Your
child can't help the famously
ravenous caterpillar turn into a
butterfly, but she can help him
metamorphose into a pizza! Shaping
and topping dough are perfect jobs
for a (supervised) young chef.
Ingredients
Store-bought pizza dough (half a bag)
2 white button mushrooms, sliced
Olive oil for brushing
Toppings, such as peppers, carrots,
olives, fresh basil, and pepperoni
Sauce of your choice (we used both
pesto and tomato)
Mozzarella (we cut deli-style slices
into disks with a biscuit cutter)
1. Heat the oven to 400 F. Lay a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet so that it extends slightly beyond each end. If needed, let the dough rise according to the package directions. Divide the dough into 15 one-inch balls and combine 3 balls to make the head. Have your child dust her hands with flour, then let her arrange the balls on the cookie sheet and flatten them slightly with her palms.
2. Press the mushroom slices under the dough for legs, as shown. Brush the dough and mushrooms with olive oil, then bake until the dough is starting to crisp around the edges, about 10 minutes.
3. While the dough bakes, create the caterpillar features from your choice of toppings. We used green peppers and carrots.
4. Remove
the cookie sheet from the oven.
Using the parchment paper as a
carrier, lift the caterpillar off
the cookie sheet and set it on a
wire rack. When it's cool enough for
your child to touch, let her paint
the surface with sauce and arrange
the Mozzarella and toppings. Again
using the parchment, set the
caterpillar back on the cookie sheet
and bake it until the cheese is just
starting to brown, about 8 minutes.
Let it cool slightly, slice, and
serve. From FamilyFun.com
