Homemade Garlic Fingers and Donair Sauce

Ready in 30 minutes if you have pre-made dough!

East Coasters, these Homemade Garlic Fingers and Donair Sauce are for you!  And for any friends you want to convert to lovers of the most delicious appetizer around. 

Whether you need party food for adults, OR kids, easy snacks for tailgating or Super Bowl, or cheap recipes for entertaining, THIS is your recipe.  Enjoy! 🙂

Okay, if you’re from the east coast, or have spent any real time here, maybe you’re excited right now.  If not, you’re probably wondering what the heck I’m talking about.  Stay with me, though.

Garlic fingers…. are amazing.  They just are.

They aren’t the same thing as cheesy bread, or bread sticks, or garlic bread or any of the other things that people try to pass off as being “just the same” as garlic fingers.

Nope.  Ask anyone.

Garlic fingers are swoon-worthy.  They are the perfect easy party food and the biggest crowd pleaser of all.

I love pizza so much, but I have to be honest:  If someone puts down a pizza and a pan of garlic fingers, I’m all over the garlic fingers.  And I bet you most people would agree.

You might have left over pizza after a party, but I doubt you’ll have many left over garlic fingers.

Okay.  That’s my ode to garlic fingers in a nutshell, at least when we’re talking taste.

Let’s talk cost for a minute.

Garlic fingers are cheap to make.  I love a budget-friendly snack, especially if I’m making something for a crowd. 

To make garlic fingers you need pizza dough (super cheap, especially if it’s homemade), a little butter, a whole lotta garlic, some cheese, and a small amount of bacon (although you can make them vegetarian too!).

Related:

How to Stock up on Bacon | Save Money on Groceries

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Whether you’re cooking for a potluck, entertaining for a foot ball game (or Super Bowl), trying to please both adults and kids, or just looking for easy, cheap snacks and appetizers you can make ahead of a party, this is the answer.

Yes, you could make these ahead and keep them in the fridge so your dough doesn’t over-rise.  Then bake them when you’re ready to eat them. 

I probably wouldn’t make them days ahead or anything, but a few hours should be fine.

On the topic of donair sauce:  this sauce is a litttttle different that what you might expect.  Mainly because it’s kind of sweet.  But it is *brilliant* with the garlic fingers, so give it a go.

Some people, like Laurier, don’t love it.  He eats his garlic fingers with sriracha.  I alternate between donair sauce and sriracha.  Some people don’t do any sauce at all.

However you top ’em, these are delicious.

How to Make Garlic Fingers:

Homemade Garlic Fingers and Donair Sauce – Step-by-Step Instructions

 Ingredients for Homemade Garlic Fingers and Donair Sauce

You’ll need some pizza dough.  We have two awesome recipes for pizza dough on our site – one for thick and fluffy crust and one for a thin, no-rise crust.   (And if you find yourself in a pinch, try our No Yeast Pizza Dough – 5 minute recipe!)

Try one of them or pick up some pizza dough at your grocery store (but just so you know, making it at home is almost as easy!).

Start by preheating your oven to 450 degrees F.

Then cook up 1/2 package of bacon, however you like.  I pretty much always use the microwave for this step, because it’s so easy, hands-off and doesn’t make any mess.   Once it’s cooked, drain it on some paper towel and then chop it into bite-sized pieces.

If you want to make vegetarian garlic fingers you can skip the bacon, but I think you should add about 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the melted butter (in a few steps).

Shred some mozzarella cheese.  This is 1/2 of a full-sized (450g) block – so around 225g or 8oz).

Crush or chop some garlic.  I used 5 cloves but you could always use more.  I don’t think you can go overboard with garlic in this recipe.  The heat from the oven really mellows it out.

Then melt 1/4 cup of butter and stir the garlic into it (not shown). 

Tip: If you’re making vegetarian garlic fingers add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the butter too.

Oil your pizza pans and then spread your dough out on them.  If you’re using one of our recipes, they both make enough for two pizza pans or one large cookie sheet.

Spoon or brush garlic butter onto the dough and spread it around so there are no uncovered spots.

Sprinkle with chopped bacon and shredded cheese.  Pop the pans in your preheated oven.

If you’re doing two pizza pans, I would try about 12-14 minutes, and rotate them from top to bottom half way through (the time will vary a bit depending on the thickness of your dough).  Start checking the crust a little early so it doesn’t burn.

If you’re doing a cookie sheet I would put it in the center of the oven and start checking it after 12 minutes (thinner crust) to 14 minutes (thicker crust).

To check it just use a knife or a pair of tongs to pick up the crust and look underneath.  It should be lightly browned when it’s ready.

While the garlic fingers are cooking, use a hand mixer to whip a very cold can of evaporated milk until it’s fluffy.

As you’re whipping the milk, gradually add 1.5 cup of sugar.

Add 6 teaspoons of vinegar and 1.5 teaspoons of garlic powder.

Whip it until the sugar is dissolved (it doesn’t feel grainy between your fingers) and it’s nice and fluffy.

This makes a really large batch, so you can either half the recipe (or quarter it), or you can freeze the leftovers in small ziptop baggies for next time you make garlic fingers (this is what I do). 🙂

Tip: People have asked if you can make donair sauce without an electric mixer, and the answer is yes, you can.  You can use a whisk, or even a fork.  BUT, it will be a bit of an arm workout, and of course,  take longer to thicken.

Enjoy! 🙂

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