Pizza Cupcakes!

   I love to experiment and have fun in my kitchen. I also loooove pizza. After perfecting my pizza dough recipe (took a few years to get the proportions just right!), I soon became bored with making the same old pie. So, with a little inspiration, I give to you:

Pizza Cupcakes!

You will need: 

• Pizza dough (homemade or store-bought, though I highly recommend the former - recipe below ;))
• Marinara or pizza sauce (again, homemade or store-bought)
• Mozzarella cheese (regular or vegan, shredded)
• Pepperoni (regular or vegan, diced small)
• Oil (I use coconut oil for this)
• Cupcake pan (or a muffin pan for pizza muffins!)

If making your own dough, you'll also need:

• 2 1/4 teaspoon yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 cup bread flour (or all-purpose flour + 1 tbs vital wheat gluten)
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tbs oil (I use grapeseed in mine)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup warm water

   To make the dough, add the yeast and sugar to the cup of warm water. Let sit until bubbles form. Then add the rest of your ingredients. Knead the dough to form a soft ball. Let rise, covered in a bowl, for 30 minutes to an hour, or until doubled in size. Mine usually doesn't  take long to rise at all! Once risen, punch the dough in the center and then knead again briefly. Now your dough is ready to use!

   Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease your cupcake pan using the coconut oil and a paper towel. Then pinch off enough dough to cover the bottom of the cupcake pan. Spread it out and make sure some of the dough is coming up the sides. Now you'll spoon a little marinara on top of the dough and coat evenly. Then sprinkle on the cheese and diced pepperoni. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until the tops are brown and the cheese is melted. Let cool briefly and enjoy your cute mini pizzas! :)

   Thank you for letting me share this recipe with you! It's a hit for both kids and adults and is super easy to make. Have fun in the kitchen and as always, stay clean!!!