This recipe describes how to make “Pepperoni Pizza Bombs,” a savory snack or appetizer that consists of individual dough balls stuffed with cheese and pepperoni, baked until golden and cheesy. The image prominently features a close-up of a single, perfectly golden-brown pizza bomb, generously covered in melted, bubbly mozzarella cheese with visible pockets of browned cheese, and several slices of cooked pepperoni peeking out from the sides and top. Other pizza bombs, similarly cheesy and adorned with pepperoni, are blurred in the background, suggesting a batch of these delicious treats. This dish is essentially a deconstructed and bite-sized version of pizza, often made using refrigerated biscuit dough or pizza dough, and is known for being a crowd-pleaser that is easy to prepare, especially for parties or quick meals.
Ingredients:
- 1 (8-ounce / 226g) can refrigerated biscuit dough (e.g., Pillsbury Grands! or similar)
- 4 ounces (about 1 cup) shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 ounces (about ½ cup) mini pepperoni slices (or regular pepperoni, quartered)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley flakes (for garnish, optional)
- Marinara sauce or pizza sauce, for dipping (optional)
Equipment:
- Standard 12-cup muffin tin (or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for larger “bombs”)
- Small bowl (for melted butter mixture)
- Pastry brush (optional)
- Measuring spoons
- Cutting board (if cutting pepperoni)
- Small plates for serving
Instructions:
Part 1: Prepare the Biscuit Dough
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). If using a muffin tin, you may lightly grease it, though many non-stick muffin tins won’t require it.
- Separate Dough: Open the can of refrigerated biscuit dough. Separate each biscuit into individual rounds. If the biscuits are very thick, you can gently flatten them slightly with your hands to make them easier to work with.
Part 2: Assemble the Pizza Bombs
- Stuff Biscuits: Take one biscuit round. Place a small amount of shredded mozzarella cheese and a few mini pepperoni slices in the center of the biscuit.
- Seal Dough: Carefully bring the edges of the biscuit dough up and over the filling, pinching them together tightly to seal the cheese and pepperoni inside. Roll the dough between your palms gently to form a smooth ball, ensuring no fillings are exposed. Exposed filling can cause leaks during baking.
- Repeat: Repeat this process with the remaining biscuit rounds, cheese, and pepperoni until all the pizza bombs are assembled.
- Arrange in Muffin Tin: Place each sealed pizza bomb seam-side down into the wells of your muffin tin, or arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet if you prefer larger, more free-form bombs.
Part 3: Season and Bake
- Prepare Seasoning Butter: In a small bowl, combine the melted unsalted butter, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Stir well to combine.
- Brush Pizza Bombs: Generously brush the tops of each pizza bomb with the seasoned butter mixture. This will help them brown beautifully and add flavor.
- Bake: Place the muffin tin or baking sheet in the preheated oven. Bake for 12-18 minutes, or until the pizza bombs are puffed up, golden brown, and the cheese is melted and bubbly. The exact baking time may vary slightly depending on your oven and the size of your biscuits.
- Garnish (Optional): Once removed from the oven, you can optionally sprinkle the hot pizza bombs with a little dried parsley flakes for extra color.
Part 4: Serve
- Cool Slightly: Let the pizza bombs cool in the muffin tin or on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing them. This allows the cheese to set slightly and makes them easier to handle.
- Serve Warm: Serve the Pepperoni Pizza Bombs warm with marinara sauce or pizza sauce on the side for dipping.
Tips for Success:
- Don’t Overfill: Be careful not to overfill the biscuit dough, as this can make it difficult to seal and may cause cheese to leak out during baking. A moderate amount of filling is best.
- Seal Tightly: Ensure the dough is pinched together very tightly to create a good seal. If the seam isn’t closed properly, cheese and pepperoni might escape.
- Flatten Dough if Needed: If your biscuit dough is particularly thick, gently flattening each piece before filling can make it easier to wrap around the ingredients.
- Cheese Choice: While mozzarella is traditional for its meltiness, you can experiment with other cheeses like provolone or a blend of Italian cheeses.
- Mini Pepperoni: Mini pepperoni works best as it fits inside the bombs easily. If you only have regular-sized pepperoni, quartering or halving them will work.
- Garlic and Italian Seasoning: Don’t skip the garlic powder and Italian seasoning in the butter mixture; they add a significant amount of classic pizza flavor to the outside of the bombs.
- Dip It: Serving with marinara or pizza sauce for dipping elevates the experience and adds moisture.
- Make Ahead: You can assemble the pizza bombs ahead of time and keep them refrigerated for a few hours before baking. This is great for party prep.
- Reheating: Leftover pizza bombs can be reheated in a microwave or a toaster oven until warmed through and the cheese is melty again.
- Variations:
- Supreme: Add finely diced bell peppers, cooked sausage, or mushrooms along with the pepperoni and cheese.
- Cheesy Garlic: Omit the pepperoni and focus on more cheese, garlic, and herbs.
- Sausage & Onion: Use cooked crumbled sausage and finely minced onion as filling.
- Breakfast Bombs: Fill with scrambled egg, cooked crumbled sausage or bacon, and cheese.
- Not a Dessert: This recipe for Pepperoni Pizza Bombs is for a savory dish. It is not a dessert, unlike various cakes such as Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake, Classic Homemade Fruit Cake, Classic Apple Bundt Cake, Fluffy Asian-Style Sponge Cakes (Mamon), Super Soft Vanilla Breakfast Cake, Lemon Meringue Cheesecake, Classic Homemade Strawberry Cake, Healthy Carrot Cake, Chocolate Cake, various Pound Cakes (e.g., Caramel Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Pineapple Pecan Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Orange Blender Cake), Peach Cobbler Pound Cake, Strawberry Yogurt Cake), other Bundt Cakes (e.g., Blueberry Bundt Cake), Cranberry Cake, Pineapple Coconut Dream Cake, Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Cinnamon Apple Crumb Cake, Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes, or No-Bake Cherry Cheesecake Lasagna. It is also not a cookie, a pie (like Maple Cream Pie or the unnamed pie in image_ba1c7c.jpg), a cobbler, a pudding (like Creamy Lemon Pudding, Leche Flan, Strawberry Banana Pudding or Pineapple Dream), ice cream, fudge, or other pastries like Mini Cherry Cheese Danish, Vanilla Custard Puff Pastry Squares, or Fried Apple or Peach Pies. It is also not a condiment like Lemon Curd, a quick bread like Southern-Style Cheddar Cheese Quick Bread, or a loaf of bread that requires kneading or a beverage. Instead, it falls into the category of a savory appetizer or snack, similar in context to other savory dishes such as Sizzling Chinese Pepper Steak with Onions, Longhorn Steakhouse Parmesan Chicken, Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza, Dorito Taco Salad, Hearty Ground Beef Cabbage Soup, Pan-Fried Cod with Lemon Butter Sauce, Crispy Ground Beef Rolls, Fish Cutlets, Old Fashioned Salisbury Steak, Shepherd’s Pie, Braised Oxtail, Garlic Parmesan Fried Lamb Chops, or Mac and Cheese.