Mini Caprese Pizza Bite Appetizer...

This is the perfect holiday appetizer to be made ahead of time for your guests. Simply prepare the Mini Caprese Pizza Bites ahead of your event and bake them off when your guest arrive. This makes having house guests enjoyable.

Caprese is the Italian word depicting a simple salad made with mozzarella, tomato and basil. 

A delicious popable appetizer, bet you can't just eat one!

It is as easy as it looks to assemble, give it a try!

 

Mini Caprese Pizza Bites

A great appetizer for party guests

Author: Brenna Bowers

Servings: about 15-20 bite size appetizers

Ingredients:

1 sheet Puff pastry, thawed yet still chilled in the fridge

½ cup pizza sauce/pasta sauce

1 Tbs olive oil

3 leaves fresh basil, torn into pieces

1 small ball fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch chunks

Baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or a Silpat (Tip 1))

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 

2) Thaw the puff pastry sheet on the counter (about 2 hours) and using a rolling pin, roll the puff pastry to be slightly thinner (it should add about 1 inch all the way around the perimeter). With a circular cookie cutter, cut out small circles and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Prick well with a fork (Tip 2)!

3)In a small bowl, combine pizza sauce, olive oil, and torn fresh basil. Spoon a small spoonful of sauce (making sure to leave the edges free of sauce, only saucing the middle of the circles, Tip 3). 

4) Cut mozzarella in chucks and place 2-3 pieces on each pizza circle (do not overdo the toppings for you do not want it to ooze everywhere).

5) Place the prepared Caprese Pizza Bites in the fridge until it is chilled then place it right into the hot oven (Tip 4).

6)Bake at 400 degrees F. for about 7-8 minutes. Serve hot.

To be made AHEAD:

Follow the directions above through step  4. Place them in a single layer into an airtight container and put in the fridge (if baking the day of) or into the freezer (if baking 2-10 days later). Follow the directions above for proper baking directions but if the product is coming from the freezer, bake 2-3  minutes longer.

Tip 1: Silpat is one of my favorite baking tools! If a recipe calls for you to grease your cookie sheet, don't bother doing so! No oil is needed, instead just put down the Silpat and carry on with your baking. Nothing will stick to it! 

Tip 2: Pricking the dough with a fork is an important step! If you do not puncture it well, small pockets of air will form causing it to bubble up during the baking process and cause uneven cooking.

Tip 3: Do not spread the sauce to the ends of the puff pastry. This causes them to look unappealing when they are baked and causes them to ooze and make a mess during the baking process.

Tip 4: Make sure your puff pastry is kept at refrigerator temperature. If it is not, it will not bake properly nor will it “puff” in the oven.