If you're looking for a show-stopping treat that pays tribute to the red, white, and blue, then look no further than this American Flag Fruit Pizza.
This delectable dessert combines the classic flavors of a sugar cookie crust, luscious cream cheese frosting, and a colorful array of fresh fruits.
It's a delightful way to add a touch of sweetness to your 4th of July festivities!
Why You Will Love This Fruit Pizza
Either appetizer or dessert, fruit pizza is the perfect blend of sweet, creamy, and tangy flavors. And its so easy and versatile!
It starts with my basic fruit pizza recipe, simply adapted to make an American flag.
No matter what shape you choose or which fruits you use, you will always create something beautiful. It's guaranteed to be the hit of your next party!
Ingredients
How to Make This 4th of July Fruit Pizza
The "crust" of this pizza is made with sugar cookie dough. If you want to get fancy, go ahead and make your own, but I use the pre-made dough. It used to come in a tube, now I always seem to find it as a package of pre-cut squares.
To make a flag, I want a rectangular shape, so I use a 10x15-inch baking sheet. Line it with parchment paper and space the cookie dough pieces evenly on the parchment.
When I make fruit pizza in a 12-inch circle, I can press the dough pieces with my fingers to spread them out and form an even crust. With this larger pan, that takes too long, so I switched to using a rolling pin.
Simply place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough, then use a rolling pin to roll and spread the dough pieces until they meet and form an even layer.
It is easier to do this by sliding the crust out of the pan, including the bottom piece of parchment paper. Once you are done rolling, slide it back into the pan before removing the top piece of paper.
At this point, you can press with your fingers to fill in any remaining gaps in the dough.
Bake the crust until it is very lightly golden brown.
Allow the crust to cool completely. It works really well to make this cookie crust the day before the party, and then finish assembling the following day.
Decorating the fruit pizza
Start with the "frosting". Beat room temperature cream cheese with sugar and vanilla, using an electric mixer, until light and fluffy. Add the Cool Whip and beat until it is well mixed.
Spread the frosting evenly on the cooled cookie crust.
The fruits you need are blueberries and strawberries. The blueberries only need to be washed; the strawberries we slice.
You can of course slice the strawberries with a knife, but I have found that using an egg slicer works really well. It's a fast and easy way to get perfectly even slices of strawberries.
Make a blue rectangle in the upper left corner of the pizza with the blueberries.
Then, use slices of strawberries to make red stripes, leaving a white gap between as the white stripes.
You can place the strawberry slices flat lengthwise, or overlap as I did.
The one thing with using an egg slicer is that you will always have small end pieces. I couldn't bear for these to go to waste, so I used them for the bottom stripe on the flag.
If you don't like this look, you can of course just use the perfect slices and save these pieces for adding to something else (like some cookie butter overnight oats, for example).
Adding Glaze
To give the fruit a glossy look, I like to brush it with apricot preserves. Apple jelly works as well.
I also consider this optional, since I've made fruit pizza many times and realized last minute that I had no jam or jelly in the house. People will still eat and love it!
Variation Idea
If you want to go even more "extra", you can make the white stripes more pronounced. I did this with additional Cool Whip.
Just add the Cool Whip to a pastry bag with a tip and pipe it in between the red stripes. It's another fun way to really jazz up the presentation!
One note: I used an 8-ounce container of Cool Whip for the frosting, and about half of a second container for the stripes. Which is a lot of Cool Whip.
I recommend that if you want the stripes, add only half the Cool Whip to the frosting and reserve the other half for the stripes.
Also, you can make other flags! Check out this rainbow flag I made to celebrate Pride month:
Storage
If you have any leftovers, store the fruit pizza in the fridge. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap or transfer it to an airtight container.
It can be stored for up to two days, but it's best within the first day. After that, the cookie crust starts to lose its texture.
Expert Tips
- Use Softened Cream Cheese: Make sure the cream cheese is room temperature before preparing the frosting. This ensures a smooth and creamy texture without any lumps.
- Cool the Crust: Allow the sugar cookie crust to cool completely before spreading the cream cheese frosting. You don't want the frosting to get all melty when you're spreading it! I like to bake the crust the day before assembly when my schedule permits.
- Arranging the Fruit: When arranging the fruit pieces, take your time to make neat rows and create the flag's pattern. Gently press down on the pieces to secure them in place without squishing.
More Patriotic Recipes to Explore
📖 Recipe
American Flag Fruit Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 sugar cookie dough 16.5 oz
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 8 ounces Cool Whip topping
- 3-4 cups sliced fresh fruit strawberries and blueberries
- ½ cup apple jelly or apricot preserves
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350F. Prepare 10x15-inch baking pan by lining with parchment paper.
- Remove cookie dough from package and separate. Place pieces in prepared pan. Press dough to evenly cover the bottom of the pan. (Use another piece of parchment on top and roll with a rolling pin if desired)1 sugar cookie dough
- Bake 16 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, at least 30 minutes.
- In a small bowl, use an electric mixer to beat cream cheese with sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Add Cool Whip* (see notes) and beat to mix well. Spread mixture over cooled crust.8 oz cream cheese, ⅓ cup sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla, 8 ounces Cool Whip topping
- Arrange fruit over the cream cheese layer.3-4 cups sliced fresh fruit
- Stir jelly until smooth; brush over fruit.½ cup apple jelly or apricot preserves
- Refrigerate until chilled, about one hour. Cut into squares to serve.
- Cover and refrigerate any leftover pizza.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
Erica
Made this last weekend for a pool party and topped it with blackberries and peaches and it was so good! The whole pan was gone by the end of the day!
Sula
Yes, leftovers are VERY rare!
Chichi
We look forward to making this dessert every year. Love your presentation.
Sula
It's a dessert worth repeating every year for sure!
Angela Pagliarello
The best fruit pizza ever!
Sula
It is truly delicious!
Claire
This is so much fun! I loved the pride flag too. I made that for a party yesterday and will be making the flag one on the fourth.
Such a great idea!
Sula
It really is such an easy thing to make and everyone loves it!
Sherry Ronning
I made your American flag fruit pizza for a family gathering and they loved it! So easy to make and I even baked it in my Blackstone Pizza oven. Thank you for a great recipe.
Sula
I'm so glad you enjoyed it and I love that you baked it in your pizza oven - awesome!