Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

I have to admit that at the outset I was a tad skeptical of these. I'm not sure why, but I guess I really didn't expect them to be anything extraordinary. I found this recipe in a Rachael Ray magazine while I was waiting in line at the paint counter at Lowe's and thought my grandkids might like them. What I didn't expect was how much I was going to like them! They go together in no time, and are sort of a cross between a cheesy popover and a pizza in muffin form. Sort of a bite-size eggy, spicy, cheesy popover pizza muffin.

So I served them to a couple of my grandkids (3 and 6) for lunch the other day and they were a hit. Well, sort of. The 3 year-old loved them and ate three. The 6 year-old ate one, and seemed to like the first few bites, but no more. I then remembered that he doesn’t like pepperoni. I used turkey pepperoni, and even these are a little spicy. I quickly regretted the fact that I hadn’t made some with just cheese (the way he likes his pizza).

Then I began to realize that you could really make these with anything that you put on your favorite pizza…pepperoni is just the beginning. Sausage bits, olives, mushrooms, red peppers or just plain cheese. The possibilities are limitless!

They’re fun, they’re good, they’re easy, and if you don't have any kids around, you'll get em all to yourself.

Printable Recipe

Adapted from EverydayRachael Ray

3/4 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup whole milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)

4 ounces pepperoni, cut into small cubes (about 1 cup)*

1/2 cup pizza sauce (or marinara)

2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder; 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.

Microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through, then stir in 1 Tablespoon basil. Sprinkle the puffs with the remaining 1 Tablespoon basil. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

*I used sliced, chopped Turkey pepperoni.

Note: I cooked mine at 375 degrees convection and they were done in 15 minutes. You might want to check on these before the 20-25 minutes.