Jack-o’-Lantern Pizza
A pumpkin you slice into eight. Orange cheese, a pepperoni face, more pepperoni hiding underneath, and olive spiders added after the oven.
- Serves
- 2 to 3
- Makes
- One 12-inch pizza
- Hands-on
- 20 min
- Bake
- 11 to 14 min
- Thaw first
- 3 hrs, or overnight
Ingredients
Dough
Sauce and cheese
The face
After the oven
Method
-
Thaw the dough 3 hrs, or overnight
Keep the dough frozen until you need it. Thaw one ball, covered, on the counter for 3 hours or in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours. Give fridge-thawed dough 30 minutes on the counter before stretching, or it springs back.
-
Heat the oven 450°F (230°C)
Move a rack to the bottom position. Dust a pizza pan, pizza stone or baking sheet with flour or cornmeal.
-
Save a stem
Pinch off a walnut-size piece of dough (about 15 g) and set it aside.
-
Stretch 5 min
With floured hands, gently stretch the ball from underneath into a 12-inch (30 cm) circle, leaving a thicker 1-inch (2.5 cm) border for the crust. Lay it on the pan.
-
Shape the pumpkin 5 min
Pull the left and right sides out a little so the circle ends up wider than it is tall, about 13 by 11 inches. Press a shallow dip into the top and bottom center. Roll the saved piece into a short, thick log, dab the top dip with water, press the stem on and pinch to seal. Lumpy is fine: real pumpkins are lumpy.
-
Cut the face
With kitchen scissors, cut 2 large slices into triangle eyes, 1 into a triangle nose, and 3 into curved pieces with square notches for teeth. Lay them out on a plate like a puzzle. No large slices? Overlap two regular ones for each piece and cut through both.
-
Build it
Spread the sauce, leaving the border bare. Scatter the regular pepperoni over it, then cover with both cheeses, mixed. Set the face on top and press lightly. Curl the pepper strip beside the stem, then brush the border and stem with olive oil.
-
Bake 11 to 14 min
Bake on the bottom rack until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling. Check at 9 minutes: if the stem is browning fast, cover it with a small scrap of foil.
-
Rest, add spiders, slice 2 min
Let it stand for 2 minutes. Halve 3 olives for the bodies and cut the other 3 into thin slivers for legs, 8 per spider. Set the spiders on the cheese, tuck the basil in at the stem, and slice into 8, between the eyes rather than through them.
Why it works
- Orange cheddar. One part cheddar to two parts mozzarella turns the top pumpkin orange and still melts long and stretchy.
- Face on top. Pepperoni laid over the cheese stays visible and crisps at the edges, like a carved face.
- Big, thin slices. Sandwich pepperoni is wide enough for a face you can see across the table, and thin enough to bake flat instead of cupping.
- A stem of its own dough. A small piece saved before stretching bakes golden, like a real stem.
- Bottom rack, hot oven. 450°F on the lowest rack crisps the base before the cheese overbrowns.
- Spiders last. Olives added after baking keep their legs.
Notes
- Two pumpkins. The bag holds two balls: make a pair, or leave one frozen.
- On a stone? Heat it with the oven for 30 minutes, build the pumpkin on parchment, and slide it on.
- No nibbling. Raw dough and flour aren’t ready to eat. Wash your hands and surfaces after handling.
- Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a covered skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Printable card
Two pages, US Letter, with Ottie and the whole recipe. Made for the fridge door.
Download PDF