Secret Recipe Club: Pizza Balls!

It's time again for SRC! I can't believe this month is almost over and it's time again for reveal day! I was super excited to get Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen this month, and immediately ran over to her blog to browse through her recipe posts and start figuring out just what to make from all the goodies to choose from!! After I browsed a few recipes I went in search of learning more about Bobbi and was amazed to read her story about surviving cancer, and also being a gastric bypass patient (like me)! She is a strong woman and is certainly an inspiration, to say the very least. I was honored to have the opportunity to read about all she's been through.

When I was perusing the recipes, I saw several that jumped out at me (including this one, this one, and this one!!), but eventually I settled on Pizza Balls. Bobbi has a GREAT photo tutorial on how to assemble the balls which was super helpful during the process of putting these together. I didn't change much from her posted recipe, just used the filling ingredients we had on hand and wanted to use (I used 3 slices pepperoni per ball and used a few slices of canned mushroom on about half of the pizza balls along with a small sprinkling of shredded mozzarella cheese.)

This was a fun project that my son was a big helper on - he had his first experience making pizza dough and did a great job! When I got home from work we laid out all the dough discs and filled them with sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and mushrooms. You can fill these with whatever you'd like - they come out delicious, tender, and it's a great twist on pizza! (My husband said it reminded him of a really good Hot Pocket!)

Placed in the greased 9x13 pan, ready to go in the oven!

After about 20 minutes, golden brown and ready to eat!!

Plated up with some heated spaghetti sauce with some Parmesan cheese.

Pizza Balls from Bobbi's Kitchen

Ingredients
1 package of pepperoni slices (3 slices per ball)
4-ounces of shredded mozzarella
1/2-1 cup of spaghetti sauce (as needed, both for inside the pizza balls, and to serve with for dipping)
Garlic pizza dough (see recipe below)

For the top of the pizza balls:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Garlic powder, for sprinkling
Dried basil, for sprinkling

For the Pizza Dough:
1 1/8 cup warm water
3 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

For the Dough:

1. In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, honey and olive oil. Mix with a spoon, then let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add in 2 1/2 cups flour, salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder and dried basil, stirring with a spoon until the dough comes together but it still sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball and work the additional 1/2 cup flour (you don’t need to use all if it is not needed) into the dough, kneading it on a floured surface for a few minutes. Rub the same bowl with olive oil then place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for about 1 1/2 hours. (I use my Kitchen Aid for the dough prep and mixing.)
2. After the dough has risen, punch it down and place it back on the floured surface. Using a rolling pin or your hands, flatten dough, and then cut into small rounds using a flour dipped glass. Place the towel back over the dough and let sit in a warm place for 10 minutes.

 For the pizza balls:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. One dough round at a time, press around the edges to spread it out a bit. Add about a 1/2-1 TBS of sauce to the very middle of the ball. Top with a small clump of mozzarella cheese and desired toppings (just enough to fit in the very middle, don’t extend to the edges of the dough.)
3. Now fold the sides over, one at a time, bring all the edges together over the top of the ingredients to seal them in and make a ball.
4. Pinch the seam together, and place it seam side down in a 9x13 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
5. Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with garlic powder and basil.
6. Bake at 425 for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
7. Serve with warmed pizza sauce on the side for dipping.

ENJOY!!