Chocolate Cola Cupcakes

I don't even know how I stumbled on an idea like this, but in a nutshell, it's chocolate cake and chocolate frosting made with Coca Cola.

Now, if you know anything about me, you know that those are two of my favorite things.  I had never heard of it before so I started researching, and Google tells me that this kind of cola cake is pretty much a southern thing.  Of course, it doesn't tell me and I have no idea.  Maybe it has something to do with southerners needing to figure out a way to make their cakes still taste delicious in spite of the humidity?

I'm not sure, and frankly, it doesn't even matter.  Wherever you're living, you need to make these right now because you're going to LOVE them.  These cupcakes are moist and fluffy!  The hint of cinnamon adds a little depth to the chocolate, and the frosting?  HAVE MERCY.  There's a container of it in the refrigerator and it's taking all of my self control not to go at it with a spoon.

I wasn't really sure how much soda I needed for this, so I ended up buying a 6 pack of cans because I'll drink it anyway (soda is one of my very few vices, lol).  Turns out, I only needed one regular sized can (not those little miniature ones).  I would've found that information helpful from the start, so I'm passing it along to you so you can plan accordingly :)  My Coke was room temperature when I used it, but I don't think it really makes too much of a difference.  You can certainly use the bottle if that's you have/prefer, but I would suggest making sure it's a brand new one and not one that's been around for a few days, since the carbonation seems like it's an important part of this recipe.

You can tell this is one of my favorite recipes because I don't have a lot to say about it (too busy eating cupcakes).  If you make these, please let me know what you think!  My brother may have eaten 6 in a row :P

I was pretty generous with my frosting, but you'll most likely end up with some left over.  If you're like me, that means you quickly stash it in the fridge and try to forget about it before you attack it with a spoon.  When your willpower inevitably cracks and weakens, as mine did, you'll want to let the frosting warm up a little bit before you attack it with a spoon.  The soda makes it a little sweet to eat straight, so I ended up scooping mine with pretzels.  Sweet, salty AND crunchy?  Chocolatey heaven!

Chocolate Cola Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
2 c. granulated sugar
2 c. flour
1 c. (2 sticks) butter
3 Tbsp  coca powder
1 c. Coca Cola
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla



For the frosting:
2 sticks butter, room temperature
3 c. powdered sugar
6 Tbsp cocoa powder
6 Tbsp Coca Cola
1 tsp. vanilla

Method:
Line cupcake tins with cupcake papers and preheat oven to 350°F.

In a medium sized saucepan, combine butter and Coca Cola and bring to a boil.

In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar.  Slowly and carefully add in the Coke mixture and stir to combine.  Mix in buttermilk, baking soda and cinnamon.  Add cocoa powder and mix well.  Stir in vanilla and add eggs, one at a time.  Whip ingredients until well blended.  Batter will be loose.


Fill cupcake papers about 2/3 full.  Bake for 20 minutes, until tops spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Yields about 24 cupcakes.

While cupcakes are cooling, combine butter and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until smooth.

Slowly add in the sugar and cocoa, adding the soda as needed when the frosting gets too thick.  Continue adding soda until desired consistency is reached.

Beat 3-5 minutes until frosting is fluffy.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Crust

When mom told me that I could make all of the desserts for Thanksgiving/Chanukah this year, I was beyond excited.  About 2 seconds later, I got overwhelmed - how many people would there be?  What should I make?  How many desserts should I make?  Should I make more, smaller things, or fewer, larger things?  I asked mom for advice and she told me that there would be 6 of us and beyond that, I could do whatever I wanted.  In other words: ahhhh!

See, I felt like I had some giant shoes to fill.  My gramma doesn't do much baking or cooking anymore, and she never did for holiday things (keep reading and you'll see why), but she DID (does) always go bananas with the amount of food.

