{ Cooking Thursday }

I apologize for there not being any Cooking Thursday lasts week but we were away on vacation, and usually I will leave the post up but between the traveling from one place to the other I honestly forgot about it.  Will you forgive me???

Now here is today's recipe, one that your kids and adults, will love.

Pepperoni Pizza Monkey Bread

Credit:  Confessions of a Foodie Bride

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 2 lbs pizza dough (I used refrigerated biscuits)
• 6 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes (I used  mozzarella sticks)
• 48 slices of Turkey pepperoni (from 1 package)
• 2-3 cups marinara sauce, warmed, for serving

Instructions

1. Heat garlic and butter over medium heat just until the garlic begins to brown. Remove from heat and let sit.
2. Lightly brush the inside of a bundt pan (or other oven-safe dish) with garlic butter.
3. Pull off large marble-sized balls of dough and flatten (a kitchen scale makes this very easy). Top with a slice of pepperoni and a cube of mozzarella.

4. Wrap the dough around the pepperoni and cheese, pinching well to seal.
5. Very lightly brush the pizza ball with garlic butter and place into the bundt pan (I dabbed the pizza balls on a butter-dipped silicon brush to keep butter use low - there will be 1+ Tbsp leftover - and my hands butter free. Buttery hands make it hard to get the pizza balls to seal).
6. Repeat until all of the dough is used.
7. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes, while preheating the oven to 400.
8. Bake for ~35 minutes, until the top is very brown.
9. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes.
10. Turn out onto a platter and serve with warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

Notes

Yields: 48 pieces