Pizza Knuckles

I found this fun pizza variation to mix up our weekly pizza night and they were most definitely a hit!  These pizza knuckles bring the wonderful taste of pizza into an easy-to-hold muffin cup.  They are inspired by an appetizer served at Delia's, a restaurant in Northern Virginia.  I've never been to Northern Virginia but, thanks to the internet, they've made their way into our kitchen here in Michigan.  I use a jumbo muffin tin to make dinner sized servings, but you can use a regular, or even mini sized muffin tin to turn them into a cute little, fabulous appetizer.  Keep the toppings simple.  If you get too many, they crust will be kind of soggy.  In addition to the pepperoni recipe below, I like to make a tomato basil version.  After putting a spoonful of sauce in the crust, top with a few thinly sliced tomato pieces, fresh basil and a cube of fresh mozzarella.  That's my favorite but most of my kiddos prefer the pepperoni version.  With these Pizza Knuckles, everybody can have their favorite!

Ingredients
Enough pizza dough for two pizzas
24 pepperoni slices
3/4 cup marinara sauce
1 cup colby jack cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions
I always make a batch of my favorite homemade pizza crust but you can use a store bought crust if you want.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Spray 12 cups of a jumbo muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside.  Roll out dough on a floured surface. Using a small bowl that is about 5-inches in diameter, cut a circle of crust from the dough. Cut as many circles as you can after first rolling out the dough then combine the scraps into a ball and roll out again.  Cut as many circles as you can and repeat until all the dough is uses.  You should be able to make 12 circles of dough.  Line each prepared muffin cup with one dough round, forming a cup.  Spread 1 tablespoon marinara sauce into each dough cup.  Sprinkle with a little cheddar cheese, place two pepperoni slices on the cheese then top with more cheddar and parmesan cheese.  Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until dough is cooked through and golden brown and cheese is melted.

Source:  The Seasoned Mom