TIP OF THE DAY: Design Your Own Halloween Pizza Recipe
Decorating your own individual Halloween pizza is a fun family dinner activity on the nights leading up to Halloween. Or, turn it into a Halloween party feature.
Set out bowls of garnishes—bell pepper, sliced mushrooms pepperoni, olives (eyes)—and let the participants make their own designs. If your kids are too young to plan a design, you can design the pizzas yourself. And if you don’t have the time to make your own pizza crusts, you can use frozen cheese pizzas. Here’s how from TasteOfHome.com. Ingredients: Crust |
Create your own creepy pie design. Photo courtesy Fleischmann’s Yeast. |
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Ingredients: Toppings |
Turn your pizza into a jack-o-lantern. Photo courtesy TasteOfHome.com. |
PREPARATION The biggest task in this recipe is creating the crusts. You can do this in advance and refrigerate overnight or freeze them for up to one month. 1. PREHEAT. Preheat oven to 425°F. 2, MIX. Combine 2 cups flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add very warm water and oil; mix until well blended, about 1 minute. 3. ADD. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky. Knead† on a floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Divide dough into 8 portions; cover. If using RapidRise yeast, let dough rise for 10 minutes. |
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4. FORM. Pat each portion of dough with floured hands into an 8-inch circle on a greased baking sheet. Form a rim by pinching the edge of the dough. Add a second crust to the same baking sheet. 5. BAKE. Bake for 6 to 7 minutes; dough will be just set and only lightly browned on the bottom. Remove crusts to a wire rack to cool. Continue with remaining pizza dough (it works best when you use use several baking sheets). You can use crusts immediately or place them in freezer bags and freeze for up to 1 month. If making a day ahead, place crusts in resealable plastic bags and refrigerate. 6. BAKE AGAIN. When ready to serve, preheat oven to 475°F. Spread each crust with pizza sauce. Top with desired toppings to make Halloween designs. At this point in the dinner or party, each guest should decorate his or her pizza. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 6 to 8 minutes, until cheese is melted and lightly browned and bottom of crust is browned. Alternatively, you can bring baked, undecorated pizzas to the table ready to decorate and eat. The pizzas may will cool during the design process, but that’s what microwaves are for. *If you don’t have a thermometer, water should feel very warm to the touch.
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