Jalapeno Popper Pizza

If you love pizza and you love jalapenos, then this Jalapeno Popper Pizza is the perfect pizza for you! Topped with jalapenos, bacon, onions and cheese, it’s an amazing appetizer or dinner!

I first came across Jalapeño Poppers on the Pioneer Woman’s site. Before this point, I really had not ventured into the world of jalapenos. At all. Because they were scary. But I started making those “Bacon-wrapped Jalapeño Thingies” (as Ree Drummond calls them), and I became famous at parties. Everybody loved them. Everybody wanted the recipe.

Then I heard of the idea of making a pizza with all the amazing flavors of a jalapeno popper, and I knew I had to try it. Guess what. It’s just as good as the poppers. In fact, I like it better!

This pizza starts with an amazing crust made from scratch. It’s the perfect pizza dough recipe because it’s really easy and doesn’t take a long time. Plus, it’s great for people with milk or egg allergies (because it is free of both). You can let the dough rise once you make it, or just skip the rising and stick it straight in the oven if you’re in a hurry.

Then all you do is spread some softened cream cheese over the top, sprinkle with cooked bacon,  add some thinly sliced jalapeños, and finish it off with mozzarella cheese. Bake in a 450-degree oven, and you have a pizza everyone will rave about.

There are a couple of tips that will really help you as you prepare this pizza.

1. If you are afraid of thick discs of jalapeños (and thus, lots of spicy heat), use a mandoline slicer to cut your jalapeños. I love this OXO Good Grips Large Adjustable Handheld Mandoline Slicer. You can adjust the thickness of the slices, and it has a window at the bottom so you can see how much you have sliced. This will give you really thin slices which will distribute the heat more evenly on your pizza. If you cut the jalapeños with a knife, be sure to wear gloves. Whether you use gloves or not, be sure not to touch your eyes or your nose, or they will be burning for hours! When I used the mandoline, I took some precautions and put a plastic sandwich bag over my hand. I just gripped the jalapeño through the bag. When most of the jalapeño had been cut and the bag started getting in the way, I just held onto the stem of the jalapeño through the bag. If you’d like to get yourself one of these great mandoline slicers, just click on the picture or the link above to order from Amazon.
2. Use a pizza stone for your pizza. If you don’t have one, you can also use a rectangular pan and roll your dough into a rectangle or square. Just don’t make the bottom too thin.
3. You can keep your pizza stone from moving around on the counter while rolling out the dough if you put a kitchen hand towel under it.
4. Make sure your cream cheese is really soft. It should be the consistency of cream cheese frosting. If it’s not soft enough when you’re ready to use it, just pop it in the microwave for about 10 seconds.
5. Watch your pizza carefully! Don’t just go by the suggested cooking time. The cheese can turn brown very quickly!
6. You can pre-bake your pizza crust for 10 minutes in a 350-degree oven if you wish. This just helps it to firm up a bit, and makes it less-likely that your cheese will get overdone while you are waiting for the crust to finish baking. I have made it both ways, and it does seem to help the pizza dough in the middle get fully cooked.

You can cut this pizza into slices, or if you plan on using it for an appetizer, I suggest cutting it into strips so you get more bang for your buck. No matter how you slice it, it’s delicious.

This recipe was originally posted on Yellow Bliss Road, where I am a contributor.

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Jalapeno Popper Pizza

Author: Melissa Howell

Ingredients

For the Crust

• 1 cup very warm not hot water
• 2 tsp. yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt Coupons
• 3 cups flour
• Extra olive oil for greasing the pizza stone or pan
• Cornmeal for dusting the stone or pan

For the Toppings

• 4 slices cooked bacon crumbled or sliced (I use turkey bacon)
• 2 jalapenos thinly sliced
• 6 oz. cream cheese softened
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese or more according to your preference

Instructions

For the Crust

1. Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water and let proof for 5-10 minutes. It should look frothy.
2. Add the olive oil and the salt.
3. Add 2 cups of the flour and mix well.
4. Add 1/2 cup more of the flour and mix well.
5. Put the other 1/2 cup of flour on a large cutting board and knead into the dough. (You can also make the dough in a stand mixer, making sure to switch to the dough hook after mixing in the first two cups of flour)
6. Cover and let rise in a bowl until doubled, about 45 minutes. If you are in a pinch for time, you can also just roll it out and use it right away.
7. Once dough is risen, punch down.
8. Lightly cover your pizza stone or pan with olive oil and then sprinkle corn flour over it. This will help the dough not to stick.
9. Put all of the dough on the pizza stone and roll to the edges. If you roll it slightly over the edges, you can take the overlapping dough and lift it back onto the pan, making a higher crust edge.
10. If desired, bake the crust for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

For the Toppings

1. Spread your softened cream cheese on your dough, leaving a little space at the edges.
2. Sprinkle with the jalapenos and bacon.
3. Top with the mozzarella cheese.

4. Bake at 450-degrees oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until until crust is golden and cheese is melted and bubbly. Watch pizza carefully. Pay more attention to the appearance of the pizza than to the timer.