Cookie Fruit Pizza

When it's spring, I think fruit. And when I think fruit, I think of fruit-based treats. Especially anything made with berries!

For many years, it was my tradition to make a Fruit Pizza for Easter. It’s one of those great, easy recipes that everyone loves. And you don’t have to spend hours preparing it. After all, you need time to hunt for those eggs!

There are many variations on this recipe. Some people add Cool Whip to the mixture of cream cheese, which is perfect when you're making a larger pizza, to make more of the filling.

Some use a homemade cookie dough recipe. Some brush the tops of the fruit with different types of jam. For the most part, I stick with the Pillsbury recipe. After all, I do use their cookie dough. It only seems fair 😀 .

Fruit Cookie Pizza ingredients

Also note optional Cool Whip ingredient per notes below.

How to make Fruit Pizza with Sugar Cookie Crust

1. Bake the cookie crust

The base of the fruit 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 stuff in a tube or a package of pre-cut squares. This cuts out lots of steps.

Take a rimmed pizza pan (12 inch diameter) and line with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. Spread the dough evenly into the pan. Some recipes say to crumble the dough but I like to slice it and place all the slices in the pan. Then, press all the dough together to evenly fill gaps and create a crust.

Bake the crust until golden brown. This typically takes 16 to 20 minutes. Allow the crust to cool for at least 30 minutes before adding layers.

2. Make the cream cheese layer

I always ensure the cream cheese is at room temperature before mixing it with anything. This means taking the cream cheese from the refrigerator hours in advance. Realistically, I do this only about . . . two percent of the time. Sigh. For those other times I, of course, use my automatic defroster. That is, the microwave.

Microwave ovens vary, but this is what works for me: 30% power and one-minute bursts. I prefer to check the cheese after each minute to be certain I’m not frying it. If it seems close, I’ll do a 30-second burst. I won’t recommend a defined number of bursts  because it varies greatly. If you’re uncertain, just repeat using 30-second bursts.

Note: Make sure you’re not using full power because you might end up with cooked cream cheese. You don’t want that. Trust me.

With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with sugar and a little vanilla. The mixture will be fluffy and spreadable. (Note, for a larger pizza, like 15x10, I add 8 ounces of Cool Whip to this mixture.)

Spread this on the cooled crust.

3. Add fruit to the cookie crust

The final layer is fruit. Over the years, I have used many different combinations of fruit. My preferred is a combo of sliced berries, grapes and kiwi.

Have a can of mandarin oranges on hand to fill tight, irregular-shaped spots, or just for an extra pop of color. Canned pineapple works for this also.

Arrange the fruit in whatever pattern you like.

4. Add glaze to the fruit

A final step, which is optional, is to brush the fruit with a little apple jelly or apricot preserves.

I’m saying this is optional because I can’t count how many times I’ve assembled this on Easter morning only to realize there was no jelly in the house. It has become an option because I found I don’t need it. Take it from me: you won’t miss it.

However, for appearance’s sake, jelly makes the fruit look a little glossy/more presentable. It’s possible it helps preserve it a little too. But in my family, there was never a problem with leftovers. Basically, if you make it they’ll take it.

Easy enough, right?

I hope you give this fruit pizza a try - it might become a new tradition for all your family gatherings!

Sugar Cookie Fruit Pizza - Make it a Flag

To celebrate Pride month, I made a rectangular fruit pizza. Baking directions are the same, but I did add an 8-ounce tub of Cool Whip to the cream cheese layer, to give that more volume.

I was happy with how it turned out, what do you think?

Fruit used: fresh strawberries, canned mandarin oranges, canned pineapple tidbits, fresh kiwi, fresh blueberries (cut in half), and fresh blackberries (cut in half).

And of course, for the 4th of July, I had to make an American Flag Fruit Pizza. A perfect way to show your patriotic spirit!