For every Thanksgiving except for this one, there's always a 20-ish pound turkey, a couple of pounds of boneless chicken breast, two kinds of rice, mashed potatoes AND sweet potatoes... you can see where I'm going with this.  And that's just the real food.  Dessert always involves the same amount of stuff: multiple kinds of cupcakes (chocolate AND vanilla/mini AND regular size, etc); at least two kinds of cookies; apple, blueberry and pumpkin pies; chocolate cake, jello and sometimes there's ice cream in the freezer that she forgets about.

So, even though I knew nobody would be "judging" me and everyone loves my stuff, I felt like my gramma had set the bar wicked high and that I wouldn't even come close.  In determining what to make, I had to figure out what was the most important.  As I thought about it, I realized that for gramma, it's not Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie - even though I don't think I've ever seen her eat more than a little sliver of a slice, I think it's just one of those things that she needs to have on the table in order for her heart and head to be like "ahhh, now this Thanksgiving is complete".  She has a really hard time letting go of the reins (so THAT'S where I get it from!), so I knew I wanted to make her pumpkin pie.

Of course, I couldn't make any pumpkin pie.  No.  Instead, I make pumpkin pie cheesecake with a graham cracker crust.  Talk about stacking the deck against myself.  I had made this recipe before, but only once.  Probably two years ago.  And I used a box mix cake for the base and made it bars, not a pie.  That said, I remembered the bars being delicious and easy to make, and a graham cracker crust seemed like a really good idea.  Plus, since it's cheesecake, I figured it would be easy to make a day or two ahead of time since it's gotta sit in the fridge anyway.

You guys.  I am SO GLAD I made this.  The graham cracker crust was the PERFECT compliment to the pumpkin mixture.  I topped my slice with some homemade whipped cream and it was absolutely to die for.  Since the filling recipe is for bars and I made a pie, you'll actually end up with leftover filling.  I made cupcake sized cheesecakes, but realistically, you could probably get two 8" pies out of this.  I don't really know how to do it, but I'd recommend making one to freeze and one to eat, because you'll definitely want some more before next Thanksgiving.

Yum!

Oh, and if you're wondering.. my gramma loved it!

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Crust

For the crust:
2 c. graham cracker crumbs (about 18 crackers)
6 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

For the filling:
8 oz. brick cream cheese, room temperature
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
15 oz. can pumpkin puree
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease a 9 1/2" pie plate. (Note: I used a disposable one to make life easier, I think it was 8" or so - use whatever size you have available!)

Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugars and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Press into the bottom and up the sides of your pie plate.  Bake until firm, about 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat paddle attachment, beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk.  Add eggs, pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice.  Mix well.  Batter will be loose.

Place cooled pie plate on a small baking sheet.  Pour pumpkin mix into crust.  Bake until center is set but still wobbly, about 45 minutes.  To double check, insert a sharp knife into the center of your cheesecake, until it touches the crust - it should come out clean.  Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

*To make cupcakes: press about 1 EATING sized teaspoon of graham cracker crumbs into the bottom of your cupcake wrappers.  Bake until firm, about 5 minutes.  Add 2-3 EATING sized teaspoons on pumpkin mix and bake about 20 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then refrigerate in an airtight container overnight.

No Bake Cookie Dough Bites

I LOVE cookies.  Frankly, when it comes to cookies, I'm probably the least picky person on the planet - Oreos, store brand sandwich cookies, fig newtons, peanut butter, oatmeal, those yummy italian cookies that I only get at Christmas... if it's a cookie, I want it.  By far, though, my favorite cookie is just regular ol' chocolate chip.

As a kid, I would stand in or near the kitchen, anxiously awaiting mom to say that the cookies were cooled enough for me to take one.  Let's be honest - sometimes I didn't even wait.  I love it when the cookies are hot and fresh, right out of the oven and the chocolate is so gooey it drips down your chin when you take a bite.  Sure, sometimes they were REALLY freakin' hot and I burned myself, but it was all worth it.

Once I started making cookies myself, my favorite part was being able to lick the bowl/spoon without having to share with anybody (the perils of having younger siblings).  The only problem is that I have been known to give myself a tummy ache a time or two from eating too much cookie dough.  Or brownie batter.  Or cake batter.  And watermelon. Mmmmmm.

Where was I?

Oh yeah.  Chocolate chip cookies.  So, my friend Natascha has a son and he just turned two.  I told her I was going to make something, but then I had no idea what to make.  Last year, I made cupcakes, but so did everyone else.  I knew there were going to be a good amount of kids at the party, so I wanted to make something that kids and parents enjoyed but that was super easy for the kids to eat -  you know, so they could sneak a couple when mommy and daddy weren't looking.

Cookie dough bites seemed like a great idea.  Except for the whole "raw eggs make you sick" thing.  I knew I could make a bunch of cookies and then crush them up with some cream cheese to make truffles, but I wanted these to REALLY be cookie dough, just without the eggs.  Alas, I knew I needed something to add some moisture to the dough, but I didn't really know what I could use.  I knew that applesauce was a good egg substitute, but I didn't have any in the house and wasn't about to go buy some for the small amount that I needed.

I did a ton of googling and it seemed like whatever I was going to do, water was not the right answer.  I found some recipes online that used almond/soy/non-dairy milk for similar recipes, and they all had pretty good reviews, so I decided that I could probably use regular, whole dairy milk in my recipe and get similar results.

I tried it and, what do you know - it worked!  People, these are freakin' delicious.  It's like the best part of the cookie without ever having to turn the oven on!  As soon as the kids (and adults) realized that these little balls of chocolate had cookie dough inside, it was all over. 

After figuring out the dough, making these was super easy.  I did end up shelling out $8 at Target for a cookie scoop, but that's because whenever I make things like this, I have some that are huge and some that are little and some that are in between.  When I make regular, baked cookies I don't have a problem getting everything to be the same size, but I thought this project would be a lot easier if I could get the sizing to be consistent.  I still can't believe I paid that much for it, but it definitely helped! It felt pretty efficient, too, since I was able to scoop all of them out at once and then roll them all, instead of having to scoop and roll at the same time.  My cookie scoop said it makes 2" diameter cookies.  That seems like it might be fairly accurate to what I was able to make, and I got about 3 dozen - obviously, you'll get more or less depending on what size you make yours.

These don't take very long, either.  Most of the time is waiting for the dough to chill and then waiting for the chocolate set.  These were definitely a huge hit at the birthday party, but I think they'd go over well at your holiday party or at a football party.  Actually, I think I'm gonna put these on my list for the Superbowl!

What are you waiting for?  Go make some!

PS: as it turns out, today is national cookie day.  What's your favorite kind of cookie?

No Bake Cookie Dough Bites
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3/4 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp milk
2 1/4 c. flour
1 c. mini chocolate chips

14 oz. chocolate for dipping

Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add milk and vanilla.  Mix in flour and stir by hand until incorporated.  Fold in chocolate chips.

Cover and chill dough in refrigerator for about 1 hour.

Form dough into balls about 1-2" diameter and arrange on a baking sheet.  Chill for about an hour.

Melt chocolate according to package directions.  Working with a few balls at a time, dip the cookie dough balls into the chocolate, letting excess drip off.  Place on wax or parchment paper lined cookie sheets.  Let chill until chocolate is set.  Trim off excess chocolate with a sharp paring knife.

Store in an airtight container for up to one week (although good luck getting them to last that long).

Chanukah Sugar Cookies

You guys.  I have so much to talk about.  I know I've been kinda quiet lately... it's because I got a new job!  I may have alluded to some unhappiness at work in the past, and this was totally the right move.  I now work at a local car dealership as the internet marketing director for the 3 dealerships that are all on the same property.  I am responsible for photographing and putting descriptions up of ALL new and used cars. 

To give you an idea of how large this company is, the owner has about 50 or so dealerships in the greater Boston and Providence areas.  The dealerships run the gamut, from Ford and Honda to BMW and Rolls Royce and everything in between.

