Our next menu and decorating theme was inspired by the Queen of all things Halloween, Miranda at Spooky Litttle Halloween. Miranda is the resident expert in Halloween food, fashion, movies, music, decorating and she posts these awesome ideas on her website and social media 365 days a year. She also publishes Halloween magazines to celebrate Val-o-ween, Spring-o-ween, Summer-o-ween and of course the full size Halloween issue that is filled with tons fun Halloween inspiration. This is a must have magazine every season so visit her website and subscribe to get info on where you can get past copies and stay informed on when the next issue drops. Confession time…I was big-time fangirling and beyond excited when Miranda wanted to feature some of my recipes in her upcoming Halloween issue that I created a mini theme inspired by her amazing publications. If you’ve seen her magazines, she uses a lot of classic Halloween imagery for her covers and in the styling of her pages so I used that as my inspiration to create this fun Candy Corn inspired menu, starting with our main course Candy Corn Pizza, for when you just want to stay in on Halloween and watch movies and still be festive with an easy Halloween inspired recipe! Enjoy!
Candy Corn Pizza
Ingredients
Candy Corn Pizza Dough (Or substitute with ready made pizza dough)
- 1 tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp. honey
- ½ cup warm water
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 cup bread flour (5.5 oz)
- ½ tsp. sea salt
Caramelized Onions
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced
- 2 tbsp. butter
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Roasted Sweet Potatoes (Or substitute with pepperoni)
- 1 small sweet potato, peeled and sliced into rounds
- 1-2 tbsp. vegetable oil
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
Whipped Ricotta and Gorgonzola
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup gorgonzola crumbles
- 1 tsp. salt
Garlic Butter Herb Sauce
- 3 tbsp. butter
- 4 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
Other Toppings
- 2 ears corn, cut off the cob
- 1½ cup mozzarella cheese, grated
- fresh basil, red pepper flakes, and gorgonzola cheese crumbles (garnishes)
Instructions
Pizza Dough
- Dissolve honey in warm water, stir in yeast until it dissolves and let rest until foamy about 3-5 minutes. Add olive oil.
- Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and add yeast mixture and stir with a fork until a the dough comes together and can't be mixed with the fork. Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and knead until a smooth ball forms. Return the dough to a well oiled bowl and cover and allow to rise until doubled. (~1 hour) While dough rises prepare pizza toppings, see below.
Caramelized Onions
- Melt butter in a skillet and add onions. Over medium high heat, cook onions until soft and caramelized, about 15-20 minutes. Set aside.
Roast Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and slice sweet potato into ¼-inch rounds and toss with 1-2 tbsp. vegetable oil, ½ tsp. smoked paprika and ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper, and ½ tsp. salt. Transfer potatoes to a parchment lined cookie sheet in a single layer and roast for about 15 minutes or until soft. Set aside.
- Turn up oven to 500 degrees and place a pizza stone on the lowest rack of the oven.
Whipped Ricotta Cheese
- Place ricotta and gorgonzola cheese and salt into a mini food processor and blend until smooth. Add salt and more gorgonzola cheese if desired and set aside.
Garlic Pizza Sauce
- Melt butter in a small saucepan and add garlic and heat until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
Assembly
- Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and form into a pizza round. Place it on parchment paper, cover with a towel as you finish up toppings.
- Brush dough with garlic butter sauce and add caramelized onions. Spoon the whipped ricotta and gorgonzola cheese mixture over the onions and smooth over with a rubber spatula. Top with mozzarella cheese. Place the roasted sweet potato rounds in a ring in the middle of the pizza and then add corn to the outer ring of the pizza.
- Slide the parchment paper with pizza onto the hot pizza stone and bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Top with basil, red pepper flakes and more gorgonzola cheese if desired. Enjoy!
