Pizza with Cottage Cheese Crust

• cottage cheese↗1.5 cup
• all purpose flour + 2-3 tablespoons for dusting↗1.5 cup
• baking powder↗1.5 teaspoon
• salt↗1 teaspoon
• olive oil↗1
• to 3/4 cup pizza sauce (I've just been using Rao's marinara)0.5 cup
• shredded mozzarella cheese0.75 cup
• grated Parmesan cheese0.25 cup

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Preheat: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place a rack at the highest position, near the top .

2. 2

   Prep Cottage Cheese: Blend the cottage cheese until smooth.

3. 3

   Make Dough for Crust: Place blended cottage cheese in a bowl; mix with the flour, baking powder and salt until a dough starts to come together. It will start to get kind of shaggy, crumbly, and sticky – use your hands to really bring it together. I usually turn it out on the counter and give it a few squishes, coating with a bit of extra flour, to make it into a cohesive ball. (You can also use a food processor to mix all ingredients into a dough! Super easy.)

4. 4

   Form The Crust: Place a sheet of parchment on a pizza pan or baking sheet. Place the dough on the parchment and dust the surface with flour – it will be sticky. Press into a circle that is about 12 inches in diameter. It is a pretty bready crust, so you want to make sure to press it wide enough that it doesn’t get entirely thick and soft. Pressing it thinner will get you a few more crispy bites.

5. 5

   Prep The Crust: Rub the top of the crust with olive oil.

6. 6

   Pre-Bake The Crust: Place in the oven; bake (no toppings) for 10 minutes. It will be slightly puffed and a little golden.

7. 7

   Add Sauce and Cheese: Remove from oven. Spread with sauce and top with the two cheeses. Bake on that same top rack for another 5 minutes to melt the cheeses.

8. 8

   Broil and Finish: Finally, broil for 2-3 minutes until the cheese and crust edges are deeply golden, like the picture. (My goal is always to get a few crisped bites around the edges.) I like to sprinkle the slices with red pepper flakes, drizzle with olive oil or hot honey, and dip into more sauce! It’s too good!