It's only been a few weeks, but so far, I LOVE it.  Surprisingly, even though I have about 400+ new cars that I need to get photographed and online, the job is way less stress than  my last one.  People are treating me the way I want and deserve to be treated and seem genuinely happy to have me on board.  Also, I get to use my education (imagine that!) and have minimal interactions with customers (pretty much just a smile and a friendly hello when I see them in the show room).  Also, there's way more upward growth potential at this job.  Overall, I'm thrilled.

So.  Thanksgiving just passed and we are in the midst of Chanukah.  I have done a TON of baking this past week for the holidays, and have much to show you.  I thought it would be overwhelming if I did it all once, though, so I'm breaking them down into different posts.  I was originally going to do it in the order of which the things were made, but, obviously, Chanukah cookies are relevant and I wanted to share those first.  Also, considering my pretty terrible decorating ability, I'm the most proud of these and wanted to show them off!

Since it's just a basic sugar cookie recipe, this also seemed the most timely so that you can plan to make them for Christmas.  Before you ask: I have no idea where to go to acquire Jewish themed cookie cutters.  I figured if anyone would have them, it would be mom.  She did, so now I do.  If you're looking for some so you can make your own, Amazon seems like it's probably a safe bet (side note: I just checked while I was typing this.  Definitely check Amazon.).

The cookie recipe itself is actually something I've had since high school.  In my freshman year english class we had to do a "how to" demonstration.  Obviously, the girl couldn't fully demonstrate how to make cookies, but she brought the recipe with some samples!  Now, this is not designed to be an actual roll out cookie dough recipe, but I did all of the research for you and you can turn pretty much any sugar cookie recipe into one!  All you really have to do is chill the dough so that it stiffens to the correct consistency.  You can also add more flour, but this recipe is pretty similar to a lot of the ones that I found floating around on the interwebz.  I chilled my dough for about 10 minutes, but you'll want to chill yours for longer.  Some of my cookies softened around the edges instead of staying in the precise shape they were in when they started.  For me, this was no big deal.  If you're making these with kids, it's probably no big deal either. 

After I noticed that it was happening when I checked on the first batch, I stuck the other sheets in the fridge to chill after they were cut and before they went in the oven.  This helped out some, but chilling the dough for longer ahead of time is probably the right thing to do.  The trick is to make sure you don't chill it for TOO long - I would think that about 30 minutes to an hour is good enough, because you still need the dough soft enough to work with.  I worked with about 1/3 of the dough at a time, and probably could have left the rest of it in the fridge.

I love sugar cookies with frosting, but transporting them the few blocks to my mom's house with buttercream frosting seemed like it posed some problems.  I've read about royal icing about a million times on the internet, but never had the opportunity or a reason to try it.  Once I started investigating, my main concern was the (uncooked) egg whites called for in most traditional recipes.  I was pretty sure that most everybody would be okay, but my gramma is 81 years old and I'm not knowingly going to take any chances with that woman.

Basically, royal icing is the same stuff that you use when you make gingerbread houses.  There are lots of different consistencies that you can make by adding more water or more sugar to make it thinner or thicker.  "Flood" consistency is pretty much what it sounds like, a thin consistency that you can use to spread a thin layer for decorating.  The best part of royal icing is that it dries hard, so you can stack your sugar cookies for easy storage and transport. (For more information and/or a better explanation, I would definitely check out The Shiksa's post on it - I found it tremendously helpful!)

I made mine with meringue powder instead, which is made of dried egg whites, sugar, and gum.  I had to go to Walmart (my nemesis) to get it, but I was able to find it pretty easily once I could figure out where the cake decorating/Wilton section was.

After reading about 20 blogs about royal icing, I was prepared for a battle.  I was expecting it to be much more difficult than it really was.  The hardest part, for me, was getting the icing to the right "flood" consistency, but I think that was really because I was bound and determined to make only one batch and split it up from there, rather than making multiple batches and then wondering the the heck to do with the leftovers.  I ended up having to use my (clean!) fingers to spread the icing on some of the smaller cookies, but it definitely worked well.  I was a little wary about leaving my cookies out overnight, and while I ended up with a crunchier cookie in the end, none of the bad things I imagined ended up happening.

