I don’t even know what to say about these… little puffs of love?

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I want to say they are perfect football food, but they are perfect EVERYTHING food. Um, I’m kind of even considering them for Thanksgiving which is huge because Thanksgiving in my world is all omg-don’t-make-one-untraditional-thing-including-real-life-cranberry-sauce. It’s true.

It’s like pull-apart bread meets the softest dinner roll meets flavorful buns. (I laughed at the last part because I’m a ten-year-old boy inside.) But really. There is a TON of flavor here. This is the first recipe you saw pop up in Sunday’s video and it’s simply a delicious dough covered in loads of butter, pesto, parmesan and fontina cheese. To die for. I’m just going to shorten that to TDF because I type it in nearly every blog post. Noooo I can’t be more original.

cheesy pesto skillet pull-apart bread I howsweeteats.com

I used this classic pesto from DeLallo – because let’s be real – I’ve more than documented my share of dead garden herbs over the last three years. I can’t keep them alive to save my own life. But! I’m hoping now that we’ve moved and I might have more space/room for a mini garden of sorts, I can get my act together and grow some green stuff. If you’re in that boat, the successful-at-growing-herbs boat, then you probably packed away a bunch of basil at some point in September… and this is the perfect excuse to use it. Obviously: with more bread and cheese.

You need a good amount of pesto though, because you’re going to smother the heck out of the buttery dough.

The other option is that you can make an arugula pesto… perhaps my all-time favorite pesto, but I don’t find it to be as potent when it comes to flavoring the bread. Sure, it’s peppery and wonderful, but it lacks some of that herby flavor. You know? You can totally mix it WITH basil though!! Or or or… you can make the double herb kale pesto from Seriously Delish but the real question is who wants to ruin their bread and cheese with kale?

Not I. Let’s save that for pasta and things like sandwiches and such?

cheesy pesto skillet pull-apart bread I howsweeteats.com

You probably should not take my advice though. Yesterday I attempted to hide a large amount of chocolate from myself only to “discover” (remember?) it again by midnight so it’s not like I’m really the voice of reason here.

The voice of reason says make these cheesy rolls though. They whispered it in my ear.

cheesy pesto skillet pull-apart bread I howsweeteats.com

Cheesy Pesto Skillet Pull Apart Bread

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Ingredients

Instructions 

  • Combine the milk and water in the bowl of your electric stand mixer. Stir in the yeast and honey, then add the olive oil. Let sit until foamy, about 15 minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups of the flour, the salt, the egg, cheese and pesto. Beat on medium-low speed with the paddle attachment until just combined, then switch to the dough hook. Add in the remaining flour while the mixer is kneading on low speed. Knead the dough for 5 to 6 minutes – it should be slightly sticky but still pull away from the sides. If it’s super sticky, add a bit more flour until it appears silky.
  • Remove the dough and place it in a well-oiled bowl. Cover it with a towel and let it rise in a warm place until it’s at least doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead it a few times, the break or cut it into 12 or 14 equal pieces.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a large oven-safe skillet with melted butter. Form the dough into equal sized balls (or rolls), and brush them with melted butter as well, placing them in the skillet. Sprinkle the dough with the fontina, pushing it in between the balls of dough. Spread the pesto on top and in between the rolls as well. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the tops are golden and set. Remove the bread and sprinkle it with extra parmigiano-reggiano and basil leaves. Serve immediately while warm.
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I appreciate you so much!

cheesy pesto skillet pull-apart bread I howsweeteats.com

promise i’ll give you a break from the cheese on Monday. (maybe.)