Bright and colorful Dessert Fruit Pizza with a sugar cookie crust, cream cheese frosting, and a citrus glaze. A potluck showstopper!
Making a Dessert Fruit Pizza was on my bucket list foorrreeeeveeer and then I finally made it last summer. CHECK. Done and done. And I’m so glad, because it did not disappoint!
It’s a labor of love, though. Fruit Pizza, while easy (I swear!), still has several steps and not something that you can just whip up in 30 minutes, or decide to make at the last minute. Which is why I had put it off for so long.
What is Fruit Pizza?
Dessert Fruit Pizza is definitely something that turns heads at a summer get together. It’s basically a gigantic sugar cookie or tart, covered with a luscious cream cheese spread, and topped with beautiful fresh fruit. What’s not to love?
Type of fruits for fruit pizza
Any type of fruit can be used. This is your chance to be creative and have fun. Use your favorites and what’s in season.
Summer: I love all the different berries, peaches, pineapple, kiwi, and mandarin oranges.
Fall: a fall themed fruit pizza would be great with pears, apples, plums, grapes, figs, or pomegranate seeds. I personally think the more color and variety, the better, but a simple pattern with only a couple fruits is totally fine, too.
Holidays: only strawberries and blueberries would be so festive for Memorial Day, 4th of July, or Labor Day.
You can slice or chop your fruit, too, so there are a lot of options to play with.
Fruit pizza glaze
Many dessert fruit pizzas are made without a glaze, but I personally think the glaze component takes the fruit pizza from 10 to 15. It gives the fruit a finishing sheen that is so beautiful and really locks in all those vibrant colors. Plus, another layer of deliciousness.
Do I have to chill the dough beforehand?
Yeeessss. The dough for the sugar cookie crust needs to be chilled for at least 30 minutes (or up to a day) before you spread it into your pizza pan. Otherwise, it has a tendency to spread too much and spill over the edge of the pan while baking.
Can I use store-bought sugar cookie dough instead?
Yep! BUT, store-bought dough tends to be thinner, so you might end up with a crispier crust than intended or need to adjust your baking time slightly.
Do I have to make this in a circular pizza pan?
I used a 12-inch circular pizza pan for mine (<< affiliate link) and this recipe is based on that. But I’ve heard of people doubling the crust to fit a rectangular 12×17-inch cookie sheet and as long as the thickness is the same, the bake time should be similar.
Storage and Making in Advance
Can you make fruit pizza the day before? You can prepare the sugar cookie crust and cream cheese topping up to 1 day in advance. Keep the cooked and cooled crust at room temperature, covered tightly. Keep the cream cheese topping in the refrigerator, covered tightly, and then allow it to soften slightly at room temperature for easier spreading. Frost, assemble your fruit, and glaze the day of serving and keep chilled until ready to serve.
How to store fruit pizza: once assembled, store it (tightly covered) in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Keep in mind the sugar cookie crust will soften and the fruit will start to dry out. This is best served within 24 hours of preparing.
Make this before summer ends and serve it if you have friends or family over. They will love it, not only for the fantastic sweet taste, but the gorgeous presentation. Also? It’s fun to make and you can vary it every single time!
Other Fruit Dessert Recipes
- Easy Strawberry Skillet Cake
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
- Mandarin Orange Pretzel Dessert
- White Chocolate Raspberry Parfaits
Watch it Being Made
I hope you love this quick and simple recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Dessert Fruit Pizza
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For the Glaze
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup (no-pulp) orange juice
- 1/4 cup water
For the Topping
- 8 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Assorted Fruit
- approximately 3-4 cups fresh fruit of your choosing
Instructions
- In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla and combine.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; add to the creamed butter mixture and beat until combined.
- Cover tightly and chill dough for 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours.)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Coat a 12-inch pizza pan with nonstick cooking spray; press chilled dough onto the pan in a flat even circle.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely.
- In the meantime, make the glaze. In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch; pour in the orange juice and water and whisk until combined. Bring to a boil, then immediately turn down the heat to medium-low, stirring continuously until thickened, 1-2 minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool completely.
- For the topping, in a medium bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Add in the heavy cream and vanilla; beat until combined.
- Spread topping evenly over cooled cookie crust, arrange fruit over the top, and gently brush with the glaze.
- Slice and serve!