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A fun family dinner or party appetizer, these easy Pizza Knuckles package all of the delicious flavors of slice of pizza into one easy-to-hold muffin cup! The added bonus? They can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator or freezer until you’re ready to bake them!
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Are you tired of eggnog, gingerbread, and other holiday-themed food posts yet?! While those recipes taste amazing and are seasonally appropriate, they are certainly not the only recipes we have been enjoying recently.
Keith came home from a happy hour with friends up in Northern Virginia a few weeks ago, and he was raving about the appetizer that he ate at one of the restaurants near his office. He loved the taste and concept of Delia’s “Pizza Knuckles”…almost as much as he loved the cheap price and the big portion size!
And since he was going on and on about these bite-size pizzas, I knew that I had to find a way to recreate them here at home. After all, pizza makes an appearance on our dinner menu about once a week, since it’s such a crowd favorite!
I also liked the idea of serving pizza as a finger food for all of our upcoming social gatherings. Whether it’s a New Year’s Eve party, lunch for family and friends who are visiting for the holidays, or festive bites for a Super Bowl party, these Pizza Knuckles will make everyone’s mouths very happy!
If you don’t want to be a slave to your kitchen while you’re entertaining your guests, just make the recipe in advance and keep the Knuckles in the muffin pan until you’re ready to bake them. They can go straight from your freezer (or refrigerator) into your oven right when you need them! Homemade pizza doesn’t get much easier than that!
Ingredients
- 1 ball or roll of pizza dough I use a 13.8 ounce can of refrigerated dough
- ½ cup finely diced pepperoni
- Âľ cup marinara sauce
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese divided
- Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Spray 6 cups of a 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 6 rounds from the dough. Line each prepared muffin cup with one dough round, forming a cup.
- In a medium bowl, stir together pepperoni, marinara sauce, and ½ cup of mozzarella. Spoon mixture evenly into each of the dough cups. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
- Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until dough is cooked through and golden brown and cheese is melted.
Looking for other delicious party appetizers? Try these:
2-Ingredient Pimento Cheese Bites
Caramel Nut & Cranberry Brie Appetizer
Healthy Chicken Taco Meatballs
The little knuckles are so fun and original!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Dan!
These pizza knuckles look so so good! I will definitely be making them for my family. Wishing you a Happy New Year from cold, sunny, southern California!
Thank you! Enjoy, and happy New Year to you too!
Thanks for sharing this fun idea! My family loved it!!! I’m have a blog of our favorite family recipes that I will eventually make into a family recipe book. I will definitely be including this one!
That’s awesome Janessa! Thanks for letting me know!!
Thanks for the recipe! I’ve seen a lot of “bite” size pizza recipes, but this is a great idea to use a muffin tin.
Thanks, Liz! I hope that you get to try them. 🙂
These pizza knuckles are a great option for when my husbands friends come to watch sports events with him. They loved it and couldn’t get enough. Thanks for sharing this useful recipe.