Cinnamon Dessert Pizza

Dessert pizza?.... oh yes! If you've ever had a dessert pizza from a popular pizza joint like First Class Pizza (if you're a Southern California resident), you know what I'm talking about. Fresh from the oven, warm and gooey, cinnamon & sugar cruble with sweet icing drizzled on top. Yummmmm... If you've never tried it, you just need to make this right now. But I will warn you, this is dangerous because it is so easy to make and so delicious, you'll want to toss one in the oven every day.

You might be thinking my photos are a little strange... I mean, I said this was pizza, but obviously it's a rectangle and most pizzas are traditionally a circle. Let me explain... I must confess that I do not even own a circular pizza pan at all. I had one of those pizza stones, but I think I dropped it one day and it broke into a thousand pieces (typical in my kitchen... I make a huge mess every time I create something). So I always make my pizzas a rectangle and use a cookie sheet to bake them. It's really not strange to me at all. You see, my mom made pizza every Friday night for dinner (and our family often ate it in the family room while watching a movie). She never made a pizza that was round. It was always a rectangle and always baked on a cookie sheet... so the tradition continues. You can make your pizza in whatever way you like - round, rectangle, triangle, freeform. It will be just as delicious no matter the shape.

Cinnamon Dessert Pizza

1 pizza dough*

1 tablespoon butter, melted

2 tablespoons cinnamon

for the streusel:

1/2 cup + 1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

2 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used canola oil)

for the icing:

1 cup powdered  sugar

1 tablespoon milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

*I just used the store-bought refrigerator dough, but you can use your favorite pizza dough recipe if you like. The store-bought kind typically comes out looking like a rectangle so it was perfect for my rectangle pizza pan - A.K.A. cookie sheet. I see a gluten-free pizza dough version in the near future.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Evenly spread the pizza dough onto your pizza pan or cookie sheet. Brush the dough with the melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon.

In a small bowl, combine the streusel ingredients using a fork or your clean fingers. Crumble the streusel evenly over the pizza dough. Bake the dessert pizza for about 8 to 9 minutes.

While the pizza is baking, make the icing. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Add a few extra drops of milk if needed to thin or some extra powdered sugar if you need to thicken the icing.

Remove the pizza from the oven and allow to cool for about 2 minutes. Drizzle with the icing. Slice and enjoy while it's still warm!