Happy New Year Everyone ~ I know 2016 is going to be a fabulous year because I like the number 16 and The Husband was born on the 16th! We also finished 2015 with some pretty fantastic eats. When we decided our New Year’s Eve eats were going to be appetizers and snacks, I knew exactly what I was making ~ Deluxe Pizza Puffs, these Cooking Light Cheesy Sausage Roll Ups (The Husband’s Choice – served with BBQ sauce), a fruit tray and a veggie tray.
Last, but, not least, we will be finishing up the night with Homemade Banana Sundaes: Zero SmartPoints Ice Cream topped with Homemade Hot Fudge, Whipped Cream, a few brownie bite pieces and sprinkles.
I love that all of this fits so perfectly into the new Weight Watchers Smart Points program. 6 Pizza Puffs for 7 smart points, 2 Cheesy Sausage Roll ups for 2 smart points, fruit and veggies are free (count any dressing or dips)….all leaving enough room for my 6 smart point banana brownie sundaes!
I hope you all have a fabulous New Year’s Eve Celebration and I’ll chat with you next year….until then, enjoy this post from the archives.
I LOVE pizza any way you top it and any way you make. It can be the real deal, on a pita, naan bread, on top of polenta and even as a casserole. Pizza in my book is just Flat Out Amazing! There is just something about the flavor combination of doughy breads, cheese, tangy sauce, crunchy toppings and crispy turkey pepperoni that tastes like BACON!
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Tracey of TJ’s Test Kitchen saw this pizza puff recipe on Pinterest awhile back and said we totally NEED to make a Weight Watcher Points+ Friendly Version.
Ummm, Little cheesy, doughy, fully loaded bites of pizza….sign me up!
The recipe originally comes from Rachel Ray. We have lightened up the recipe by using low-fat dairy and adding in a ton of FUN 0-1 points+ toppings for color, crunch and texture.
I am pretty sure you all might LOVE us after you try them…1 points+ pizza, need I say more?!
DELUXE PIZZA PUFFS (print it!)
INGREDIENTS
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- Dashes of sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup 2 % milk
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup reserved for topping
- 1/2 cup shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
ALL OF YOUR FAVORITE LOW POINTS+ TOPPINGS:
- 9 slices turkey pepperoni, chopped (1 points+)
- Sun dried tomatoes, chopped
- Pickled sweet cherry peppers, chopped
- Pineapple tidbits
- Olive Slices
- Any veggies ~ cherry tomatoes, peppers, onions, mushrooms
- Pizza Sauce for dipping
The possibilities are endless!
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, sea salt, pepper and red pepper flakes; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella and Parmesan, let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Mix and match your favorite toppings making sure to press them into the dough.
3. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.
Makes 4 servings, 6 Pizza Puffs, 5 points+ each, 7 smartpoints
Nutritional Information Per 6 pizza puff serving
STEP-BY-STEP
Whisk together your batter, then, stir in your cheeses. You need the full fat mozzarella to keep the puffs moist.
Two types of cheeses = tons of ooeey, gooey cheese on top and throughout.
Season with a sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper, then, let stand while you prep your toppings.
We decided to combine our pantries and pulled out everything that sounded good on pizza.
Chopped into bite size pieces for easy topping.
Spray your mini muffin tin with nonstick spray. Then, use a teaspoon to divide the dough into 24 mini muffin tins evenly.
It is more fun when you make these with people you think are super cool and have fun at it.
Add your toppings….Have fun with it. We mixed and matched all our 0-1 points+ ingredients to make a variety of pizza puff flavors. Top them off with the reserved cheese so it “melts” all over the top.
Turkey Pepperoni + Pineapple = the BEST combination ever!
Turkey Pepperoni + an Olive Slice + Sun Dried Tomatoes
Pickled Cherry Peppers + an Olive Slice
Sun Dried Tomatoes + Fresh Tomatoes
Bake at 375 for 25 minutes, until golden and puffy.
Resist eating them straight from the pan and put them on a place to serve.
Did I mention you get TWO of these for only 1 points+?!
Serve with warm pizza sauce as an appetizer or with a big crunchy salad for a complete meal.
Q’s
What are you going to put on the Pizza Puffs you make?
