Mini Cheeseburger Pizzas

Who knew that pickles on a pizza would rise to be my seventh greatest love in life.

You don’t want me to go into the first six. I’m sure you have an actual life to lead.

Cheeseburger PIZZAS, y’alls. These pups have been on my to-make list since Watergate. However – I went back and forth and back and forth on exactly HOW to make them. I wanted to morph the two magical creatures, not just plop a cheeseburger on top of a pizza.

So!

This is what I did. And this is what you’ll do.

Wait, should we hold hands? No? Oh.

First of all, the dough. I hardly ever make my own pizza dough from scratch (<–slacker mcgee), but after a quick, “help me in my pizza dough lackluster life!” text to my Colorado bestie, she came to the rescue with her go-to dough recipe. I’ve since made it twice since that text, and yerp – it’s a keeper.

The first time I used all-purpose flour, unlike her recipe calls for, and it was just fine! The SECOND time I made it – for this recipe, I used bread flour, and it was great. I don’t exactly know the difference between the two, other than bread flour is more designed for yeast baking. Which pizza has in it. So yay! We got learnded.

Something else: I used regular jarred pizza sauce for these pizzas. NOT ketchup and mustard, like other recipes call for. I think that sounds like a mouth’s worst nightmare. This way, the pizza sauce carries the pizza vibes more throughout the pizza!

pizzapizzapizza.

But!

Here’s where it gets ultra burgery and delicious. Three things:

• The beef. It NEEDED to taste like a burger, and not just ground beef. So I used a trick I saw Amanda use once, and that’s to sear the mound of raw burger before breaking it up with a spoon. Know what I mean, Vern? You place the loaf (sorry) of meat in the pan, let it sit for 2 straight minutes. Flip the slab (sorry again) and let it sear another minute. Theeeeen break it up with the wooden spoon. That seary-ness is burger flavor, man! PLUS, the addition of garlic powder and Worcestershire. Brings it all togetha. Like birds of a fea- never mind.

• The CHEESE. I grated a block of cheddar cheese, not mozzarella! Go with cheddar. This is a decision that shan’t be bungled with.
• Pickles. You’re like, “Sista, NO.” But truuuuuust me. Quarter up some hamburger pickle slices and scatter them on the pizza. You don’t even have to watch yourself do it, just GO IN THERE AND DO IT. Your tongue will be pleasantly surprised. Giddy even. Rejoice-y. I’m putting pickles on everything from now on. I have spoken.

And there you have it! I made them mini so that we could each have one, but I ended up eating 3/4ths of the grems’ servings like a troll. O…oops.

The dough is perfect for these. Not too thick, yet fluffy enough to hold up all that burgery happiness. You could even roll the dough out thinner if you want! I just sort of pressed it out with my fingers to get an 8ish-inch rustic circle. Felt right for my life.

You have to tryyyyy theseaaaaa! The flavors are totally nostalgic, yet foreign at the same time. I have no idea how that works. But it does.

Best decision of your week. ^^^

Mini Cheeseburger Pizzas

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Ingredients

• for the dough:
• 2 1/4th tsp instant yeast
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1 1/4th cup warm water
• 3 cups bread flour (about 14 oz)
• 1 tsp salt
• for the toppings:
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 Tbs. worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 large red onion, thinly sliced
• 8 oz block cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup quartered pickle slices (more if you want!)
• 1 cup favorite pizza sauce

Instructions

1. Pour the yeast and sugar over the water (in a small bowl) and let it sit for 10 minutes, until it's good and foamy. I dissolve my yeast into the water, but some people just let it sit on top. Whatever you're used to doing is fine!
2. In that 10 minutes, combine the bread flour and salt in a large bowl and stir to combine. Pour the yeast mixture over the flour and stir until a tacky dough is formed. Transfer the dough onto a floured work surface and knead 4 or 5 times. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover and let rise for three hours. Punch it down, reform the ball and let it rise another two hours.
3. Then divide the dough into four equal balls and cover with a clean kitchen towel while you prep the toppings.
4. Preheat oven to 400.
5. Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Add the beef and let it sit for two minutes, searing on the bottom. Flip and sear another minute. Now break it up with a spoon, seasoning with the garlic powder, worcestershire sauce, a good pinch of salt and pepper. Taste and adjust with seasonings.
6. Roll the dough balls out with your fingers until you get a rough 8-inch circle. I used my fingers to press out the dough, but a rolling pin is fine, too! Evenly spread the pizza sauce over each crust, followed by a sprinkling of cheese, the ground beef, a scattering of onion slices, more cheese, and the pickles. Just go crazy.
7. Slide onto a large (preheated) pizza stone and bake the pizzas for about 25 minutes, until the cheese is browned and bubbly, and the dough is cooked through.
8. Serve with little bowls of ketchup, mustard and ranch dressing as dipping sauces!
9. EAT ALL OF THEM RIGHT NOW.

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https://bevcooks.com/2016/05/mini-cheeseburger-pizzas/

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