If you’ve been on social media in the last week then you know the current fast food obsession is Little Caesar’s Crazy Puffs, and you know I had to try my hand at it, so welcome my Copycat Crazy Puffs! I read the description (included below) and thought to myself “oh I can do that” and then I did.

Copycat Crazy Puffs Ingredients

Feel free to skip to the full recipe, but here are valuable notes about the ingredients you will need to prepare this Copycat Crazy Puffs recipe:

• All-purpose flour, water, active dry yeast, extra virgin olive oil, fine sea salt, onion powder: These are the ingredients for the dough. I wanted it to be fragrant, so that’s why I added a touch additional salt and some onion powder. Feel free to use store bought dough to save time and effort. Trader Joe’s pizza dough is fairly excellent.

• Crushed tomatoes, garlic, Calabrian chiles, tomato purée, balsamic vinegar, sugar: Major components of our pizza sauce. Sugar only if you need to reduce the acidity. Again, store bought pasta or pizza sauce is acceptable for these Copycat Crazy Puffs, too.

• Italian seasoning, crushed black pepper, garlic powder: Seasonin’s. I made my own Italian seasoning, but McCormick’s Perfect Pinch Italian Seasoning is excellent too. The garlic powder gets mixed with the grated cheeses, and the Italians seasoning is in the sauce, and dusted over the pastries before and after baking.

• Basil, flat-leaf parsley: Fresh herbs go in the sauce to add a really lovely aromatic flavor to it. You can omit them, and stay with dehydrated versions or just extra Italian seasoning.

• Low-moisture mozzarella, muenster cheese: Little Caesar’s uses a blend of mozzarella and muenster cheese, so that’s what I opted for in these Copycat Crazy Puffs.

• Garlic butter: We baste the pastry with it, and we drizzle it over the surfaces of the cooked Copycat Crazy Puffs, too. I used Kerrygold’s Garlic and Herb butter, but my Very Garlicky Garlic Butter would be fantastic.

How to Make Copycat Crazy Puffs

Full instructions are included in the recipe below, but here is a rudimentary overview of what you’ll need to do, along with some essential insights to help you make the most of this Copycat Crazy Puffs recipe:

• Begin with the Copycat Crazy Puffs Dough: In a large mixing basin stir together the water, yeast, sugar, and salt. Let the yeast froth – it’ll take a few minutes, then add in the flour, onion powder, and tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Use a spatula to stir everything together into a glutinous, shaggy dough. Sprinkle extra flour on the counter, then transfer your dough to the counter. Sprinkle a touch more flour over the surface of the dough. Use your hands or a pastry cutter to knead the dough just until the extra flour has been incorporated, and the dough is less glutinous. Lightly oil the same basin you mixed the dough in. Transfer the dough back into the basin and cover with a kitchen towel. Set it aside to rise while you work on the marinade.

• Make the Pizza Sauce for the Copycat Crazy Puffs: Place a medium skillet over medium high heat and add the extra virgin olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add in the tomato purée, calabrian chiles, and minced garlic. Stir, enabling the tomato purée to simmer in the oil. Let the peppers and garlic darken and even char a little bit for additional flavor, then add the crushed tomatoes. Stir together to integrate everything, then stir in the Italian seasoning, balsamic vinegar, and crushed black pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. To conclude, incorporate in the fresh herbs. Taste, and add the sugar only if you believe it’s too acrid or acidic.

• Start assembling the Crazy Puffs: Preheat your oven to 475°F and make sure a rack is at the top. Grab two 12-well muffin or cupcake pan. Oil the insides of each well with extra virgin olive oil – this well help the cups caramelize, and prevent adhering. If you only have one muffin pan, that’s OK, just cook in two portions. I recommend creating 16–18 puffs instead of 12 as I did for the puffs depicted, so the Copycat Crazy Puffs remain flat and better resemble Little Caesar’s version. Portion your dough into 16–18 patties. You can estimate this, or use a kitchen scale to keep them evenly proportioned. Take each piece of dough and position it into the bottom of the muffin wells, then flatten them down into a flat layer.

• Prepare the garnishes and get to decorating! In a large basin, mix together the mozzarella, muenster, and garlic powder until well combined, and arrange your pepperoni on a paper towel lined plate, in a single layer. Microwave the pepperoni for 15 seconds, just until the margins begin curling and the oil dissipates. Baste each dough round gently with garlic butter, and sprinkle on a touch of Italian seasoning. Use a small dry measuring cup (around 1/2 C measurement should work) to firmly press the dough rounds down into the bottom and sides of the muffin well. Next, distribute a small quantity of the assorted cheeses, about a teaspoon or so, onto the top of each pastry round. Spoon a tablespoon or so of pizza sauce into the center of each one. Top this with two pieces of pepperoni, if using, and then a generous quantity of the mixed cheese.

• Bake the Copycat Crazy Puffs. Use your basting brush to drizzle garlic butter all over the top of the unbaked pastries, then sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Finish with a little additional pizza sauce on top for razzle dazzle, then put in the oven. Bake uncovered for 14 minutes, until the cheese around the margins has deeply caramelized. Tent the pan gently with aluminum foil, and continue heating until the dough is cooked through, and the cheese is completely caramelized. Pull the Copycat Crazy Puffs from the oven, baste generously with the remaining garlic butter. Repeat with the remaining ingredients if you’re cooking them in two portions. Dust all of the pastries with a touch more Italian seasoning and enjoy. Dassit!

Read Also: Master the Art of Creating the Tastiest Pies

Crazy Puff Mistakes I Made

I’ve made the Crazy Puffs about four times in a succession and have learned some of the do’s and don’ts to perfect these:

• The cheese is the star of the show, so make sure you use a high quality mozzarella and parmesan to give you that fresh flavor. You could step up the freshness and get both of them in blocks and do the cheese grating yourself.

• If you’re purchasing pizza dough from the grocery store, make sure you leave it out for at least 1-2 hours to get to room temperature. I didn’t do this on my first batch and when I was waiting for the dough to rise, I had to wait about 3-4 hours later just to complete them. They still turned out wonderful, but it just is something I didn’t know (I’m not a pro chef or baker).

• The pizza dough you buy from the grocery store may not rise as high as if you made the dough from scratch. It’s not a huge issue and it doesn’t make any difference when it’s completed. I would just make sure you bake just a smidgen longer to ensure it’s cooked entirely.

• Rao’s sauce is outstanding! I’m not paid to endorse them, and I’ve tried a classic marinara and another brand of sauce; but Rao’s had the finest flavors and I enjoyed the morsels of tomatoes. It also creates a wonderful spreading marinade for your Crazy Puffs.

• I’ve selected bottled minced garlic and garlic powder because its quick and convenient for individuals. I typically use raw garlic in all of my day to day dishes, and the difference between using one or the other is flavor / freshness. If I used the fresh garlic, it will be the star of the show; not the cheese. It will have a wonderful garlic flavor, but if you’re spending a substantial amount of money on cheese, it will spoil those delicate cheese qualities.

• Don’t fret if you aren’t able to form a ‘cup’ with your dough. Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it doesn’t. But when I use pepperoni as one of the layers it helps keep the cup open for the remainder.

• Sea salt over ordinary ionized salt! The flavor is superior and its one more pure ingredient you are using vs. the Little Caesar’s Crazy Puffs.

• One of my Crazy Puffs is equivalent to two of the Little Caesar’s Crazy Puff’s. A 12 muffin pan is the ideal quantity and I can get satisfied after consuming two of these!