This exercise made me realize how much of a perfectionist I can be.  For me, I was originally unhappy about the cookies losing a little of their shape in the oven.  Then, I was like "man I could have decorated these much better!".  Then, I called Joe into the room when I was finished and he thought they were awesome.  Then, I brought the cookies to my mom's house and made a whole huge thing about keeping them a surprise and not showing them until it was time to eat dessert.

And suddenly, it didn't matter that it took me a couple of days to make these or that I thought the results could have been better.  Wanna know why? My family LOVED these cookies - I hope your family does, too!

Easy Sugar Cookies
2 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients.  Dough will be thick.  Cover and refrigerate for about one hour.  Preheat oven to 375°F.  Roll out to about 1/4" thick and cut cookies as desired. Bake for 8 minutes or until edges are just starting to turn golden.

Royal Icing
3 Tbsp meringue powder
1 lb. (approx. 4 cups) powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c. warm water, plus more for "flood" consistency icing

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine meringue powder and powdered sugar. Add water and beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes.

Add water or sugar as needed to achieve correct consistency.

Use immediately.

Boo! Chocolate Cupcakes

Boo!

We had a potluck lunch today at work and since I volunteered to bring dessert (shocking, right?), I wanted to make something that everyone would enjoy but that was also Halloween-y.  Last year, I made dirt pudding, but this year, I wanted to really make something special.

My cake decorating skills are still pretty limited, but I figured I could easily pipe some lines of frosting on a cupcake to look like a mummy.  M&Ms for eyes add the perfect touch.

I went into this cupcake making adventure completely blind.  While I've had good results from the recipes in my KitchenAid book, I haven't tried them all.  The frosting recipe was something I found online awhile ago and then tucked away for a time when I could figure out what to put with it.  I thought chocolate cake and marshmallow frosting would taste something like a whoopie pie.  Since I was making them last night while waiting for game 7 of the World Series to start (spoiler alert: my Red Sox won!), it seemed apropos and timely.

I've used the white cake recipe in the KitchenAid book before and it make about a dozen cupcakes, so I doubled this one, thinking I'd get about 24.  Obviously something crazy happened, because I got 36 regular sized cupcakes and 10 mini ones.  Ah well.. at least I had enough frosting!

As far as the frosting goes, I'm learning that patience is key.  When it says "whip butter until smooth and creamy", that means whip the butter until it's smooth like... well, like buttah!  Seriously, you want the butter to be super smooth and creamy.  And then you really want to thoroughly mix in the marshmallow fluff, until the contents of your bowl are white.  This was the fluffiest frosting I've ever made and it was the perfect piping consistency.  It made me wish I was better at decorating so I could have tried something better or more intricate than just crisscrossing lines.  I think as long as I'm patient with my regular buttercream frostings, I'll be able to get consistently fluffy results every time.

We live in an apartment building and there aren't many kids that live here, so we don't get any trick or treaters.  Instead, we're hanging in our PJs, eating mummy cupcakes and watching the Bengals-Dolphins game (hey, the Bengals are Halloween colors!).  How are you celebrating Halloween?

Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

Chocolate cake:
2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. shortening
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted*
*I substituted 3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder + 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil for each ounce of melted chocolate

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake papers or spray with non-stick spray.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine dry ingredients.  Add shortening, milk and vanilla.  Turn mixer on low and beat until combined - batter will be a little lumpy. Add eggs and chocolate; mix until combined.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on medium-high speed for about 1 minute, or until batter turns from a dark chocolate to a milk chocolate color.

Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full.  (I got 16 regular sized cupcakes from the recipe above).  Bake for 18 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in the pans for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Marshmallow Frosting:

1 cup (2 sticks butter), room temperature
1 7.5 oz. jar marshmallow fluff
2 c. confectioner's sugar
2-4 Tbsp milk

Using a mixer, cream butter until smooth and creamy.  Add in marshmallow fluff and beat until fully incorporated.  Slowly add in the sugar, making sure each additional is fully combined before adding more.  Add in the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time.  Beat until frosting is soft and fluffy, adding more milk or sugar to reach desired consistency.

To make the mummy cupcakes, put the frosting into a zip top bag and snip off the end.  Pipe crisscrossing lines across the cupcake.  Use m&ms for eyes, "m" side down.

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

I've been dying to make something "seasonal", like apple or pumpkin, but Joe is only "meh" on pumpkin things and I keep eating the apples before I can make anything with them.  I bought some cranberries to put in my salad and had some left, so I wanted to use them in something.  They're pretty seasonal but also a little tart, so I thought they'd be perfect in something a little sweeter.

We've been on a huge cookie kick (try saying that three times fast!) lately, and when I realized I had some white chocolate chips hanging around in the cabinet, I thought this would be a perfect way to make something with some unexpected seasonal flavors.

I only made a half batch of these cookies, mostly because I wasn't sure if Joe was going to like them.  Turns out, I should have made a full batch, because I barely had time to take the few photos you see here before he started stuffing them in his face a la Cookie Monster.  Since you'll probably want to make more, simply double (or triple) the recipe that you see below.

The sweetness of the white chocolate is a really nice balance to the tart flavor of the cranberries.  I've only been able to have a few, but I think these would be PERFECT with a nice tall glass of milk.  The way the holidays fall this year, my family will be celebrating Chanukagiving (Chanukah starts at nightfall on Thanksgiving), and I'm already thinking that these will make a perfect holiday dessert.

What are your favorite seasonal flavors?

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
To print this recipe, click here

1 stick butter, room temperature
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 c. white chocolate chips
1 c. dried cranberries

Combine all ingredients except for flour, cranberries and chocolate chips.

Mix in flour until thoroughly combined.  Add in chocolate chips and cranberries.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto greased baking sheet.  Bake for 9 minutes.  Let cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pizza, pizza, pizza!

If you're awesome enough to hang out with us on a Sunday, you know that dinner is going to one of two ways: we're either gonna go big, with a huge, homemade dinner, or we're gonna literally phone it in and call the pizza guy.

When I first mentioned making our own pizza a few years ago, Joe looked at me like I was crazy.  I told him that I knew how to do it and I promised him it would be delicious and worth it.  I may have over-exaggerated the first time, because while it came out pretty okay, it was not the best pizza ever.

Since then, though, my pizza makings skills have greatly improved.  I don't have a pizza dough recipe that I like, so alas, all I have to share today are pictures and some tips.  Our local grocery store sells pre-made dough balls in the refrigerated section, so that's what I use.  I like them because I just have to let them thaw/come to room temperature and rise for about an hour, and then I can get started cooking.

The dough is really, really plain tasting so you definitely have to add some spices.  I usually add garlic powder, onion powder, italian seasoning and a little bit of red pepper flakes, then rub them in a bit so the flavors are evenly distributed.  I actually kind of like that the dough is so bland, that way I can season it for whatever I'm making.  The premade dough is also much faster, and dinner is usually ready and on the table within about an hour so.

I'm not really sure how big the dough balls are, but for the pizza pans that we have, one ball is not quite enough dough.  Two balls is a little bit too much, but I like a really thick and puffy crust on my pizza so it works out well.

I always make sure to prebake the crust for about 7 minutes before I add any sauce or cheeses or anything, just to make sure it doesn't get soggy.  This also lets the spices I've added get baked in, so the flavor is more uniform than with random overpowering pockets.  We usually just do plain (cheese) or pepperoni, but we've tried a potato pizza before, with so-so results, and bbq chicken always comes out delicious.

What's YOUR favorite kind of pizza?