goat cheese, ricotta cheese, cherry tomatoes, and fresh spinach. 

what to do
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Unroll pizza dough on a floured surface. Cut out 2 1/2 inch circles (this may need some muscle to get the cutter through the made-to-stretch dough, just twist the cutter back and forth a bit). Insert lollipop stick about half way into the circle and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Add a teaspoon or so of sauce (if using) and tiny bits of desired toppings. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until crust and toppings begin to brown.

some ideas for toppings
In case you need a little inspiration:

bonus calzones!

Look what else I made... calzones! Because these are more dough than toppings, they were a bit too bready for my taste, but they were still pretty dang good.

To make calzones, roll the dough a bit thinner, cut out a larger circle (a 3 inch cutter), put your toppings on the center of the circle (because the toppings can ooze out the side, best to be more sparing with these), lay a lollipop stick on the circle, fold the dough over and pinch the edges with a fork. Bake at 425 for about ten to twelve minutes.