Crispy Thin-crust Personal Pizzas

Everybody has days they just want to curl up on their couch in front of old Friends re-runs and finish an entire personal pizza.

While you're at it, why not make this crisp, thin-crust. Full-on-flavor, generous-on-toppings personal pizzas?

They're light and heavenly, and leave room for that tub of Ben and Jerry's as a dessert.

Thin-crust Personal Pizza
Makes: 4 pizzas
Source: Starting Cooking

1/2 cup warm water
1 level tsp active dry yeast
1 level tsp sugar
1 1/2 cup plain white flour (not bread flour!)
1/2 tsp salt

Put 2 tbsp of the water in a small bowl and stir in the yeast and sugar. Leave it in a warm spot for about 15 minutes until mixture becomes frothy on top.

Sift flour and salt into a mixing bowl, make a well in the center and pour the yeast mixture. Add The rest of the warm water and mix until it forms a dough. Make the dough into a ball and knead it for 10 minutes. Cover in a bowl with a damp towel on top for an hour to let it rise.

Heat oven to 425F, after an hour remove dough and knead for five more minutes until smooth. cut into four equal balls and roll each into a thin circle. Place the circles on pizza trays or baking trays lined with cookie sheets.

4 rounded tbsp tomato paste
4 tbsp water
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
Vegetables, sliced. (I used Mushrooms, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers)
Pre-cooked toppings (I used Ham, Roasted Kabocha Squash)
Cheese (optional)

Mix tomato paste with water and seasoning, spread evenly on four pizza bases. Top with raw vegetables of choice and cook for 20 minutes, ten minutes on the top shelf and ten on the middle shelf.

Out of the oven, top with pre-cooked ingredients such as ham, as well as cheese and other garnishing.

Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Balls

My, my mudpie.

If you take my obsession with cinnamon, cookes and raw raw batter, we get these:

No to mention the fact that they are stuffed with those teensy tiny marshmallows that we love to throw into or hot chocolate with reckless abandon.

Of course, giving that i only bought ONE packet of mini marshmallows and was eating about 37 per marshmallow I actually put in the dough balls, I ended up with 7 marshmallow-core-less balls.

Never fear! Cut up Reese's peanut butter cups are here!

Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Bites
Source: Cooking Classy
Makes: 14 balls

3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
A pinch of nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
57g salted butter, softened
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 Tbsp heavy cream
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

14 Mini marshmallows (Or chopped up reeses cups, or peanut butter chips. Whatever takes your fancy)
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip together butter, brown sugar, 1/8 cup granulated sugar and cream of tartar until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla extract. Sieve in flour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and mix until combined.

In a separate small mixing bowl, whisk together 3 Tbsp granulated sugar and 3/4 tsp cinnamon.

Scoop dough out 1 (even) TBSP at a time, then press one marshmallow into the center of scooped dough and roll into a ball. Roll each dough ball into cinnamon sugar mixture. Chill or serve immediately. Store Cookie Dough Bites in refrigerator.

Muah Chee

Have you ever heard about Muah Chee?

When I was thirteen, I was obsessed. I would eat two packets for recess and maybe even bring home a third. It was glutinous rice pieces in a peanut and sugar powder. Honestly, who wouldn't love it?

Nobody.

Just look at it, ooey-gooey chewy rice-flour pieces oozing chunky peanut bits with sugar crystals.

There is a cheat way to make it, and the traditional. I would like to say I did it the traditional way because I don't believe in new-age rubbish (if you consider nuking it in the microwave 'new-age'), but frankly, I steamed it because I don't have a microwave.

Radiation waves, all that. Yada Yada. But the wait was well worth it, I'll prove it to you. Try some.

Traditional Steamed Muah Chee

Serves: 8 portions (Muah Chee can get overwhelming all at once, eight is a good size, trust me.)

Source: Small Small Baker

200g glutinous rice flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon shallot oil
250ml water

75g roasted peanuts, processed into a powder
75g granulated sugar

To make shallot oil, thinly slice 1 small shallot, fry with 1 tablespoons oil till golden brown. Leave to cool.

Mix glutinous rice flour, sugar, salt, shallot oil and water in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine, make sure flour mixture is completed dissolved. Pour the mixture into a deep dish (about 8" in diameter). Steam over medium heat for about 25mins. Test the centre with a toothpick to ensure it is cooked through. Leave to cool.

Mix peanut powder and granulated sugar in a plate. When ready to serve, scoop small pieces of muah chee with a spoon and toss them in the peanut powder mixture cut with a pair of scissors with a lightly greased blade. Serve immediately.

Perfection. Chewy, Nutty, Sugary perfection.

Homemade 'Crunchie Bars'

First, a disclaimer.

My own homemade crunchie bars were a tad sticky, although i must blame this 100% on the horribly hot and humid weather we have been having off late. I hate the way terrible weather can make a fantastic dish under perform.

Nevertheless, they were delicious stick. I am the kind of girl who adores her fair share of ooey-gooey sticky finger treats. Soft toffee? Bring it on.

Whether you live in the tropics, or are experiencing blissfully dry and cool-ish weather (ahemmm lucky you), this is wonderful. Especially if you have used up your candy-bar money stash, and a craving a good ol' crunchie bar. 

Love those buggers.

If you are not so much of a chocolate person, (what is wrong with you?) skip the chocolate topping and you will still have yourself a nice crunchy chewy, sweet treat.

Homemade 'Crunchie Bars'

Makes: About 8 'finger-sized' bars

Source: At Down Under

For the honeycomb:

50g granulated sugar

2 tbsp honey/golden syrup

3/4 tsp baking soda

Almond slices (optional) (I like an extra crunch in my crunchie bars, eh?)

Chocolate topping:

1/2 cup milk chocolate morsels

Splash of milk

White chocolate morsels (optional) (or is it?)

Prepare a cake tin lined with baking paper or use a silicone pan. In a sauce over medium fire, mix sugar and syrup/honey and stir together to mix. Let the mixture melt and stir until it starts bubbling – Between 3-5 minutes. Off the heat, add baking soda and stir. Syrup will foam. Pour it in the prepared pan and top with almond slices. Wait for it to harden before topping with chocolate.

Over a boiling water bath, melt the milk chocolate morsels and milk until smooth. Pour over hardened honeycomb and top with white chocolate morsels. Once chocolate has hardened, cut into 8 slices, or break it up into tiny 'bite-sized' pieces.

Yes, it is.