Pre-heat your oven to 350. Make sure you have a rack in the middle or lower half of the oven. And put some parchment, foil, or a silicone mat on a large baking sheet.
You can use fresh bagels, or they can be a day or two old. It's fine if they are a little dry or firm. Cut them carefully into equal halves.
If the hole is large enough for sauce to leak through, cover it with pepperoni, salami, or any kind of cold-cut.
Add a few spoon-fulls of your favorite sauce. It's okay if it's cold.
Cover with some shredded cheese. For our youngest, I use dairy-free mozzarella. It works fine!
Toppings: Use your imagination! Pepperoni is a favorite with the Bagel Boys.
Publix has bulk Italian sausage that cooks in a skillet to make crumbles.
Bake for about 10 minutes, but watch them. Remove when the cheese is bubbling and starting to brown.
Let them cool for a few minutes! This is the only difficult part!