Sunday, May 27, 2012

Cauliflower Pizza Bite UPDATE


Sue and I have been getting a lot of views and comments on our Cauliflower Pizza Bites that we blogged about a little while back.
A lot.
Like tens of thousands of views. True story. (Holy heck, right?)
We also got a lot of comments on our dilemma of the bites sticking to our non-stick pans. It was really nice that so many people commented with ideas on how to solve the problem.
Sue and I decided to do an update and try a few of the suggestions.
I didn't have any turkey pepperoni so I had to use some mini ham pepperoni as a substitute, other than that the recipe was made exactly the same way as originally.

These are the 5 suggestions we chose to try:


1. Plain pans sprayed with cooking spray. 2. Paper liners sprayed with cooking spray. 3. Plain paper liners.


4. Using a small cookie scoop and dropping onto tinfoil sprayed with cooking spray.


5. Using a small cookie scoop and dropping onto parchment paper.

Here is what we found out.


1. (Plain pan with cooking spray) This is what we used in our original post that gave us the clean up issues. The bites still pop out after running a knife around the edge but you will still be left scrubbing the pan afterward.
2. (Paper liner sprayed with cooking spray) Worked really well. It popped out of the pan no problem and peeled off the bite without tearing. It was slightly "greasy" from the spray in the paper.
3. (Plain paper liner) Worked really well. Popped out of the pan and paper peeled off without any troubles. (I was surprised, I really thought it would stick!)
The paper liners worked great HOWEVER the bottoms of the bites are still a tiny bit "gummy" and required a few minutes, upside down, under the broiler to crisp up.


4. (Tinfoil with cooking spray) This worked okay. It was fairly stuck to the tinfoil, even though it was sprayed well. The bites spread out as they cooked so were quite thin. I had to work a little bit to get them to release from the tinfoil BUT still less work than scrubbing the muffin tins.


5. (Parchment paper) This worked really well. It released easily from the paper, the bottoms were nicely browned, and they only spread a tiny bit.


See. They all ended with similar looking results. The 6 on the left were the parchment paper, the 6 in the middle, on top, were the sprayed muffin tins, the 5 on the right were on the tinfoil, the 3, vertical, on the bottom right were the plain paper liners, and the 3, horizontal, on the left were the sprayed paper liners.
The cooking methods all yield basically the same results in terms of looks but Sue and I agreed that the parchment paper was BY FAR the one that worked the best - ie: least amount of work.


If we had to rate the methods it would be like this:
1. Parchment paper - no clean up, even crispiness
2. Plain paper liners - hardly any clean up, just need to broil bottoms to crisp up
3. Tinfoil, sprayed - no clean up, even crispiness, just a little tough to get off the foil
4. Paper liners, sprayed - hardly any clean up, need to broil to crisp up bottoms, a little soggy from spray.
5. Plain pans, sprayed - tough clean up, need to broil to crisp up bottoms

Thanks again to all of you who offered suggestions. We still haven't tried the silicone pans as we didn't have access to them. Knowing how well the parchment paper and cookie scoop works, I think we will use that as our tried and true method.
These are so good dipped in spaghetti sauce they have become one of my favorite late night snacks. They freeze well too! I just take out a few, pop them in the toaster oven, and they are good to go.


Tasty and healthy!


49 comments:

  1. Thanks for the update...will try next time I have a get together!

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  2. Thank you! I saw these on Pinterest which led to your blog. I will use my unbleached parchment and probably adjust the recipe by adding a little parmesan. Can't wait to try them!

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  3. What about making one large one in a 9x12 pan or even a round cake pan lined with parchment, etc.?

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    1. That sounds like a good idea!

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    2. That sounds like a good idea!

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    3. Thank you for posting the easiest clean up results. Now I will try this. The recipe sounds yummy, but the previous clean up was a deal breaker.

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  4. Just so nobody else makes my mistake: I used PAM baking spray (which sprays flour as well?) and wax paper. They were SO good, but nearly impossible to remove from the wax paper. Give these other ideas a try -- definitely worth making.

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    1. Thanks for letting us know! Parchment paper is definitely the way to go :)

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    2. Wax paper shouldn't really be used in the oven anyway unless completely covered by food (like on the bottom of a cake pan), as the exposed wax can melt and catch fire.

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  5. Has anyone tried using Silicone cupcake cups? Those might work well

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    Replies
    1. I agree! Silicone baking cups would be the way to go.

