Pizza Tree on a Stick – Christmas toddler fun food

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Pizza is one of the most loved kids food, all together with everything that can be enjoyed on a stick. So…why not combining the two together?

This is a super easy and quick fun recipe to prepare for the holidays…and also later as we can enjoy trees all year around 🙂

You will need only 5 ingredients:

• a pizza dough. Store bought or made from scratch. You decide! If you opt for the homemade pizza dough, click here for my easy recipe.
• 3 Tbsp tomato paste. The thicker, the better
• 1 cup mozzarella. I grated a mozzarella log in shreds.
• 3/4 tablespoons of olive oil.
• 8 bamboo or wooden skewers.

The procedure is like an art craft project 🙂

Soak the skewers in a bowl of water. This easy trick will prevent them from getting too dark or even burning in the oven.

Grease a flat surface with 2 tbsp olive oil. Spread the pizza dough on top and either using your hands or a rolling pin, shape the pizza dough into a big rectangle.

Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise.

Spread the tomato sauce on top of one half of the pizza dough. Sprinkle the mozzarella on top.

Gently place the second half of the pizza dough on top of the first one. Press on top and the sides to seal it like a sandwich.

Make 4 long cuts creating 5 long strips.

Prepare two baking sheets lined with a foil of parchment paper. Gently fold the pizza strip on itself in a zig-zag movement. Create a short fold, then a long one, followed by a medium and a short at the end.

Take a skewer and insert it in the center of the folded pizza. You will have a tree shape now. If for any reason the tree shape is not clear, no worries. Place the pizza stick on the parchment paper and using your fingers correct and shape it like a tree or simply like a triangle.

Keep folding, shaping and poking up until using all the pizza dough. You should be able to create 10 trees total.

Bake the pizza trees in the oven to 400F for 18/20 min up until the dough will get a nice golden color.

HOW TO STORE PIZZA LEFTOVERS.

Any pizza leftover can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3/4 days in an airtight container and simply reheated in the toaster for 1/2 minutes.

WHAT OTHER FILLINGS CAN I USE?

I opted for a traditional mozzarella and cheese filling but you can really play with flavors. The important thing is to choose not too watery ingredients. The spread should be thick and compact. Here some ideas:

• fresh baby spinach and cream cheese or ricotta cheese for a green version.
• ham and cheese (mozzarella, fontina, cheddar) for a meat version.
• fresh herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary, marjoram) and garlic, minced for an aromatic version.
• grated parmesan or pecorino and mozzarella for a super cheesy version.
• sliced turkey and cheese for another meat version.
• pepperoni salami and tomato paste for a New York pizza version.
• smoked salmon and cream cheese for a fishy version.
• olive tapenade for a French version.

WHAT ABOUT A SWEET VARIATION?

• hazelnut spread
• hazelnut spread and crushed nuts for more texture
• hazelnut spread and berries
• fruit jam spread and fresh fruit cut in tiny pieces
• nut butter and mini chocolate chips
• sugar and cinnamon
• chia fruit jam
• minced raisins and a mix of butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest.

Let me know if you come out with a different filling, I love to try new variations!!