Honey Jalepeño Pizza

Name: Honey Jalepeño Pizza
Yield: 4 (people)
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: Pizza dough (store bought or homemade) we used this recipe https://www.sugardishme.com/10-minute-pizza-dough/; Pizza sauce, as much or as little as you like (we made our own, but you can buy some pre-made in a jar too!); 1 cup torn mozzarella cheese; 1 1/4 cup shredded Italian cheese blend; 1 jalapeño, sliced and de-seeded (leave seeds in for extra heat); Pepperoni slices, as much or as little as you like; 1 small handful of fresh basil leaves; Sriracha, for drizzling; Honey, for drizzling

Meals with the Massaros @cook_19007812

Pizza, or as the Italians would say, “pizza.” Yes, I (Gianni) actually put that into Google Translate just to make sure that pizza in Italian wasn’t spelled differently. Pizza has come a long way from it’s humble origins in the bustling city of Naples to become a dish in the United States that is almost as American as apple pie. It’s no secret that we as Americans love pizza.

Cara and I definitely love it. We have this weird thing that we do where we will replace songs lyrics with descriptions of eating pizza. Almost always involving anchovies even though neither of us has actually tried anchovies on pizza. But I digress…

Pizza is comforting, it’s fun, easy to get creative with and it brings people together!

Cara and I have often discussed the fact that there is really no “bad” pizza. Sure, there’s levels to it, but even a “bad” pizza isn’t that bad. It’s perfect for anyone just starting out in the kitchen because it can be done super simply (store bought crust, pizza sauce in a jar, packaged shredded cheese, done). Or it can be done super gourmet with a homemade crust, all-day-simmered marinara sauce, freshly shredded mozzarella and deli sliced pepperoni, garnished with fresh basil.

This pizza recipe falls somewhere in between, so feel free to take shortcuts or step it up depending on your level of expertise in the kitchen. So wash your hands (or don’t, I don’t care) and let’s jump in!

Pizza is comforting, it’s fun, easy to get creative with and it brings people together!

Meals with the Massaros @cook_19007812

Pizza is comforting, it’s fun, easy to get creative with and it brings people together!

Saved

Ingredients

4 (people)

Pizza dough (store bought or homemade) we used this recipe https://www.sugardishme.com/10-minute-pizza-dough/
Pizza sauce, as much or as little as you like (we made our own, but you can buy some pre-made in a jar too!)
1 cuptorn mozzarella cheese
1 1/4 cupshredded Italian cheese blend
1jalapeño, sliced and de-seeded (leave seeds in for extra heat)
Pepperoni slices, as much or as little as you like
1small handful of fresh basil leaves
Sriracha, for drizzling
Honey, for drizzling

Saved

Steps

1

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F.
2

Start out by making your pizza dough by following the linked recipe to a T. If you are buying pre-made dough, skip this step! (NOTE: we recommend Trader Joes “ready to bake garlic and herb pizza dough” if you live near a Trader Joes! Any kind of pizza dough is just fine though.)
3

While your dough is rising for 10 minutes, pull off chunks of mozzarella from your mozzarella ball until you get about 1 cup’s worth and place them in a bowl.
4

Next, wash your jalapeño, pat it dry with paper towel and place it on a cutting board. Cut your jalapeño into slices and then de-seed them, using a toothpick to poke out the seeds.
5

Remove your fresh basil leaves from the stem and set them aside. Wash and pat them dry if you feel like being sanitary!
6

Don’t forget to get out your pepperoni and shredded cheese as well!
7

After 10-ish minutes have passed, sprinkle some flour down on a clean surface and place your dough ball on the counter. Grab a rolling pin and roll out that dough! (NOTE: We rolled ours out to be about ~1/8-1/4″ thin… so pretty thin. We found that this was the perfect thickness after it was done. It will rise quite a bit, so don’t make it too thick!)
8

Place your dough on a greased pizza stone or cast iron pizza pan. (NOTE: If you don’t have a pizza stone or pan, use the back side of a sheet pan! Don’t forget to spray it with non-stick spray. If you need to shape your pizza to be a little more square, go for it!)
9

Next, season your crust! (NOTE: We recommend basting it with melted butter or olive oil mixed with garlic powder and Italian seasoning. If you’re using freshly-pressed garlic cloves, don’t overdo it because it has a strong flavor!)
10

Now start spooning your pizza sauce onto the dough and spread it around. Add as much or as little as you like.
11

Then add your shredded Italian cheese blend, evenly distributing
12

Add the pepperoni next. Again, add as much or as little as you like. Then add the jalapeño slices, then the mozzarella chunks and then finally the basil leaves.
13

Place your pizza in the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes.
14

After 10 minutes, Take your pizza out and see if it’s cooked to your liking. We ended up putting ours back in for 2 more minutes!
15

When you’re happy with your pizza’s done-ness, finish it off with a drizzle of Sriracha across the top, followed by a drizzle of honey.
16

Enjoy!! 🙂