Calzone Cupcakes

Take pizza dough, fill it with your favorite pizza toppings, bake it a cupcake tin, and "frost" it with tomato sauce, melted cheese, and a cherry (tomato) and you've got a calzone cupcake! 

Have a peek inside:

And now, the details.

How to Make Calzone Cupcakes

Yield: 12 calzone cupcakes

1.  Prepare your favorite pizza dough.

For the pizza dough, I used a bread machine pizza dough recipe from this month's Taste and Create* partner, Dragon Musings.  Here is the recipe that I used:

• 3/4 C water
• 1 tbsp garlic olive oil (I used regular extra virgin olive oil.)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 C flour
• 1 3/4 tsp yeast

1.  Put all ingredients in a bread machine on the dough cycle according to the instructions for your model. 

2. Prepare your favorite calzone filling.  

Like the pizza dough, I used a calzone filling recipe from my Taste and Create partner. The filling had zucchini, corn, onions, and lime.  I'd never had corn in a calzone before and was somewhat skeptical, but Dragon Musings did not let me down!  The combination was tangy and fresh with a mild kick.  It's one that I'd likely make again and gladly serve to company.  Here's the recipe with some very minor changes:

• 1/2 large zucchini, roughly chopped
• 1/2 large onion, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• juice of 1 lime

1.  Mix everything together.  (Jonathan says that it's silly to have only one step.  But, I love ending lists at one.  It makes things seem easy.)

3.   Prepare the calzone cupcakes.

• Pizza dough (from above)
• Filling (from above)
• 2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 C crumbled feta cheese

1. Preheat oven to 450 F.
2. Roll out the pizza dough about 1/4" thick and line the bottom and sides of the indentations in a cupcake tin.
3. Put a thin layer of shredded mozzarella cheese on top of each piece of dough.
4. Fill the cupcake with the filling.
5. Top with another thin layer of mozzarella cheese and some crumbled feta.
6. Top each cupcake with another piece of pizza dough and press firmly around the edges of the cupcake to seal it (as shown below).  If necessary, use a butter knife to cut off any excess dough.
7.  Bake for 14 minutes.  Don't turn off your oven yet.  You'll need it for the next step.

4. "Frost" the calzone cupcakes.

• Hot unfrosted calzone cupcakes (from above).
• 1 C pasta or pizza sauce
• 12 slices of mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)
• 12 cherry tomatoes

1. Transfer the hot calzone cupcakes to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 
2. Spoon a small amount of sauce on top of each cupcake.
3. Use a cookie cutter or the rim of a glass to cut the mozzarella into circles that cover the top of the cupcake (as shown below) and place the cheese on top of the sauce.
4. If desired, top the cheese circles with a small amount of the shredded cheese.  This makes the top of the cupcake look a bit bumpier - like it has sprinkles. 
5. Put the cookie sheet of cupcakes back into the oven for one minute or until the cheese is just melted.
6. Remove from the oven, top with cherry tomatoes, and serve warm.

*A Note On Taste and Create

Taste and Create is the monthly event where food bloggers are paired up to make each other's recipes.  Any food blogger can join the fun and I highly encourage you to do so.  It's a fantastic opportunity to explore new food blogs.

Dragon Musings and I were partners once before and I was excited to be her partner again! Last time, I made her peaches n' cream.  It ended up going into my peaches n' cream cupcakes which were picked for Wedding 3.0!  If you like my calzone cupcakes, you should definitely check out what shape she made her calzones in (hint: they are so good that they will quickly be extinct).