Pepperoni Pizza-Stuffed Pull-Apart Wreath With Pesto Dipping Sauce

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  

Divide the pizza dough evenly into 26 balls (about 1 ounce each). Working 1 piece at a time, press each piece of dough to flatten a bit, then stuff with 1 teaspoon chopped pepperoni and 1 mozzarella cube. Pinch to seal, then roll the dough ball in your hands to smooth. Repeat 25 times to stuff all the pizza dough balls. 

Arrange the pizza dough balls seam-side down about ¼-inch apart in a circle on the prepared baking sheet with 10 on the inner circle and 16 on the outer circle; they will connect once they are baked. The hole in the circles should be 4 to 5 inches in diameter to fit a bowl for the pesto dipper. 

Brush the top of the wreath with olive oil. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let it sit until it comes to room temperature, 30 to 45 minutes.  

Preheat oven to 425˚F with a rack in the center. 

Place the baking sheet with the wreath on the center rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes.  

Meanwhile, make a garlic butter: Melt butter in a small saucepan with garlic. Once butter is melted, lower the heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the Italian seasoning.  

For the pesto dipper, pulse pistachios in the bowl of a food processor a few times so they just begin to break down. Add basil, garlic, salt, pepper and cheese and pulse a few times to combine. With the machine on, stream in the olive oil until evenly combined and a pesto forms, then stream in the hot honey. Scoop the pesto dipper into a serving bowl or ramekin that fits within the center of the wreath. 

Remove the wreath from the oven and immediately brush with garlic butter. Place the pesto dipper in the center and serve from the baking sheet or carefully remove to a platter. Arrange the remaining slices of pepperoni on the wreath to make a "bow."