Mini Bagel Pizzas

     As promised, here is my post on the Mini Bagel Pizzas. They are super easy to make, are quite delicious, and taste better (and are better for you) than the frozen varieties. Plus, you can make these in any flavor/variety you want!
     The ones featured in this post are cheese, but in the past, I have used leftover taco meat, mini pepperoni, etc.

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Mini Bagel Pizzas

     Ingredients: 

          Mini Bagels (whichever brand you prefer)

          Pizza Sauce (store bought or homemade)

          Cheese (I used Colby Jack)

          Your Favorite Toppings

     

     Directions:

          Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

          Split bagels in half and arrange on cookie sheet. (I like using a SilPat so I don't have to worry about the melted cheese sticking, but you can use a normal cookie sheet if you want. If you use a cookie sheet, make sure to spray it with non-stick cooking spray VERY WELL.)

    
          Spread pizza sauce on bagels. (I have found that using a spoon is best;you are able to control where the sauce goes easier. When you use a brush, it tends to send sauce everywhere but your bagels.) Put a little more sauce on than you think you want because the bagels tend to soak up a lot.

 

          Put cheese on top of sauce. (It is best to do "pinches" of cheese at a time so there is more control over the placement of the cheese. If you just grab a handful and try to place it on, a lot of the cheese will end up on the cookie sheet.) Put enough cheese to completely cover the bagel and then some as it reduces quite a bit when melted. (If you are planning on putting more toppings on, you don't need to put as much.) Pat the cheese down some. (This prevents the cheese from falling off too easily.)

          Place any additional toppings you want to use on top of the cheese. After doing so, you may want to put a tiny bit more cheese on top of them so the toppings do not fall off.

          Put mini bagel pizzas into preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is fully melted and bubbly. Rotate pan at least once during baking to ensure that each bagel is getting an even amount of heat.

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     I apologize for not having a picture of the finished product, but our oven stopped working before I could bake mine so I had to settle for putting them in the microwave. If you end up being in the same predicament as me, I suggest putting them in the microwave until the cheese begins to melt and then transferring them to a pan (that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray) on medium heat with a lid on. Leave them in the pan until the cheese is completely melted. (Make sure to check on the bottoms so they do not get too crispy or burnt.

     By putting them in the pan, the bagels do not get all sweaty on the bottom while cooking them in the microwave and this gives them a little bit of the nice crispy bottom that they would get in the oven.

"When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie; That's amore"

-Dean Martin "That's Amore"