Delicata Squash Dessert Pizza

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We spent five days in Michigan earlier this month. Traverse City to be exact, nestled in-between two peninsulas that jut into Lake Michigan. Flourishing off its natural beauty of beaches and rolling hills, cherry and apple trees, vegetable farms, one after the other, and some really genuine people. It’s an area I fell in love with this summer when I was visited for the first time, and when I returned, starting planning when I could introduce Brian. It didn’t dawn on me until a few weeks later that I had booked our flights the day after the election. Regardless of opinions, we can all agree that that was a very emotional day for this country, and it was actually a breath of fresh air to be traveling, away from my phone and the TV.

Upon returning home, all the leaves had left the trees, which should have meant that fall was on its way out, yet it was nearly 60 degrees. We’ve been blessed with a long, warm, beautiful couple of months, but I even tweeted – I’m ready for cold and snow. The holidays. Gatherings. Bundling up in sweaters. Christmas music.

And the one time of year I get into festive colored eats, with traditional red and green…. like this Sweet Delicata Pizza with squash, fried sage, pomegranates, and honey yogurt.

This pizza, made on an Udi’s Gluten-Free crust (my go-to! It’s light and thin, which is my ideal base), was created in an attempt to recreate the quite dated phenomenon of dessert pizza, which defines the 90’s in my mind. I have very fond memories of mom a shortbread crust, painting it with sweet cream cheese, berries, kiwi, and canned pineapple. And don’t forget a sugary glaze made from the pineapple juices. Then there was the cinnamon crumble dessert pizza served at the local Godfather’s  (any Midwest reader will remember this pizza place), baked on a sweet dough crust, almost mimicking a coffee cake, vanilla drizzle and all.

Don’t get me wrong – I loved both of these. But my palette sways less sugary these days, and my ingredient choices flow with the seasons. So I decided to give dessert pizza a modern facelift, with a candy-like natural sweetness from squash and honey kissed yogurt. Delicata is my favorite, favorite squash for multiple reasons. It has amazing flavor, you can eat the skin, and nothing looks prettier than those rings!

With only 8 ingredients (which also makes this recipe very easy), even the little things are big players. Pomegranate seeds add a pop of tart, and the fried sage is there for a crackly, earthy depth. Don’t go without either. Or without Mariah’s “All I Want For Christmas” playing in the backround as you make this. Trust me. xo