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    2. They would probably work well, but wadding up the paper & throwing it in the trash is still easier. :)

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  6. Can't wait to try this! Thank you for testing all the cooking methods and demonstrating the results.

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  7. Has anyone tried to use Reynolds Release Foil? (Use the non-shiny side.) I have never had anything, I ever cooked stick to it. A bit pricier then the regular, but so very worth it, for anything sticky or that gets stuck to the pan.

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  8. Have you tried them in a stone baking dish...I have one from pampered chef and will definately try these!!!

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  9. I made these tonight and at the last second decided to put the pepperoni on bottom. Then I just scooped the filling on top - took a few more pepperoni, but no sticking at all and just the right size for popping one in your mouth.

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  10. Have you tried silicone muffin pans? They should work with no greasing needed and should pop right out...

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  11. i want to try these and just wanted to say thanks so much for trying out all the alternatives to keep them quick and to make clean up quick too!
    I really appreciate it and will make these very soon!

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  12. I did try these with waxed paper and had a hard time removing them and then had to flip and crisp...thank you soooooo muc for your update...parchement paper it will be!

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  13. Hi this sounds so yummy, any ideas for something non dairy to sub for the cottage cheese? Have a kiddo that cant have dairy . Thanks!

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  14. I made these in the muffin pan, and experienced the same mess you did, however my grandmother taught my a trick that worked like magic. Get the inside of the muffin pan wet, and sprinkle baking soda over the top, and leave it for about 10 minutes. Everything just wiped off like magic. I've been using the baking soda on everything that's a pain to scrub off now, and it's honestly a time/life saver.

    -Sadie

    sadievincent@live.com

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  15. Just tried your recipe and LOVE IT!! I used parchment paper and it worked like a charm!! So excited about this new, healthy snack! :)

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  16. I just made these and now have a new favorite munchie fix! I didn't have parchment paper so I tried the Non-Stick foil I sprayed one pan with Pam and left one pan without Pam. both worked well but the one sprayed with Pam worked GREAT! They just lifted right off! Thanks for this yummy snack!

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  17. I just made these and now have a new favorite munchie fix! I didn't have parchment paper so I tried the Non-Stick foil I sprayed one pan with Pam and left one pan without Pam. both worked well but the one sprayed with Pam worked GREAT! They just lifted right off! Thanks for this yummy snack!

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  18. Glad you are enjoying our original recipe!

    http://www.damyhealth.com/2012/03/cauliflower-pizza-bites/

    Amy Layne

    @damyhealth

    www.damyhealth.com

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    1. Thank you for sharing it! It is wonderful :)

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  19. Has anyone tried a non-stick baking or cookie sheet?

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  20. Amazon.com sells mini parchment paper liners.

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  21. has anyone tried silicone muffin trays?

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  22. I've seen many recipes for cauliflower based pizza crusts, but this is the first one I've tried. I don't know if I'll make this particular one again.

    I think it was a problem with the measurements--do you start with 2 cups PACKED of cauliflower? Because I started with a large head of cauliflower, measured out 2 cups and it cooked down a ton during the first step! I could tell the mixture was going to be too runny so I cut down a little on the cottage cheese and added some parm and mozzarella (which I've seen in other pizza crust recipes--I thought it might help bind things a bit more). I dolloped 12 spoonfuls of the mixture onto parchment paper and within 17 minutes they had spread out and started to burn around the edges. The flavor was good and I actually liked the thin, crispy texture, but obviously something was not quite right with the measurements for that to happen.

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    1. Hmmm...I'm not sure what went wrong for you. We haven't had any troubles with the measurements. I find it it is too runny you can just add a bit more shredded cauliflower. AND, you can try cooking it less. Just cook it until it starts to soften and remove it from the heat. that should stop it from cooking down too much.

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  23. Try CAKE RELEASE found in the wedding cake sections of places like Walmart, or order from Wilton. BEST stuff I have EVER used! NOT the spray, the bottle, looks like thinned butter, rub generous amount into tins and see it that will work, does super on all my character cakes.

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  24. Definitely try silicone muffin tins! I use them for my chocolate coconut flour muffins and they never stick and you can literally just pop them out by pushing on the bottoms.

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  25. Have you tried Stoneware? i see that you have the Pampered Chef brownie pan in your original post, maybe you should give the Stoneware muffin pan a try. I plan on trying this myself by dropping scoopful onto the Stoneware bar pan.

