Garlic Knots that make your heart melt

I'm beginning work on a play at my school (as the props master), called Rabbit Hole.  For the read through, our director decided it would be fun to have a pot luck so that cast and crew could get to know each other.  So I decided to make a recipe that I have been drooling on my keyboard over for months.  Mozzarella. Garlic. Knots. These knots are divine and I want to make them for everybody I know.

Garlic Knots

1 store bought pizza dough

5-6 mozzarella sticks, cut into 1/2 inch pieces or 1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella

1 stick unsalted melted butter

8 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon salt

oregano (enough to sprinkle on top)

Parmesan cheese

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Liberally butter a large baking dish.

2) Finely mince the garlic cloves and salt.  A small food processor (or magic bullet in my case) makes this faster and easier since it needs to be minced into a wet paste.  Stir this mixture into the butter and set aside.

3) On a floured surface, divide the pizza dough into 1 inch pieces.  Pound or stretch each piece out into a circle, about 3 inches wide.  Place the cheese in the center and fold up the dough around it.  Pinch the seams closed, and roll the dough in your hands to smooth the cracks and seams.  The less cracks, the less the cheese will escape while baking.  Place them in the buttered pan so that they just barely touch.

4) Brush the knots with the garlic butter mixture and sprinkle with oregano.  Bake in the oven for about twenty minutes, or until they are puffed up and slightly golden browned.  Once out of the oven, brush with the remaining garlic butter mixture and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (if you have any, i didn't).  Eat them while they are hot and fresh.

They are bomb.  So amazingly delicious that I made them Monday for the read through and Wednesday for a friend.  So delicious.