Recipe: Black Forest Dessert Pizza (using frozen cherries, from The Chopped Cookbook)

BLACK FOREST DESSERT PIZZA

"Pizza lovers, rejoice. You can have it for dessert, too! Sweet-tart cherries, melted chocolate, and whipped cream step out of cake and onto sugared dough to deliver amazing flavor in this hand-held treat."



1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided use
2 cups frozen pitted cherries, thawed
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
8 ounces frozen pizza dough, thawed and at room temperature
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream

SET UP:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

MAKE THE CHERRY COMPOTE:

Combine the 1/4 cup sugar and the cherries in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until thick and syrupy, 15 to 18 minutes. Stir in the almond extract and lemon juice.

PARBAKE THE CRUST:
Stretch and pat the dough into a 10- to 11-inch round and put on a baking sheet. Brush with the butter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the sugar.

Bake until golden brown all over, 10 to 12 minutes.

TOP AND FINISH BAKING:
Spread the cherry compote on the pizza crust and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. Return to the oven to lightly melt the chocolate, about 1 minute.

Whip the cream with the remaining tablespoon sugar until soft peaks form. Serve slices of the pizza right away, topped with the whipped cream.

VARIATIONS:
If you have frozen strawberries on hand, those work great here; swap out some or all of the chocolate chips for peanut butter chips for a PB&J pie

Makes 6 servings
Recipe copyright 2014, Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Clarkson Potter
Source: The Chopped Cookbook by Food Network Kitchens