Cheesy Pull-Apart Christmas Tree Bread

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Lightly punch the pizza dough to help release the air and knead for 2-3 minutes. Then separate the dough into into two halves. Cut each half into eight, equally sized chunks. You should now have sixteen pieces of dough.
3. Skip this step if you are using mozzarella pearls. Take the mozzarella sticks and cut each stick into four equally size pieces.
4. One at a time, roll each chunk into a small ball. Flatten the ball, place a pearl or a piece of the mozzarella stick into the center and fold the outer perimeter of the dough over the cheese. Then, gently roll the cheese filled dough between the palms of your hand until it no longer has any seams and you have a dough ball that is about the size of a golf ball. Repeat this step until you have formed sixteen cheese-filled dough balls.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Assemble the dough balls into a pyramid starting with five (5) dough balls at the bottom row, then four (4) on the row above, three (3) on the row above and so on. You should be left with one extra dough ball, which you will place in the center at the base of the pyramid as the tree trunk.
6. Melt the butter by placing it in a microwave safe bowl and microwaving it for 10-15 seconds. Then, mince the garlic and parsley and add them into the butter along with the Italian seasoning and give it a good stir. (It should be paste-like in texture.)
7. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the dough with the garlic-herb butter and then place the Christmas tree bread into the oven for 18 minutes. If it is not golden after 18-20 minutes, place the oven on broil for 1-2 minutes. (Do NOT broil for longer than that because you may burn it.)
8. Remove the tree from the oven, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and carefully transfer it onto a serving board. Brush the tree with the remaining butter, serve with marinara sauce and enjoy.

• Ready in : 40 Minutes
• Course : Appetizer
• Recipe Type : Appetizers