Christmas Tree Pizza {featuring the BEST Thin Crust Pizza recipe!}

If you’ve followed my blog (or Instagram account or Facebook page) for any period of time, you know that homemade pizza is one of my favorite things to make. Just look at this and this and this and this and this. I love homemade pizza because it’s easily customized so everyone has toppings they love, AND it’s a ton of fun for everyone to help with the designing / topping of the pizza. This Thin Crust Pizza recipe (which I used here and in all the pictures linked above) is, hands-down, the BEST thin crust pizza recipe. It is deliciously thin + crackery, so easy to prepare, requires zero rising time, + takes less than 10 minutes to bake from start to finish. It’s not surprising that it’s the most popular recipe on this blog!

With Christmas just around the corner, I decided to get a little bit fancy, and spruce up our pizza night with Christmas tree-shaped pizzas. I used some of our usual toppings, but utilized them differently — making sliced green pepper into a garland; olives, pepperoni, tomatoes, and yellow pepper into ornaments; baby spinach leaves into boughs; and even placing a yellow pepper star on top. It turned out SO delicious, and it looked absolutely adorable. It really only took an extra minute or two to shape the dough into a Christmas tree (instead of a circle), and the end result was fabulous. So, if you’re looking for a way to add a little Christmas spirit into your homemade pizza night, add a scrumptious thin crust Christmas tree pizza to your menu!

Christmas Tree Pizza {featuring the BEST Thin Crust Pizza recipe!}

Makes TWO 12″ pizzas, serves 2-3 as an entree/4 as an appetizer, using this Fearless Homemaker recipe

Ingredients

For the Dough:
3/4 cups (6 ounces) of water
1/2 teaspoon of active-dry yeast (if using instant yeast, you don’t need to dissolve it during the first step)
2 cups (10 ounces, by weight) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
optional: 1/2 tsp italian seasoning (or any dried herbs of your choice) – I like to work herbs into the dough, but it’s wonderful without the herbs, too – your choice!

For the Toppings:
Your choice! Here’s what it took to make TWO Christmas Tree pizzas, like the one pictured above:
1/2 cup marinara sauce (1/4 cup per pizza), homemade or store-bought
3 cups of cheese (1.5 cups per pizza) – I used a blend of mozzarella + asiago
1 thinly sliced roma tomato, about 4-5 slices on each pizza
1/2 cup baby spinach leaves, divided between the two pizzas
1 bell pepper, sliced thinly for a “garland” or diced for “ornaments” (and a star for the tree top is cute!)
1/4 cup sliced black olives (1/8 cup per pizza)
1/4 cup mini pepperoni (1/8 cup per pizza)

Directions

Making the Dough:
About 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. If you have a baking stone, put it on a rack in the lower-middle part of the oven before preheating.

In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, heat the water until it feels barely lukewarm when you test it with your finger (if the water is so hot that you can’t leave your finger in it, wait for it to cool down). Add the yeast to the water + use a fork or whisk to stir it into the water. Set this aside for a few minutes + allow the yeast to dissolve. It’s okay if the yeast doesn’t bubble, but it should be entirely dissolved.

Measure out the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt + dried italian seasoning/herbs (if using) + use your hand or a whisk to combine.

Make a well in the center of the flour + pour in the water-yeast mixture. Use your fingers or a wooden spoon to combine everything together.

When it comes together into a cohesive ball, turn it out onto the counter along with any extra flour in the bowl that hasn’t yet gotten worked in.

Knead the dough until all the flour is incorporated + the dough is smooth/elastic to the touch–about five minutes. The dough should still feel moist + just slightly tacky. If it’s sticking to your hands + counter-top like bubble gum, work in more flour one tablespoon at a time until it’s smooth + silky.

Divide the dough in two pieces.

Shaping the dough:
Tear off two pieces of parchment paper roughly 12-inches wide. Work one piece of the dough in your hands + form it into a large disk. Lay the disk of dough on the parchment paper.

Working from the middle of the dough outwards, use the heel of your hand to gently press the dough outward in a roughly-triangular shape until it’s about 1/4 of an inch thick or less. Use a rolling pin to further roll the pizza in a thin, roughly 12″ tall triangle. Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut that large triangle into a Christmas Tree shape. =)

Repeat with the second piece of dough.

Note: The dough will stick to the parchment paper, making it easier for you to roll out. You’ll bake the pizza right on the parchment paper. As it cooks, the dough will release from the parchment, + you can slide the paper out before serving.

Topping + Baking the Dough:
Spoon ONLY the sauce into the center of each pizza + use the back of a spoon to spread it out to the edges.

Using a bread peel or the backside of a baking sheet, slide your pizza (still on the parchment) onto the baking stone in the oven. If you don’t have a baking stone, just bake it right on the baking sheet.

Bake for about 5 minutes, then rotate the pizza 180-degrees (most ovens have ‘hot spots’ + your pizza will bake unevenly if it’s not rotated). Bake for another 3 minutes, then sprinkle the cheese + all other toppings over the top. Bake for another 2-3 minutes until the edges are golden brown and crispy. If you like your cheese browned slightly, broil for a minute or so.

Remove your pizza from oven + let it cool on a wire rack. At this point, you can slide the parchment paper out from under the pizza. Repeat with second pizza.

Let both pizzas cool for about five minutes + serve.

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