Whether you want something scrumptious to pop in your lunchbox, or to snaffle down for an after school snack, pizza balls are super simple and quick to whip up.

REMEMBER: always ask permission from a grown-up before you start cooking

What you need:

• 1 cup self-raising flour
  plus, a little extra for dusting your work surface.

• 1/2 cup plain, unsweetened yoghurt

• Pizza sauce
  OR you can make your own by mixing 4 tablespoons of tomato paste with a teaspoon of crushed garlic and 1/4 teaspoon basil.

• 1 cup grated cheese

• Your favourite pizza toppings.
  We included finely diced ham and pineapple in ours.

• 1 egg

• Italian Seasoning (optional)

• Rolling pin

• Baking paper

What to do:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour and yoghurt together until the mixture resembles slightly sticky breadcrumbs.
   If your mixture is too dry, add a little more yoghurt.
   If your mixture is too wet, try adding a little more flour.

3. Once mixed, roll the dough into a ball using clean hands.

4. Lightly dust a flat surface with flour (or you can use baking paper) and roll your dough out using a rolling pin.

5. Once rolled out, cut your dough into squares. Bigger squares will make larger pizza balls. For the perfect bite sized shape, our squares were approx. 5cm wide.

6. In the middle of each square spread (or dollop) pizza sauce.
   Stick to the centre. Make sure that there is a border of dough that does not have pizza sauce or fillings on it, all the way around each square.

7. Add a little cheese and your favourite toppings on top of the pizza sauce.
   Tip: don’t add too much cheese, or too many fillings, or the pizza balls will burst open when you bake them. If you want lots of fillings, try making larger square shapes.

8. Next, pinch your squares shut by bringing all the sides together and pinching them closed with your fingers.
   Make sure the ball is completely closed to stop the fillings coming out.

9. Line a baking tray with baking paper and space your pizza balls approx 2cm apart and with the side that was pinch closed facing downwards.

10. Whisk your egg in a small bowl and either dip the top of each ball into the egg, or brush the egg on.

11. We added a little Italian Seasoning to the top of each ball to give it a real pizza flavour,

12. Bake in the oven for approx. 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

13. Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

14. Serve on their own, or with marinara sauce.

Did you give it a go?

Send us a photo of your pizza balls (and any baking tips) and you might find your pizza balls featured in a future issue of Upstart magazine… AND win a prize!