Description
This festive Pull-Apart Christmas Tree Pizza is a fun and delicious twist on traditional pizza, perfect for holiday celebrations. Featuring homemade pizza dough layered with tomato pesto, mozzarella, parmesan, and your favorite toppings, it’s shaped into a charming Christmas tree with savory branches that twist to reveal gooey cheese and delicious fillings. Decorated with cherry tomatoes as ornaments and a dough star on top, this pull-apart pizza is baked to golden perfection in under 10 minutes, making it an impressive and shareable appetizer or main dish for your seasonal gatherings.
Ingredients
Scale
Pizza Dough
- 1 homemade pizza dough (recipe from A Loaves Collection)
Sauce and Seasonings
- Tomato pesto (or other tomato sauce) – about ½ cup
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- Oregano, to taste
- Red pepper flakes, to taste
Cheese
- Mozzarella cheese – 1½ cups shredded
- Parmesan cheese – ½ cup grated
Toppings and Garnishes
- Cherry tomatoes, sliced in half – about 10-12
- Fresh basil leaves – a handful, for garnish
- Olive oil – 2 tablespoons for drizzling
- Any other pizza toppings you like (optional) – e.g., pepperoni, olives
Instructions
- Preheat the Oven: Preheat your oven to 500ºF (260ºC) to ensure a hot bake for a crisp crust.
- Prepare the Dough: After your homemade pizza dough has risen, dump it onto a floured surface. Divide it into two equal parts and shape each gently into a rectangle by hand.
- Roll Out the Dough: Sprinkle a piece of parchment paper with corn flour. Place one rectangle dough on it and roll it out with a rolling pin into a long rectangle about twice as long as it is wide. Repeat with the second dough rectangle, making both roughly the same size.
- Mark the Tree Shape: On the first dough rectangle, gently trace a large triangle without cutting all the way through. This will serve as a guide for where to place your toppings.
- Add Sauce and Toppings: Spread tomato pesto within the triangle area. Sprinkle mozzarella, parmesan, your preferred seasonings (salt, pepper, oregano, red pepper flakes), and any additional toppings evenly over the sauce.
- Layer the Dough: Carefully place the second dough rectangle over the first, covering the toppings completely.
- Cut Out the Tree: Using a sharp knife, cut through both dough sheets along the triangle outline to form your pizza tree. Reserve any dough scraps for decorations or additional small pizzas.
- Create Branches: On each side of the triangle, cut strips to form the branches. Twist each strip away from the center to create a braided effect resembling tree branches.
- Add the Star and Ornaments: Shape a star from the reserved dough scraps and place it at the top point of the pizza tree. Arrange halved cherry tomatoes around the top like ornaments. Drizzle olive oil over the entire pizza and sprinkle fresh basil on top.
- Bake: Transfer the pizza on the parchment paper to a baking sheet or pizza stone. Bake for 5–10 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Cool and Serve: Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before pulling apart and serving. This pizza pairs wonderfully with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.
Notes
- The Pull-Apart Christmas Tree Pizza is perfect as a festive date night dinner or as a fun appetizer for holiday parties.
- Feel free to customize the toppings to suit your taste or dietary preferences.
- Use parchment and corn flour to prevent sticking and ensure easy transfer to the oven.
- Leftover dough scraps can be reused to make mini pizzas or baked into fun shapes like stars.
- Baking at a high temperature creates a crispy crust and melty cheese in a short time.
- Serve with warmed marinara or extra pesto for dipping to enhance flavors.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of pizza (about 150g)
- Calories: 280 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 520 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 32 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 12 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg
