Butternut Squash Pizza Snakes

Hi!
Here I'm going to show you how to make butternut squash pizza snakes!
They are pretty easy and if you make the sauce beforehand, very fast to make. I've made them a couple of times now and they are always a hit. If you don't like butternut squash they can be filled with a different sauce like regular pizza sauce or Alfredo sauce. Here I'm making plain cheese but they can be customized with any additional pizza toppings you want!

ps. This recipe makes a lot of squash sauce so there will be some left over. It freezes well and is great over pasta or gnocchi

Supplies

Butternut squash sauce

-1.5 lbs 1" butternut squash cubes (the squash a little over 2lbs before skinning and gutting)

-2 Tbsp olive oil

-1 whole onion

-5 cloves of garlic

-4 sage leaves and a couple sprigs of thyme (or mix and match your own seasonings)

-1/2 tsp pepper

-1 tsp salt

-1 cup chicken broth

-1/2 cup half and half

- about 3 cups shredded mozzarella

(I prefer plain cheese but you add any other pizza like toppings you want like sausage, mushrooms, onions, peppers, spinach, or even meatballs)

Dough:

- 2 Tbsp yeast

- 2 Tbsp sugar

- 2 cups warm water

- 1/4 vegetable oil

- 2.5 tsp salt

- 6-7 cups all purpose flour

Snake decorations

- sugar eyes

- an egg

- 2 Tbsp water

- food coloring of your choice

(I used yellow, red, black, and brown)

Starting With the Butternut Squash Sauce

Preheat oven to 400°f and lightly grease a baking sheet

Chop the onion into large wedges and put it in a bowl with the squash cubes and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper then lay them out in a single layer on the baking sheet.
Peel the garlic cloves and put them on a piece of foil with the herbs and drizzle a little bit of olive oil over them. Fold the foil over itself to make a little packet and put it on the tray with the squash and onions.
Roast everything for about 25 minutes or until the squash is fork tender, flipping the squash and onions about half way through
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about ten minutes

Blending the Sauce

Once the veggies are cool enough dump them all into a blender or food processor. Add the cup and chicken broth and 1/2 cup of half and half. Blend until completely smooth.
Taste and add salt as needed. The amount will change depending on how salty your chicken broth is. I needed about a half teaspoon.
Transfer the sauce to a container with a lid leave it to cool on the counter while you make the dough

Making the Dough

I use a very simple bread recipe that's easy and versatile. I use it for everything from cinnamon rolls to bread sticks and pizza. For a sweeter dough I just sub milk and butter for the water and oil and add a little extra sugar.

So now on to the dough making

Add the yeast, sugar, and warm water to the bowl of a stand mixer and let it sit for around ten minutes. Once the yeast is nice and bubbly add the oil, salt, and four cups of flour. Mix with the paddle attachment until it's mostly mixed together. Switch to the dough hook and add the rest of the flour one cup at a time until it forms a slightly tacky dough. Cover with a towel and let the dough rise in a warm area for an hour

Making the Snakes

After the dough rises, dump it out onto a floured work space and knead to get rid of any large air bubbles. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the bowl and cover with the towel to keep it from drying out. If you want to make a rattle snake take a small piece of dough and make a couple little dough balls to stick on the tail after you shape the snake.

Roll the other half into a 20" log with one end (the head) a little thicker and the other (the tail) a little thinner. Make sure there's a little flour under the dough then use the tips of your fingers to flatten it to be about 7.5" inches wide through the mid section it will be a little wider and a little thinner on the ends. Be careful not to make any thin spots and try to keep it no less than 1/3 of an inch thick.

Spread about a half cup of squash sauce down the center of the snake and then sprinkle with the mozzarella. It you're adding other toppings you may want to reduce the amount of sauce or cheese. The more filling there is the harder it is to close up the snake.

Fold the edges of the dough up and pinch to seal all the way along the snake and carefully roll it over so the seam is on the bottom. Now lay a lightly greased piece of parchment paper next to the snake and slowly inch it on there in a wiggly snake shape. Then pick up the parchment paper and set it on a baking sheet.

Repeat these steps to make the second snake then cover with a towel and let them rise in a warm spot for half an hour

Coloring the Snakes

While the snakes rise, preheat the oven to 400°f
Find some pictures of snakes to pick colors and patterns from or make up your own. I made a copperhead and a coral snake this time.
Divide the egg so you have the yolk in one bowl the whites in another. Add a tablespoon of water to each one and beat until fully combined. Divide the yolk and whites into a couple bowls and add a couple drops of food coloring. The yolk works best with yellow and orange since it already has some color to it.
When the snakes are done rising use a pastry brush to paint the snakes.
Once you are satisfied with your snake art, bake in the oven one at a time for 12-15 minutes. Since they were so thick I used a thermometer to check if they were done. At about 185°f they were perfectly done.
There will probably be some cheese leakage

Finishing Touches

Allow the snake to cool for at least ten minutes then move it to a cutting board. Decide where you want to put the eyes then use a small knife to cut a little divit where each eye will go and then pop the eyes into the divit.

Snakes!

Now you have some delicious pizza snakes!

I hope you liked my instructable and please share pictures of your pizza snakes if you make them!