As a child, my dad hated buying Lactaid for me. He told me this only recently, and I thought it was funny, considering that he had never brought up the topic with me as a kindergartener.
In our family of four, I was the only lactose-intolerant idiot. The rest were fine with 2%. This seemed to ruin the party for the dairy-loving group. “Ice cream, everyone? “Ice cream, everyone?” Well, nearly everyone …?”. My digestive system hated me.
I was also allergic to everything outside, including cats. I needed allergy shots, medication, and endless doctor visits, where my hands would get locked in Chinese finger traps repeatedly. My mom was forced to buy more expensive liquids because I couldn’t take pills. This was something my father hated. Each tooth was facing a different direction, and I needed braces to correct this. Then, I added retainers. I cried almost every day of the 4th Grade because I was missing my mother, and I hated my new rural school far away from New Mexico.
Let’s not go there. It was sad to see all the wheezing and inhalers.
Between braces, freshman football, and community college, I forgot about lactose intolerance. It was almost like when I stopped wearing my glasses in 2009 to make my eyes better. My stomach was not as obedient. It has been fighting me over dairy for the past couple of years.
It was like the moldy cheese you keep in your refrigerator; I didn’t understand my intolerance. I know I should have taken care of this years ago, but I am now trying to do so. It’s better late than never.
Breakfast pizzas tend to be savory, but I like them sweet. This pizza is made with a simple dough (either store-bought or homemade, I’ve included the recipe below), baked apple slices, raw-sugar crumble and a dairy-free vanilla sauce.
John and I ate these on a lazy afternoon last week, and we couldn’t resist comparing them to dessert pizzas that you can find at any American pizza stand. But they were way better. These are fresher, healthier, and ridiculously easy to make. They’d make a great weekend treat, brunch, or dessert for late afternoon or evening. Like baked apples and most other things with glaze, I like them any time of the day.
Ingredients
Pizza
- One 12-inch pizza dough divided into two equal portions (recipe).
- Two whole apples (half sweet, half tart // cored, peeled and chopped)
- Lemon juice, 1 Tbsp
- Half a teaspoon cinnamon
- Brown sugar, 2 Tbsp
- Half a teaspoon of cornstarch
- Earth Balance (or any other non-dairy Butter // divided)
Streusel
- 3 Tbsp raw sugar
- 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp of Earth Balance
Glaze
- Powdered sugar, 1 cup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 Tbsp. Earth Balance (melted).
- Almond or Soy Milk: 1 sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. (204 C). Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle cinnamon, brown sugar, and cornstarch over the apples, and then sprinkle lemon juice on top. Sprinkle tiny dots of Earth Balance over the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until fragrant and soft. Toss once halfway through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Increase oven temperature to 450°F (232°C) and divide pizza dough into three equal portions (as written in the original recipe // adjust if batch size is changed). Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is very thin.
- Top with apples. Mix sugar and flour, and then cut in butter to form streusel. Sprinkle the streusel over the apples.
- Pizzas should be baked for 10-12 mins or until the crust is lightly browned and the toppings have bubbled.
- While preparing the glaze, combine powdered sugar and vanilla with melted butter. Whisk in almond milk to desired consistency – thin enough for a drizzle. There will be a leftover glaze.
- Serve warm. Remove pizzas from the oven, drizzle with vanilla glaze, and cut as you wish. Store these in an airtight refrigerator container for 2 to 3 days. You can reheat the food in the microwave or oven before serving.
