How To Make an Easy Fruit Pizza with Sugar Cookie Crust

updated Jan 21, 2020
Fruit Pizza with Sugar Cookie Crust

An easy summer dessert everyone will love to eat, and the kids can help make.

Serves8 to 10

Prep1 hour

Cook18 minutes to 25 minutes

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Credit: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn; Food Stylist: CC Buckley/Kitchn

If you need an easy, pretty dessert for any and all warm-weather celebrations, look no further than this fruit pizza. The premise is simple: Bake a giant sugar cookie, slather with cream cheese frosting, and pile sliced fruit on top. It’s so simple your first- or second-grader could make it, but impressive enough for dinner parties or celebrations (think of it as an easier, more-fun version of a classic fruit tart).

A few tricks, like adding some cream cheese to the cookie dough and brushing the fruit with a simple glaze, makes this one a real showstopper — and one of the best ways to make the most of spring and summer produce.

What’s the Best Crust for Fruit Pizza?

Traditional fruit tarts are built on a sweetened version of pie crust known as a pâte sablée. It’s a bit like a shortbread cookie — it requires a lot of chilling for a tender but sturdy crust. For this pizza, we’re using a simpler, softer sugar cookie dough. Adding cream cheese to the dough eliminates the need to chill it before baking, and makes the crust firm enough to hold the fruit while still giving it the texture of a super-soft sugar cookie.

This crust is also made in the food processor, which means the butter doesn’t need to be at room temperature before mixing. The frosting for the pizza is mixed in the food processor first, so you’ll just need to do wipe it clean (no need to rinse) before getting started on the crust.

Credit: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn; Food Stylist: CC Buckley/Kitchn

Can I Use Store-Bought Cookie Dough?

Yes, you can make a similar cookie crust using store-bought cookie dough — you’ll need about 1 pound. Let it come to room temperature before pressing it out on a parchment lined baking sheet, then transfer the round to the refrigerator and let it chill for 30 minutes before baking.

Credit: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn; Food Stylist: CC Buckley/Kitchn

What’s the Best Frosting for Fruit Pizza?

Every pizza should have cheese, right? This one is topped with a cream cheese frosting that takes just seconds to mix in the food processor, and isn’t overtly sweet. You’ll need just three-quarters of a block of cream cheese (the rest goes into the cookie dough) and some butter and powdered sugar for this fruit pizza’s frosting.

Credit: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn; Food Stylist: CC Buckley/Kitchn

What Fruits Should I Use for Fruit Pizza?

You can use any fresh or canned fruit your heart desires (avoid using frozen). Slice the fruit into bite-sized pieces, which will make the pizza easier to slice and eat. When berries are in season, you can go ahead and create a berries-only pizza.

To help the sliced fruit last a little longer and look its best, we borrowed a trick from pro bakers and diluted a bit of fruit preserves with warm water to create a glaze. Then, we brushed the glaze on the fruit before serving.

Credit: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn; Food Stylist: CC Buckley/Kitchn
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Fruit Pizza with Sugar Cookie Crust

An easy summer dessert everyone will love to eat, and the kids can help make.

Prep time 1 hour

Cook time 18 minutes to 25 minutes

Serves 8 to 10

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

For the cream cheese frosting:

  • 6 ounces

    cream cheese, at room temperature

  • 4 tablespoons

    unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 1 1/2 cups

    powdered sugar

For the cookie crust:

  • 2 sticks

    (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter

  • 2 ounces

    cold cream cheese

  • 11/2 cups

    granulated sugar

  • 1

    large egg

  • 2 teaspoons

    vanilla extract

  • 3 cups

    all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon

    baking powder

  • 3/4 teaspoon

    fine salt

For the topping:

  • 4 cups

    fresh fruit, such as kiwi, strawberry, and mango slices, raspberries, blueberries, diced pineapple, or canned mandarin oranges

  • 1/4 cup

    peach or apricot preserves

  • 1 tablespoon

    warm water

Equipment

  • Measuring cups and spoons

  • Food processor

  • Medium bowls

  • 12-inch round pizza pan or rimmed baking sheet

  • Parchment paper

  • Brush

  • Parchment paper

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 350ºF and prepare the pizza pan. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350ºF. Line a 12-inch round pizza pan with a square of parchment paper, making sure it covers the whole pan. You can also bake this on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

  2. Make the frosting. Place the cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and pulse until smooth. Transfer the frosting to a medium bowl, scraping it as clean as possible. Refrigerate the frosting while the crust bakes.

  3. Make the cookie dough. Place the butter, cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla in the food processor fitted and pulse 10 to 12 times to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and pulse to 3 to 4 times to combine.

  4. Form the crust. Transfer the dough to the pizza pan and use your fingers to press the dough into an even layer. If using the rimmed baking sheet, press the dough out into a 12-inch round.

  5. Bake the cookie crust for 15 to 18 minutes. Bake until the edges are brown and the center is slightly soft but set, 15 to 18 minutes. We want a cookie crust that is still soft.

  6. Cool the crust and prepare the fruit and glaze. Set the crust aside until cooled to room temperature, 30 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, slice and rinse fruit. Place the preserves and water in a small bowl and whisk with a fork to combine.

  7. Top the cookie crust and serve. Spread the frosting evenly onto the cooled crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Top with the fruit and brush the fruit with the glaze.

Recipe Notes

Storage: This is best eaten the day it is made, but leftovers can be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature up to 2 days (the fruit will get a bit soggy after 1 day).

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