Christmas tree pizza pockets are a fun holiday appetizer made with refrigerated pizza dough, pizza sauce, cheese, and your favorite pizza toppings baked into Christmas tree shapes.

A tree shaped platter topped with eight baked Christmas tree-shaped pizza pockets sprinkled with fresh parsley. Fresh parsley leaves surround the pizza pockets. A white round bowl of pizza sauce sits next to the platter.

To make these cute pizza pockets, you’ll need a decent-sized cookie cutter. Most cookie cutters are in the 2″-3″ range, so you’ll want to find one that’s of decent size. The tree cookie cutter I used was 4″ tall.

You may also want to try different shapes. A stocking or mitten cookie cutter would be very easy to fill and seal closed.

You’re also not limited with the fillings inside. Although there is limited space, you can still add in a few extra favorites. Great additions would be diced green peppers, onions, or try ground Italian sausage instead of pepperoni.

Ingredients

Refrigerated Pizza Dough Sheets
Pizza Sauce
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Mini Pepperoni
Large Egg
Water
Butter
Garlic Powder

How to Make Christmas Tree Pizza Pockets

Preheat the oven to 400℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll out one pizza dough to approximately ¼ inch thick.
Using a tree-shaped cookie cutter, cut out shapes.

A white surface topped with pizza dough rolled flat and cut into eight tree shapes. A silver tree cookie cutter sits next to the dough.

Place half of the trees on the baking sheet.

Add a small amount of pizza sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni to the center, leaving the edges clear. Place another tree shape over each one and crimp the edges with a fork. Repeat with the second sheet of pizza dough.

Pizza dough in the shape of a tree topped with pizza sauce.

Pizza dough in the shape of a tree topped with pizza sauce and mini pepperoni.

Whisk the egg with the water and brush over the tops of the trees.

A silver baking sheet topped with white parchment paper and eight unbaked Christmas tree pizza pockets being brushed with egg wash by a gray silicone pastry brush.

Tip: Have leftover pizza dough scraps? They can be hard to roll out again, even after resting the dough. Instead, make garlic twist breadsticks.
Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until golden brown.

A silver baking sheet topped with white parchment paper and eight baked Christmas tree pizza pockets being brushed with garlic butter by a gray silicone pastry brush.

Mix the melted butter with the garlic powder and brush it over the warm pockets. Serve warm.

A closeup of a light green platter topped with Christmas tree pizza pockets surrounded by parsley.

Tips

Keep the dough cold. Refrigerated pizza dough is easiest to cut when it is still cool and slightly firm. If it gets too soft or sticky, chill it for another 10-15 minutes.

Cut the shapes close together. Nest the Christmas tree cutters as tightly as possible so you have fewer scraps.

Don't overfill them. A small spoonful of sauce, cheese, and toppings is plenty. Too much filling makes the edges harder to seal and can cause leaking while they bake.

Leave a clean border. Keep the filling about ¼ inch away from the edges so the top and bottom pieces of dough can stick together.

Seal the edges well. Press around the tree with your fingers first, then use the tines of a fork to crimp the edges.

Brush with garlic butter. Melted butter mixed with garlic powder adds extra flavor and helps the tops brown nicely.

Serve with dipping sauce. Warm pizza sauce or marinara on the side makes these especially good for holiday parties.

A hand dipping a Christmas tree shaped pizza pocket dipped into a round white bowl of pizza sauce.

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