Printable Recipe: Slithering Snake Pizza Halloween Recipe

Scary Halloween Recipes: Slithering Snake Pizza

This Halloween snack recipe is always one of the first things to disappear from any Halloween buffet table-- kids love it! It's colorful, fun, and oh-so-cute. As a bonus, it's one of those Halloween recipe ideas that's easy to personalize. Don't like the combo of pepperoni, ham, and sausage? Use whatever you or your kids like. If you can put it on a pizza, you can put it in this recipe. We usually do an "adult" version of this Halloween recipe, complete with mushrooms and peppers, and a kids' version, with just pepperoni and cheese or with ham and pineapple. It's good any way you make it. Just be sure not to use anything too watery (or drain watery ingredients well) to avoid a soggy snake.

This is a fun project to have the kids help with. If you're making this for the first time, I'd suggest buying an extra can of crescent rolls to have on hand in case you need to patch your dough in places. Any openings in the snake will split and leak during cooking.

Serves 10-12 as an appetizer.

Ingredients:
2 (8 oz.) cans crescent rolls
flour, for dusting
1/2 C. prepared pizza sauce
10 oz. thinly sliced pepperoni
10 oz. thinly sliced ham, chopped
10 oz. Italian sausage, cooked, crumbled, and drained
12 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 C. fine, freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Decorating:
Liquid food coloring, your choice of colors
4 egg yolks, divided
2 peppercorns
2 pimento-stuffed green olives
1 roasted red pepper

Instructions: 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. On a lightly floured surface, spread out your two batches of crescent dough end-to-end lenghtwise. Be careful not to let the sections separate.

3. Pinch all the seams together until you get one block of dough.

4. With a flour-brushed rolling pin, roll your crescent dough into a large, long rectangle. Don't roll it too thin, or it will split.

5. Spoon pizza sauce on top of dough, leaving an inch of bare dough on all four edges.

6. Sprinkle meats on top of sauce, followed by any other optional toppings.

7. Sprinkle with cheeses.

8. Fold one side of the dough lenghtwise over the topping, up to the half-point of the rectangle.

9. Fold the other side over to meet it. Pinch and press the dough together on all sides to seal.

10. With a pastry brush, brush the beaten yolk of one egg onto the top of the dough.

11. Fold your filled dough in half lengthwise. The egg yolk should help it stick. A seam should be created lengthwise along the dough. Pinch this seam together to fully seal and make a sort of cylinder. Be sure all seams are well closed. Any open seams will open further during baking.

12. Gently manipulate ends into a snake shape-- one end should be tapered for a tail, and the other shaped for the head. Don't curve it into a snake yet. You'll do that right before baking.

Decorating Instructions:
1. Beat each of your remaining three egg yolks in a separate bowl.

2. Add the food coloring of your choice to each bowl to make three separate "paints."

3. With a pastry brush or a food-safe paintbrush, decorate your snake as desired.

4. Transfer painted snake to a foiled-lined, greased baking sheet.

5. Gently shape as desired, into an "S" or other snakey shape.

6. Stick two peppercorns into the front of the snout for nostrils.

7. Slice your roasted red pepper into a forked tongue. Insert into front of head.

8. Bake your snake about 20 minutes, until golden and cooked through.

9. Remove from oven. Attach olive "eyes" to the top of the head using toothpicks. Pimento centers should face forward.