Pizza Cups

I received some cheese sample from Marcus of Ile De France and Carlos absolutely loved it. I didn’t nickname his Cheese Monster for nothing. He just loves his cheeses. I am actually pretty familiar with Ile De France cheeses as I am able to get from the supermarkets here but if you can’t you can always get in online. Ile de France Cheese has been importing gourmet French brie, goat cheese and camembert since 1936. They were the first importer of French brie to the United States. The company uses the Ile de France name to promote Ile de France brand cheeses as well as other types of gourmet-quality French cheese that are sold under different labels and owned by the same parent company.



Besides eating the cheeses with fresh fruits and crackers I used some of the Brie cheese to make these Pizza Cups. I just love the gooey and oozy brie when they just came out of the oven. They are simply divine. What a great alternative to the usual mozzarella cheese.

Pizza dough ingredients:

1 packet/7 gram dry yeast
¾ cups of warm water – about 110 degree F
2 cups + 2 tbsp of bread flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar

For Filling:

1 cup of cooked chicken (I used leftover roast chicken)
1/4 cup olives – sliced small
½ small onion – cut into small cubes
1 cup marinara sauce

Pepper to taste
½ cup grated cheddar
Some sliced Brie for topping
Some sliced basil for garnish

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let it stand about 10 minutes or until frothy.
2. In a large bowl combined the flour, olive oil and salt. Stir in the yeast mixture into the flour mixture. Knead it into smooth dough. (you might need to add another 2 tbsp of flour to it). Cover and let it rise to double in volume.
3. In the meantime, combined cooked chicken, olives, onions, cheddar, pepper and marinara sauce in a mixing bowl. Mix well.
4. Get ready a muffin pan. Greased with some melted butter. In a working table, dust with some flour. Roll out the pizza dough and cut out the dough to fit into your muffin pan.
5. Fill it up with the fillings, and top it with a slice of brie. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven until the pizza cups are bubbly and brown. Garnish it with some basil. Let the pizza cups cool down a bit on the muffin pan before removing it. Serve warm or at room temperature.

P/s You can replace the cooked chicken with any type of protein and so is the cheese.