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  26. Try soaking your muffin pan in dishwasher soap and very hot water overnight then just give it a quick rinse in the morning. Looks like a great recipe.~Diane

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  27. our dollar store sells silicon muffin liners... might be another good option

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  28. Thank you for this amazing recipe, and clean up. They are not as good cold, but oh so good hot.
    I am going to try keeping some of the "batter" in the fridge to cook up some fresh ones tomorrow. We will see how that goes - I am thinking it might get thicker, and thus stay thicker on the sheet (not that I am concerned)
    Great recipe!

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  29. Paper liners can be purchased that include a foil liner in the same package. These are normally used to bake without a muffin tin. The foil liner holds the paper liner upright and can be removed after baking your muffins on a cookie sheet. I use the foil liners alone in my muffin tin to bake cupcakes as well (gives me extra liners). This might be a way to help with the sticking problem. Use the foil liners sprayed lightly if you think the mixture might stick and try that. There is also a nonstick foil by Reynolds Wrap that you could mold into the muffin tin cups that would not require spray which might work just fine.

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    1. i was surprised no one had mentioned the foil cups yet, that was my first idea as to a solution

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  30. Too many comments to read to see if this has been suggested already but I thought I would line the muffin tins with the pepperoni first (make a cup, bottom and sides) then put in a scoop of mashed cauliflower in the center? In other words make a pepperoni basket. Or maybe using a thin slab of Canadian bacon as a basket? The options are tremendous! Thanks for posting!

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  31. I don't know if you get them in the US but in the UK you can get silicon muffin trays/moulds which you can bend inside out to get your finished baked item out of.

    Do they exist over there?

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  32. Try parchment paper on top of a doubled pan....everything I bake has two pans under....the one holding the food and an extra to disburse the heat more evenly.
    Yesterday I made ladyfingers (this is a recipe that should not be doubled unless you have two ovens.....because it all must go in the oven at once or it falls) and with the first recipe, I burned the lower rack of cookies on the bottom even with the double pan. SO...the second batch I used an extra pan next size smaller upside down on the bottom pan as an air pocket. (Right side up half sheet pan, next upside down 1/4 sheet pan, next sheet pan right side up covered in parchment, then I piped on the ladyfingers. For those of you that don't understand sheet pan terms......
    26"x 18"=sheet pan (this is made for a commercial sized oven)
    18"x 13"=half sheet pan
    13"x 9"=1/4 sheet pan
    sheet pan or jelly roll pan has edges all the way around
    cookie sheet is a flat piece of metal with a crimped edge at one end for handling
    and in case you were wondering why I needed so many ladyfingers...made a Charlotte Russe for a potluck dinner party of 16 for tonight
    Am a retired chef.......and as such I try to keep the chemicals out of my food. Only use butter or olive oil or parchment paper,the original kind from restaurant supply store that does not have a petroleum based coating. I buy parchment paper in 1000 sheet boxes and divide it with friends to lower our costs.

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  33. I'm wondering if a silicone mat like a slipmat or a silicone cupcake pan would do the trick. I love parchment paper, so much that I just ordered the silicone mats to try.

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    1. research silicone....it scares me.....

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  34. Can you taste the cottage cheese in these? I would love to try them but I don't think my hubby will eat it with cottage cheese. Any suggestions? If they are super cripsy then maybe he will eat them this way but I am just trying to get a feel for what these taste like?

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    1. I didn't think they tasted like cottage cheese BUT they are not super crispy. If you are concerned about the flavor you could try spreading with a bit of pizza sauce instead of just dipping them in.

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  35. I love the sound of these,but so far after being at your original post and this one I cannot find the link for the actual recipe! Help!

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    1. Here is the recipe :) -- http://www.damyhealth.com/2012/03/cauliflower-pizza-bites/

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  36. When I use a pan in the oven... I ALWAYS DOUBLE PAN....
    If I need a muffin tin, I buy two...and stack in the oven...the results are...evenly cooked no brown bottoms.
    If I cook bread in a metal pan, I always double pan...
    If I need a sheet pan, I always buy two....I prefer sheet pans from the commercial kitchen equipment company, they are thicker.
    Cookie sheets and sheet pans are two different items.
    If I roast in a pan I put the roasting pan on a sheet pan.
    It's like cooking custard, place dish in a pan with water to keep the bottom from burning and contents cooking evenly.
    The magic word here is always...ALWAYS

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