Stuffed Dough Ball Christmas Tree by Ooni
Looking for an eye-catching holiday appetizer that everyone in your family will love? Look no further than Ooni’s Stuffed Dough Ball Christmas Tree! Shaped like a Christmas tree with a star on top and covered in garlicky herb butter, these mozzarella-stuffed pizza dough balls are perfect for any holiday appetizer spread. Served with a bright red side of warm pizza sauce, this dish is perfect for kicking off your family get-together in tasty style.
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Serving Size: Serves 6-8
Equipment List
- large baking sheet pan (make sure it fits inside your Ooni oven before heating)
- Rubber baking mat
- 3” cookie cutter or tumbler
- Rolling pin
- Ooni pizza oven
- Infrared thermometer (optional)
- Ooni perforated pizza peel
- Oven gloves
- Pastry brush
Stuffed Dough Ball Christmas Tree Ingredient List
- 28 ounces (800 grams) Pizza Dough
- 7 ounces (200 grams) Pizza Sauce
- 9 ounces (250 grams) mozzarella, chopped into 1” cubes
- 5 ounces (150 grams) butter, melted
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons (12 grams) fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons (18 grams) rosemary, finely chopped
Cooking Instructions
Prepare the dough ahead of time. If you wish to make your own, just follow Ooni’s Classic Pizza Dough recipe up until the bulk proofing step, since you’ll need a lot of proofed dough that’s ready to roll out, cut and shape into balls. If not, store bought pizza dough is just fine for this recipe.
Set your pizza oven up for 480°F (250˚C). You can check the temperature inside your oven quickly and easily using an Infrared Thermometer.
Spread a tablespoon of melted butter over the surface of your baking pan.
Next, lightly flour your work surface. Using a rolling pin, flatten the pizza dough to about half an inch thick.
Use a cookie cutter to punch 21-25 circles from the dough, reserving some leftover dough to make the star on top of your tree.
Working one at a time, place a cheese cube in the center of each circle and pinch the edges of the dough together to seal. Roll the dough between your palms, as if you were forming a meatball, to form a smooth ball. Repeat with each dough circle.
Place the balls on the baking sheet in the shape of a Christmas tree. Using a knife, cut a star from the reserved dough.
For the rest of the Stuffed Dough Ball Christmas Tree cooking instructions, jump on over to Ooni’s amazing recipe section! They even have a step-by-step video that shows you exactly what to do.