Recipe for grilled garlic breadsticks with sweet and zesty sauce

Those garlicky, buttery, crispy, chewy breadsticks you love at the pizza shop are easy to make at home, too.

And in the summer, it's even easier. No need to crank up the oven. Just toss them on the grill with whatever else you're cooking.

The seasoning blend in this recipe -- kosher salt, garlic powder, black pepper and onion powder -- is a pretty traditional take on garlic breadsticks. But it would be easy to play with, adding kick with chili powder or paprika, or even cumin and cinnamon.

For a dessert version, make a seasoning mix from 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Make an instant dipping sauce by microwaving purchased vanilla frosting.

GRILLED GARLIC BREADSTICKS WITH SWEET AND ZESTY SAUCE

Start to finish: 20 minutes

Servings: 8

Two 20-ounce balls pizza dough, room temperature

1 tablespoon kosher salt, divided

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

2 teaspoons onion powder

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted

15-ounce can diced tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon hot sauce

Heat a grill to medium-high.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the pizza dough into large rectangles. Use a pizza wheel or knife to cut the dough into long strips, then cut each strip into roughly 5-inch lengths. Set aside.

In a wide, shallow bowl, mix 1/2 tablespoon of the salt, the garlic powder, pepper and onion powder. Place the butter in a second wide, shallow bowl.

One or two at a time, place the strips of dough in the butter and turn to coat evenly. Shake off any excess butter, then lightly dredge the strips through the seasoning mix to coat. Set aside.

In a blender, combine the diced tomatoes (with any juice in the can), remaining salt, garlic cloves, honey, balsamic vinegar, oregano, thyme and hot sauce. Puree until smooth, then transfer to a small saucepan and heat over low.

While the sauce heats, arrange the dough strips on the hot grill, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Cover and grill for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the strips are puffed and lightly browned on the bottoms. Flip and grill, covered, for another minute.

Serve the breadsticks with the dipping sauce.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 257 calories; 89 calories from fat; 10 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 19 mg cholesterol; 40 g carbohydrate; 6 g protein; 2 g fiber; 1,148 mg sodium.

EDITOR'S NOTE: J.M. Hirsch can be e-mailed at jhirsch@ap.org.