Cheesy Pull Apart Christmas Tree Dough Balls

Christmas tree shaped dough balls on a lined board.

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Cheesy Pull Apart Christmas Tree Dough Balls

These super soft pull-apart Christmas tree dough balls are stuffed with a cheesy, cranberry filling for the ultimate festive appetizer idea. They're brushed with delicious garlic butter as they come out of the oven, making them the perfect fun snack to feed a crowd over the holiday season.

The recipe uses the tangzhong method of quickly cooking a little flour and milk into a paste before adding it to the rest of the dough ingredients to keep the buns SUPER soft for days. Or, make it even easier and use store-bought pizza dough.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Rising time1

Total Time1 45

Course: baking

Cuisine: American

Keyword: dough balls, garlic dough balls

Servings: balls

Calories: 484kcal

Author: Kate Phillips

Ingredients

For the tangzhong -

30 g bread flour
145 g whole milk

For the rest of the dough balls -

500 g bread flour
190 g whole milk
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
75 g unsalted butter
1 egg whisked (for the egg wash)

For the cheesy filling -

1 mozzarella ball finely diced (or use grated mozzarella)
½ cup gruyere grated
⅓ cup cranberry sauce

For the garlic butter -

75 g unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves crushed
⅓ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves or use rosemary, thyme or oregano
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Instructions

Make the tangzhong.
Combine the 30g bread flour and 145g of milk in a small pan over low heat. Stir continuously until the flour and milk thicken into a paste (much like a roux in a cheese sauce). When a thick paste has formed, remove it from the heat and transfer it to a large mixing bowl.
Make the dough.
Add 500g bread flour, 190g milk, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of yeast into the bowl with the tangzhong paste. Mix really well with a large wooden spoon or spatula until it comes together into a rough, floury dough.
Cover with a tea towel for a couple of minutes while you prepare the butter. You want the butter to be soft, so I like to pop it in the microwave for about 15 seconds. Don't worry if it melts a little - it's totally fine. Add the softened butter to the dough, and mix really well with the spoon again until it's all combined.
Knead the dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured flat surface, then knead it for about 10 minutes. The easiest way to describe the process of kneading is that you're going to press down onto the dough with the heel of your hand, and then push the dough away from you. Fold the dough back over itself, give it a quarter turn, then repeat that process.
It will start out rough and floury, and you'll feel it start to change as you keep working with it. Eventually, it will become smooth and supple. At this point, pop it back into your mixing bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Leave it to rise in a warm place until it's roughly doubled in size.

PRO TIP: The time it takes for your dough to rise will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. Take a photo of the dough as you leave it to rise, so you can easily compare.

Form the dough balls.
Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. You'll need 25 balls for your Christmas tree. I like to weigh the dough and then divide it into 25, but you can also eyeball it if you like.
Form the pieces into rough balls, then flatten them with your hands into a rough circle, about 4cm/1.5" in diameter. Spoon on a little cranberry sauce, then pile on a teaspoon of the mozzarella and gruyere mix.
Pinch the edges together over the filling, forming a little ball. Press the edges together well to seal the balls, then turn them over. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Form the Christmas tree and bake.
Heat the oven to 350°F/180°C fan-bake and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Place 2 stuffed dough balls at the bottom of the tray to make the trunk, then place 6 dough balls along the bottom of the tray to make the first level. Continue with the rest of the balls, losing 1 each layer (so 5 dough balls, then 4 and so on). Place the final 2 dough balls on either side of the ball on top of the tree to make a star. Brush with the whisked egg, then transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until they're golden brown.
Make the garlic butter.
While the dough balls are in the oven, melt 75g butter in a small pot over low heat, then add the 2 crushed garlic cloves and stir them for a couple of minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and mix through 1 teaspoon of flaky sea salt and the chopped parsley leaves.
Brush with garlic butter and serve.
Once the dough balls look lovely and golden, remove them from the oven. Brush them with the garlic butter while they're warm, then serve with more cranberry sauce on the side while they're soft and warm and the cheesy center is lovely and gooey.

Notes

PREP AHEAD: You can make the dough the day before you want to make the dough balls, and just let it rise in the fridge overnight. Then just remove it from the fridge and form the balls when you're ready. You can also stuff the dough balls, form the tree on the tray then cover it in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge overnight to bake the next day.

INGREDIENT NOTES: Play around with your cheese - I love pairing something stretchy with something strong - so you could replace the gruyere with strong cheddar, blue cheese, manchego, brie or camembert. Keep the mozzarella for the best, oozy, melty factor though. You can leave out the cranberry sauce if you like - it's a nice festive touch but you can just stuff them with cheese, or use your favourite chutney (this fig and tamarind chutney is great, as is sweet chilli jam). Or, level them up by adding some prosciutto, bacon or chorizo.

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