Apple Pizza

Have you ever had a "dessert pizza"? If you haven't, then you are in for a treat. If you have, then you already know how yummy they are. I particularly love apple dessert pizzas. However, the ones from you get from your local pizza joint may or may not be made with ingredients that I wouldn't recommend consuming. So here is a recreation that tastes just as good, if not better, then the ones you get for purchase.

This scrumptious dessert is a bit more time consuming then some other desserts out there, but it is so, so worth it. I could eat an entire pizza myself...if I only had the stomach room : )


Apple Pizza
Dough adapted from 17 and Baking
Apple filling adapted from Food.com
Makes one large pizza

1 batch of dough (recipe follows)
1 batch of apple filling (recipe follows)
1 batch of streusel topping (recipe follows)
1 batch of glaze (recipe follows)

Roll dough out and place on floured cookie sheet or pizza pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until just starting to brown. Remove from oven and spread apple filling evenly over crust. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over apple topping. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Once pizza has been removed from oven, drizzle glaze evenly over the top. Best when served warm. Enjoy!

For the dough:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
1/4 cup warm water (105ºF to 115ºF)
2 tsp. instant dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar, divided (or honey sucanat)
3/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup whole milk or buttermilk, room temperature
2 1/4 cups flour, divided (or 10 oz Soft White wheat flour)

To make the dough: Lightly butter a bowl and set aside. In a stand mixer bowl combine water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, and let stand about 5 minutes, or until foamy.

Add remaining sugar, salt, butter, egg, milk, and 1 1/2 cups of the flour. On low speed, mix until combined. Switch to dough hook, and slowly add remaining flour, with mixer on low, 1/4 cup at a time. Once all the flour is in, increase speed to medium and mix until dough is smooth and slightly tacky, but not too sticky. If the dough is too wet, add 1-2 tablespoons more flour. Continue mixing for 3-4 minutes. Turn off mixer and shape dough into a ball.

Put dough in greased bowl, and turn so that it gets lightly coated in butter. Cover with plastic wrap so that it will not be exposed to much air. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled (I only let mine rise for about 30 minutes). After it has doubled, punch down, and turn out on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a rectangle and place on a floured cookie sheet, or roll into a circle and place on a floured pizza pan.

For the apple filling;

2 cups peeled and finely chopped apples (2-3 apples, depending on the size)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar (or honey sucanat)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Add apples, lemon juice, and sugar to a saucepan. Simmer on medium-low until apples are slightly tender (about 5 minutes). In a bowl, combine spices, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Add to apples and cook an additional 3 minutes (or until apple mixture is slightly thickened). Set aside until ready to spread over top of crust.

For the streusel topping:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, cubed and chilled
1/2 cup flour (or 2.5 oz Soft White wheat flour)
1/2 cup sugar (or honey sucanat)

In a small bowl, mix together flour and sugar. Cut in butter cubes using a pastry cutter, two knives, or your fingers. Work in the butter until mixture is crumbly. Set aside until needed.

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of milk, and the vanilla. Mixture should be thin enough to drizzle. If too thick, add additional milk. (An easy way to drizzle the glaze is from a zip-top bag. Just transfer glaze to baggie, snip off a corner, and you're ready to go!). Enjoy!