I was flipping through some old online photo albums and remembered that I haven’t shared this tasty recipe with you yet. I discovered it quite a while ago on the cooking blog Alice and the Mock Turtle. I’ve made these several different ways, and although this next pic with the fresh mozzarella looks quite pretty…

I found that the shredded mozzarella works better because it doesn’t all ooze out of the dough like the fresh does. So how do you make these? Well, here’s what you need:

Ingredients:

Ball of dough (I use one package of the Trader Joe’s dough)

Shredded mozarella cheese

Pizza sauce (optional -  I actually like them better without the sauce.)

Fresh basil

Grated parmesan cheese (for sprinkling on top)

Garlic powder

Butter

What to do (modified from Alice and the Mock turtle recipe):

1. If you are using pre-made pizza dough, let sit at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease two pie plates.
2. Slice mozzarella log into 24 pieces (or not, if you’re using shredded). Set to the side.
3. Dust work surface with flour. Roll pizza dough into a 9×12 rectangle (don’t try to get an exact rectangle, just something that looks like one). Cut the pizza dough into 12 squarish shapes. I recommend using a pizza cutter. Cut the shorter size into 3 strips and the longer side into four.
4. Place cheese and whatever fillings you’re using onto each square. Fold dough corners into middle, like an envelope. Where the corners meet will become the bottom of the blob. Turn over and pinch together any open ends.
5. Place twelve blobs in each prepared pie plate. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with Parmesan and garlic. (Don’t skip this. It’s what makes the dish!)

And here they are — (this pan has all the fresh mozzarella on top that escaped from inside the balls):

That’s it! Eat them hot. You can really put whatever you want in these guys. My kids love them with cheese only, of course.