Mini snowman pizzas are an incredibly easy and utterly charming spin on your weekly pizza tradition! Children will go wild for them!
This article is brought to you as part of my collaboration with Fleischmann's® Yeast.
Is everyone finally bouncing back after the holiday rush? I stepped away for a bit, and honestly, it felt wonderful. Wishing all of you a brilliant start to 2018!
New Jersey has been brutally freezing this January, so we've been keeping busy indoors with baking sessions, homemade meals, and plenty of cozy loungewear. Funny thing — the longer I stick around here (I actually grew up in Houston), the more I'm starting to enjoy the chilly season. I used to dread the endless winter months… and by April I'll definitely be counting down to spring, but for now I'm leaning into the frosty vibes. Plus, it gives me a valid reason to keep rocking my comfy pants a bit longer. A little optimistic thinking goes a long way, wouldn't you say?
OKAY…enough chatting, let's head back to the stove! Without a doubt, Friday is hands-down my favorite evening of the week — and yes, for the obvious reasons, but also because it's pizza night! Friday pizza dinners were a staple while I was growing up, and I've kept that ritual alive with my own crew. Today I'm excited to share a wildly entertaining method for enjoying pizza that also pulls the kiddos into the action! Seriously, who could resist a pizza designed to look like a snowman?!
For this project, I relied on the Snowman Pizza recipe from the team at Fleischmann's® Yeast. The base recipe is brilliant, and I tweaked it just a touch by scaling the pizzas down to personal size! Having a pizza all your own — one that you or your little ones can top together — creates a fun, hands-on "Bake It Yourself" experience for the whole family. And let me tell you, homemade pizza dough is way less intimidating than it sounds, particularly when you're working with Fleischmann's® Pizza Crust Yeast.
Both Fleischmann's Rapid Rise™ Yeast and Pizza Crust Yeast work beautifully here, which is a bonus if you still have any packets hanging around from your holiday baking marathons. What makes this recipe so appealing is how fast and fuss-free the dough comes together. You'll have fresh pizza from beginning to end quicker than ordering takeout! As a bonus, you earn serious kitchen cred for crafting your own crust from scratch.
A stand mixer handles the dough beautifully, or a regular mixing bowl with a little manual effort works just as well. A dough hook attachment kneads everything in a snap, but since you only need about 4 minutes of kneading, I skipped the extra cleanup and went the traditional route!
Split your dough into 4 equal sections, then shape each section into a trio of small, medium, and large rounds to assemble the snowman figures!
Crimp the outer edge of each round to build up a slight rim, which keeps the sauce contained. Alfredo sauce worked wonderfully for my version, though classic pizza sauce is a perfectly fine choice!
Naturally, we need cheese too!!
Dress up each snowman with whatever toppings your crew loves best! This is where you can really let your imagination run wild!
Just a short stint in the oven, and you're done!
A finishing dusting of Parmesan on top adds fantastic flavor and doubles as an irresistibly cute "snow" topping.
Have fun making these, and I'd absolutely thrill at seeing your finished creations! Be sure to share your snapshots on social media and tag them with #cookiesandcups
Mini Snowman Pizzas
- Author: Shelly
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 pizzas
Ingredients
- 1-3/4 to 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 envelope Fleischmann's® Pizza Crust Yeast OR Rapid Rise™ Yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2/3 cup very warm water (120 to 130°F)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 cup Alfredo sauce
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- Decorations: Parmesan cheese, sliced black olives, pepperoni, and yellow bell pepper.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl combine one cup of the flour, packet of yeast, sugar, salt, water, and oil. Stir to combine using a wooden spoon. Alternately you can do this step in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add more flour, a little at a time, until the dough is still slightly sticky, but forms a ball.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 4 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. If you are using your mixer, switch out the paddle attachment for the dough hook attachment and knead using the dough hook for 4 minutes on medium speed.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Place one portion on a lightly floured surface, and cover the remaining dough loosely with a clean dish towel. Divide the portioned dough in half. Pat or roll one section of dough into a 4- inch circle and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Take 2/3 of the remaining dough and pat or roll it into a 3- inch circle. Place this slightly overlapping the dough on the baking sheet to create the body of the snowman. Pat or roll the remaining portion of dough into a 2- inch circle and place that slightly overlapping the the second portion of dough to create the snowman head.
- Repeat this process to create 3 more snowmen.
- Pinch the edges of the dough to form small edges to hold the sauce.
- Spread the alfredo sauce onto each piece of dough.
- Decorate the snowmen, using black olives as buttons and eyes, pepperoni for the scarf, and yellow bell pepper cut into long triangles as the nose.
- Bake the pizzas for 15 minutes, or until the crust is lightly golden and the cheese is melted.
- Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve warm.