Happy Friday Eve all!
I cannot WAIT to make these!!! They look amazing!!!
Wow these are perfect for so many occasions … I want to make them soon as possible 🙂 Fun!
I have everything in the house except ww flour. Will using white flour change the nutritionals? These look wonderful!
These look awesome! My girls’ favorite pizza is pepperoni with pineapple. Do you think these could be made in a regular muffin pan too? I’ve only got one 12 cup mini muffin tin but think these NEED to be made for dinner tonight. ? ?
Shannon, did you try these with the 12-cup tin?
Hi Alissa,
Yes, you can absolutely use white flour..it doesn’t change the stats/points+. Can’t wait to hear what u think.
Danica
Hi Shannon,
I think you could definitely use a regular muffin pan. Maybe check them after 15 minutes and keep watching to see when they get golden/puffy. I imagine the would take a little longer or about the same time to cook.
It will change the points+ value but not by much.
Danica
These look yummy. But I wanted to tell you that I made your mini-meatloaf last night and it was really good. Fixing a regular meatloaf for just my husband and myself is too much, but putting the meat loaf in quarters just seems more practical, and I have lunch for two days – my husband isn’t crazy about leftovers (grrrr).
These look delicous!! Definately on my *must try* list!!
They sound and look great! What a fun party food!
I’d like to make them, but I’m confused by the stats????
You say that it’s 1+point for 2 puffs, but you also say that it’s 5+points for 6? I would think that if they are 1+point for 2 then 6 would be 3+points. And is one of these stats including the pizza sauce?
Hi Denise,
Sometimes when you have more than one serving the points+ values on things increase. For example, a 1/2 cup of edmamae in the shell is only 1 points+ but if you have 1 cup it becomes 3 points+. I think it has to due with the way the calories work when you have multiple servings. I know some people who say well I had 3 servings at different times so I am only counting the points+ for each single servng.
I usually play around with the ervings to maximize my serving/points+ value. You can actually have 10 of these for 7 points+. Sometimes multiple servings work in your favor that way.
Does that make sense?
Thanks for asking,
Danica
These are a really neat idea! However, for me the point of pizza is the thing crust crunch of the crust! These seem to…doughy? Any thoughts on that? Did the turn out crunchy?
I checked in from my vacation and saw these. I can’t wait to try them when I get home. They look deeelicious!
What a coincidence, I made the Pizza Puffs tonight to go along with the Italian PIe I made for dinner! I added a bit of sauteed onions and green peppers left over from my Italian Pie, and a few chopped jalepenos. My family has already gobbled them all up!
These were so yummy I had to skip over the pictures real fast so I wouldn’t drool. Lol 🙂 thanks for cooking them up with me! I had fun! 🙂
I made the pizza puffs tonight for my family and they were a huge hit!! I used white flour and they came out perfect! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe..I look forward to reading your blog each day!
Hi Robyn,
You know – they are doughy with a slightly crisp bottom. I am not sure how to make them crunchy since this recipe really is about the doughy crust. Maybe you could re-create using tortillas or crescent rolls then adding your favorite toppings? Just a thought on how to keep it thinner/crisper.
Danica
you could try wrapping the filling inside a wonton wrapper. Spray them w/ cooking spray and bake until golden 🙂
I really need this! I’ve been craving pizza for days, but couldn’t bring myself to heat the pizza stone forever in a really hot oven…that’s the winter two-fer (heat the great room AND eat pizza!)
These look amazing! I want to try the pineapple + turkey pepperoni combo. Lucky for me I have 2 mini muffin trays. I have a feeling my kids are going to eat these up as fast as I can make them.
Love your blog Danica! It always brings a smile to my face each day. 🙂
I am an absolute lover of pizza; just about any way you can make it. Thin crust, thick crust, red sauce, white sauce, meat, vegiatrian……okay i am rambling; lol. I am so going to make these with the pineapple and Trader Joes’s turkey bacon. Can you say YUMMY!!
Gail H., I did and as I recall we thought they were a little too heavy in the full size muffin tin. That might have been my error in using too much dough & not enough topping per muffin though. Did you try them?
Made these for dinner tonight and they were AWESOME. Definitely looking forward to having them again and playing around with different topping combinations!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!