Family Pizza Party
January 10, 2011, By Suzanne Chalma Olive Hansen 0 comments
Family pizza parties are a great tradition to start—ours generally coincide with movie and popcorn night with everyone chipping in to get set up. That also means that everyone gets to voice his or her pizza preference—and that's where our trouble starts.
An easy solution? Muffin tin pizzas, personal pizzas that each member of the family builds. It also means everyone gets to be helpful and creative.
Ingredients:
- Refrigerated pizza dough or pizza dough mix
- Pizza sauce
- Toppings such as pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, ham, black olives
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Non-stick spray such as Pam
Tools:
- Muffin tin
- Rolling pin
- Large pan or pizza stone
- Knife or circle sandwich cutter if desired
Getting Started
Spray your muffin tin with non-stick spray, then roll out the pizza dough on a large pan or pizza stone until it reaches the desired thickness. Do not let the dough get too thin or it will be difficult to move to the muffin tins. Refrigerated pizza dough and powdered dough mix work equally well, just follow package directions to let dough rise properly.
Making the Dough
Using a circle sandwich cutter or a sharp knife, cut circles into the dough approximately ½ inch wider in diameter than the top of the muffin tin holes. Transfer each small pizza circle to individual muffin tins and gently press down to the bottom of the pan.
Artful Toppings
Now get the kids get involved and have some fun. Prepare various pizza toppings by cutting them into small chunks so that they don’t overwhelm the little pizzas and place in bowls near the workspace. Let your little artists create their very own masterpieces by spooning sauce into the dough and arranging their toppings as imaginatively as they choose. Children older than 4 or 5 will probably be able to eat more than one muffin tin pizza so let them experiment with different topping and layering techniques on each one. You may want to create a chart to make sure you present the correct pizza to each child and avoid any art thievery.
Finishing Touch
The pizzas will only need to bake for approximately 10 minutes at 400 degrees, depending on the thickness of the crust; plenty of time to start the cleanup before the movie begins.
