Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

I'm always looking for kid-friendly recipes that my kids will eat. Outside from my usual kid-friendly menus of spaghetti, tacos, meatloaf, pasta and chicken, my kids are pretty picky about just about everything else. Maybe it's my fault for exposing them to so many different food choices. Their response, a rebellion of sorts, clinging only to those few, familiar foods. 
I like to try different things and for the most part, if it's something that I know my kiddos won't like, (i.e. too spicy) I'll make something I know they like while my husband and I eat the "something different". The new dishes that I know they will like, I ask that they try it before they say they don't like it. Fair enough right? I'm a reasonable person. :) As long as they try it and then can say they don't like it, is fine by me. I really dislike it when they look at something new I've made and judge it before knowing really what it tastes like. They must try it. It's a rule.

Anyway, my search ended when I saw these Pizza Puffs on Pinterest. I thought proudly to myself, I can't go wrong with pizza. They'll love these! Wrong! They wouldn't even try them! Can you believe that? They broke the rule. The whole house smelled like fresh baked pizza, it was wonderful. I was so excited for them to try them and I got a big, NO. Denied. They said, "We only like certain pizza mama."

...Huh?

...It's pizza. 

Their loss. These were absolutely delicious and super easy. I adapted the original recipe to suit my taste by adding a few more ingredients to the to the batter recipe but you also can add your favorite pizza toppings to mix them up a bit. I made pepperoni because I was thinking of my kids, but I would have loaded these babies up with grilled chicken, spinach, pesto and garlic butter and different cheeses. But use your imagination and have fun with these little morsels. These are great as a quick appetizer when you have last minute company. Serve them along with marinara sauce and you'll have bite-sized pizzas. These also make for an easy end-of week dinner, add a salad or some carrots with ranch dressing and you have a fun easy kid-friendly meal.

For the record, I'm not giving up on getting my kids to try these. Round 2...Ding, ding.

Enjoy!

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs (adapted recipe from Plain Chicken)
Makes 24

3/4 cup flour
3/4 t. baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1 egg

1 clove garlic finely minced or grated
1 t. Italian Seasoning
pinch of salt
1 cup sharp cheddar, grated
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1 cup pepperoni, chopped

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix first four ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and set aside for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, except for the Parmesan Cheese and mix until well combined. Spray a mini muffin pan with baking spray and with a small cookie scoop, fill each cup to the top. Top each cup with grated Parmesan cheese and bake for 20 minutes. 
Serve with your favorite marinara sauce.