Pizza Friday: Apple, Bacon, Caramelized Onions, Blue Cheese

I have a huge backlog of pizzas from Pizza Fridays that I need to blog, including this one with sliced apple, bacon, caramelized onions and blue cheese. I know it sounds weird, but we love fruit on pizza, especially when the sweetness of the fruit is paired with salty goodness.

Apple, Bacon, Caramelized Onions, Blue Cheese Pizza

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
1-lb ball of pizza dough
8 oz mozzarella, shredded
1 small apple (we like honeycrisp), peeled and thinly sliced
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles

Preheat a pizza stone in a 500-degree oven for at least an hour while you assemble your ingredients.

Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Allow the onion to cook slowly - you want it to get brown without burning. Lower the heat if the onions are browning too quickly. If the pan seems dry, add a splash of water. The onions should take about 20-30 minutes to turn a nice, caramel color and become soft.

Lay a piece of parchment paper the size of the pizza stone on a work surface. Dust lightly with flour and roll out the pizza dough into a 14-inch circle. Drizzle some olive oil on the dough and rub around so all the dough is lightly coated.

Top with the mozzarella cheese, followed by the apple sliced, bacon and the caramelized onions. Dollop the blue cheese evenly on top.

Transfer the pizza on the parchment paper to the pizza stone. Bake for 15 minutes, checking often to make sure there are no bubbles forming. I keep a poking fork handy to pop them during the first 5 minutes.

Remove the pizza from the oven. Cool for a few minutes, then slice.