Pizza Pumpkins
The star of your Halloween party this year? Stuffed pizza pumpkins, of course! Read on for our easy, step-by-step tutorial.
STEP 1: GATHER YOUR AUTUMNAL INGREDIENTS
This recipe revolves around a dream team of pumpkin puree, Italian sausage and three different cheeses, but the unsung hero of the story? Lots and lots of kitchen twine.
STEP 2: SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF CHEESE
Abracadabra… alfredo! Grated parmesan, creamy ricotta and shredded mozzarella lend salty, gooey decadence to this deeply cozy filling that’s warmed through in a skillet.
STEP 3: GET TO THE CRUST OF THE MATTER
Cut 4-inch circles from your favorite pizza dough, or save yourself time by searching for canned mini pizza crusts in the refrigerated aisle.
STEP 4: STUFF WITH CAUTION
Resist the urge to overstuff the pizza crusts, as too much filling can cause the pumpkins to burst open while baking.
STEP 5: LOOK TO THE STARS
Coating kitchen twine in oil before tying the pumpkins is essential for easy removal after baking, and arranging the twine in a star shape makes the process much simpler.
STEP 6: GIVE ‘EM PUMPKIN TO TALK ABOUT
No need to pull the twine tightly when tying the knots — keep it loose! The pizza dough expands a great deal while baking and will naturally create dimples around the twine without any added tension.
STEP 7: TIME TO DO OR DYE
Give the gourds a golden-brown glow-up with the help of an egg wash tinted with orange gel food coloring.
STEP 8: CALLING ALL PIZZA AFICIONA-DOUGHS
Off to the oven they go! Once baked, these doughy beauties require a few minutes of rest before the kitchen twine can be gently peeled off.
STEP 9: HELLO, GOURD-GEOUS
All that’s left to do? Place long stems of parsley in the top of each pizza to resemble curly, creeping pumpkin vines — and prepare for lots of oohs and aahs.