Pepperoni Pizza Puffs | cooking ala mel

For New Years this year, we had a bit of a party with my mom’s side of the family. We didn’t get to celebrate Christmas with my cousins, who we do Secret Santa with every year, so we combined New Years and Christmas. I love the appetizer spread that usually comes with New Years, so I perused my bookmarked recipes and decided to make these pepperoni pizza puffs and roasted tomato caprese salad as bruschetta.

I really liked these puffs. I’m a big fan of Panera’s asiago cheese bagels, and they sort of reminded me of them, but with pepperoni added in. They’re nice and cheesy, and there’s just enough pepperoni to make them a bit spicy. My family loves pepperoni rolls, so I knew they would be a hit. I liked them better by themselves, but everyone really enjoyed them served up with some warm marinara.

I would recommend really greasing your mini muffin tin; I had a pretty hard time getting these out cleanly, and I used an older nonstick pan, so some of the nonstick coating was coming off a bit – scary!

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs
(yields about 40 puffs)
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups Italian cheese blend (we used 3/4 cup asiago, 1 1/4 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup romano and 1/4 cup parmesan)
8 oz. pepperoni, chopped into small pieces
2 cups of your favorite marinara or tomato sauce
4 T fresh basil or parsley, chopped, for garnish

Grease a mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray, generously. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, milk, egg, cheese, and pepperoni, stirring until completely mixed. Spoon batter into the prepared mini-muffin cups, completely full to ensure they puff up over the pan. Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh chopped herbs, and serve with warm marinara for dipping.

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