It’s not easy being cheesy, but it is easy to eat this Cheesy Garlic Bread Menorah!
Normally, when I am coming up with a new recipe, my first step is to Google the idea to make sure no one else has done anything like it. After blogging since 2010, this has become harder and harder, but it’s important to me to put recipes out into the Internet that are unique! Sometimes I’m surprised no one has done it before, like with my Fried Pickle Latkes. Pickles and latkes are the perfect pairing! I often get asked, isn’t it frustrating when someone else copies my recipe, but I always say they can’t copy my brain! I always have new ideas for you.
But for this recipe, I had seen various stuffed breads shaped like a Christmas tree and thought, wouldn’t that be cute in menorah form? It would! It reminded me of my Hanukkah Focaicca, but this recipe is even easier. You can use pre-made pizza dough and have it warm out of the oven in less than an hour.
I stuffed two pieces of pizza dough with an herby, garlic, butter, cheesy mixture (can’t go wrong with that) cut out strips for candles and twisted them, and then added peppers for the flames. Maybe because I was testing this recipe before Halloween, but it looked like a creepy witches hand to me and I couldn’t figure out why! In the end, I decided it’s a menorah because I say so, and it’s delicious so here it is.
I was thinking you could also get creative with the fillings. Maybe a Nutella filled dessert one dusted with powdered sugar??
Cheesy Garlic Bread Menorah
Ingredients
- 16 oz pizza dough (homemade or store bought)
- 1 stick salted butter, softened (4 oz or 1/2 cup)
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella (or more!)
- 1 Yellow or orange bell pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F and prep a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium microwave safe bowl, combine the butter, garlic, parsley, rosemary, oregano, red pepper flakes, and Parmesan cheese.
- Divide your pizza dough in two pieces and roll out each into an 11 x 5 inch rectangle. I found this easiest to do right on the parchment lined baking sheet so you don't have to transfer the menorah to the baking sheet.
- Spread a healthy layer of the butter mixture onto one rectangle and top with mozzarella cheese and then with the other rectangle. You will have some butter mixture left over.
- With a pizza cutter or kitchen shears, cut a strip of dough the long way. This will be your menorah base. Cut this in half the short way into two pieces and twist each one. Put them together like a "T" and secure to a long end to make the menorah base. The cut slits into the top making 8 candles and a center shammash (trim the candles so that shammash is a little longer). Twist these into the candles.
- Cut flame shapes out of the pepper and securely top each candle with a flame.
- Microwave the remaining butter mixture until melted and brush on top of the menorah.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Eat immediately! You can prep it earlier in the day and bake before eating too.
I haven’t yet made this. I’d need to make it one day and serve the next. Would that work?
It’s best served hot out of the oven, but you could either prep it a day ahead of time and then bake it before serving, or reheat it in a low oven until hot the next day.
Love this idea! But please include a way to pin the recipe from a desktop!
Thanks! At the top left of each photo there is a Pin it button. Or I use the Pinterest Chrome extension so you can pin anything from anywhere.
Can’t wait to make this with all of the kids during Hanukkah! Looks amazing!
Awesome! Hope you enjoy!
I made this last week for the first night of Hanukkah, but had half the herbed butter left over, so am planning to make it again tomorrow night or on Sunday for the final days!
It was excellent, and it garnered envious looks – so thank you so much for this lovely & fun recipe!
So glad you liked it!
I made this today and it was delicious! It was easier to make than I imagined and everyone liked it. I hope to make this each Hanukkah.
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it!