Halloween is all about costumes and candy. But before the kids go out with their superhero pillowcases and plastic pumpkins (or before you rip open the bags of fun-sized Kit-Kats), everyone needs some dinner. And it seems like trick-or-treating gets earlier and earlier every year.

We always had pizza before we went on our hunt for candy, and most of the time we ordered it. But delivery can take forever on Halloween, and there really isn’t any decent delivery pizza around here anyway. This pizza is pretty quick (as long as you remember to stick the puff pastry dough in the fridge in the morning to thaw) and pretty versatile.

Obviously, there are a lot of make-at-home options for pizza. You can start from scratch and make your own crust, you can buy unbaked pizza dough and roll it out yourself or you can throw your toppings on a pre-made crust. All of those are good options. But I like puff pastry for weeknights because it gives you a home-baked feel without having to deal with yeast or rolling anything out. You just plop it on a cookie sheet.

A few notes: 1. I recommend using shredded mozzarella instead of cutting balls of mozzarella into pieces. It just works better that way. But either can be used in a pinch.
2. I made this before it started SNOWING in the DC area, so nice, ripe tomatoes were still available. Feel free to use smaller (e.g. cherry) tomatoes if those look better. And add whatever other vegetables you’d like.
3. I also tried brushing pesto on the crust instead of the garlic butter — very good. I’m sure pizza sauce would work as well, if you or your kids are averse to actual slices of tomato.

Puff pastry pizzas (Adapted from Williams-Sonoma “Cooking from the Farmer’s Market“) Serves 4-6
8-by-10-inch rectangle of frozen puff pastry, cut in half (mine came divided)
2-3 ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
salt
1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 clove garlic
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Olive oil for drizzling

Thaw the puff pastry in the refrigerator. Salt the tomato slices and allow to drain on paper towels 30-60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Melt the butter in the microwave. Finely chop the garlic and add to the butter.

Place the puff pastry rectangles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the garlic butter onto the puff pastry, then sprinkle evenly with mozzarella and 2 tablespoons of the parmesan cheese, leaving about a 1/4-inch border. Arrange the tomato slices on top and sprinkle with remaining parmesan.

Bake until puffed and golden, 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle basil over the pizzas, drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately.