Ok – I’ve found a new favorite ingredient at the store. They’ve probably existed for years, and I somehow missed them. But hey — they’re new to me. :) I’m talking about….
Mini-pepperonis!!!!
Have you seen these?! Oh my goodness — they’re too cute for words. I actually forgot to take a picture before I tossed them in this recipe, but they’re just a tiny about 1-cm wide version of regular pepperonis. Granted, you can of course achieve the same taste and effect by just dicing regular ones, but these are so cute and fun. So of course, I had to bring some home!
To put them to use, I decided to try out a recipe I’ve had bookmarked for awhile. Talk about too cute for words — these little pepperoni puffs were a fabulous success!!! Super simple. Super quick. And super delicious. Perfect for an appetizer, an after-school snack, or just a fun alternative to pizza!!
So give them a try — either with diced regular pepperonis, or with my fun new favorites — and enjoy!! I’ve also included some other fun ingredient substitutions for your other favorite pizza toppings below.
Pepperoni Pizza Puffs
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup flour
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 3/4 cup milk (I used 2%)
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
- 4 oz. pepperoni, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce (homemade or store-bought)
- 2 Tbsp. fresh basil, finely diced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and oregano; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.
- Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Warm the pizza sauce, then stir in 1 tablespoon basil. Sprinkle the puffs with the remaining 1 tablespoon basil. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Ali’s Tip:
These would of course be fun with tons of other ingredients! Some possible ideas that come to mind (all of these diced pretty small!) might be:
- “Hawaiian” – canadian bacon and diced pineapple
- sausage
- green or red peppers
- olives
- onion
- etc….
these would be all gone within the night, if I made these
I am overwhelmed by how adorable these little pizza puffs are. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
can you use regular muffin tins?
I just made these tonight and were a HUGE hit…I have been dying to make them and so glad I did! Definitely have to make these again sometime. So easy! :) Thank you for the recipe!
Very nice. We love everything pizza around our house and this looks like a wonderful alternative to original same ole!
You have described well about this pepperoni pizza puffs recipe. I am gonna try this at home for my kids. Thanks
These are absolutely delicious.
I made these last night for my sons and our friend’s twins and they loved them. We (the adults) did too. So easy and very yummy.
Just made these and they turned out amazing! I put pineapple, onions and peppers in them as well, but with no pepperoni and they are so good! Good for lunches and such, I’ll be making these again. :)
These sound great. I would like to make them for a cocktail party. Has anyone made these ahead? Just wondering if you have any advice on reheating or freezing and cooking. Thanks!