Fruit Pizza

I love fruit! In fact, I probably eat my weight in fruit every day! I eat it with every meal, and I can never get enough of it! I’m picky though! I like fresh fruit only, well at least for the most part! Apple desserts are an exception along with jellies and jams. I don’t like pie fillings, take that fruit out of my ice cream please, and don’t even get me started on canned fruit 😛

While today’s recipe does have fresh fruit, it did not make it into my belly!!

I am not a fan of fruit pizza at all. I made this for my best friends birthday because I know she likes it, but I didn’t even want a taste of it! Instead I ate tons of fresh fruit as I decorated the pizza with my other friend! It was tons of fun to decorate, and I loved making a pretty design!

I’m not entirely sure why I don’t like pizza, but I think it has something to do with how the fruit on top of the pizza releases its juices…? I don’t know, but I know I would much rather eat a sugar cookie with a side of fresh fruit! More like fresh fruit with a side of sugar cookie, because let’s be honest I would be chowing down on that fruit long before I worried about the cookie!

My friend loved her fruit pizza, so I am assuming this is a good recipe to have on hand! I tried the frosting, and that was delicious! I used vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract, and I loved it so so much!! I always prefer to use vanilla bean paste! I think the flavor is just so much better. Plus it’s kind of fun to see the little black dots in the frosting!! Oh and about the frosting! I made half the cookie and half the frosting, but as always I had tons of extra frosting. I could have layered it on thicker, but I thought it looked like enough. If you’re a huge frosting person put it all on, but next time I think I’ll make 1/4 of the frosting for half a cookie, or 1/2 the frosting for a full cookie!

So here’s the recipe from sallysbakingaddiction.com

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/05/23/fruit-pizza/

Ingredients:

SUGAR COOKIE CRUST

• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

TOPPING

• 8 oz (224g) full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 cups (240g) confectioners’ sugar
• 1-2 Tablespoons (15-30ml) cream or milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• assorted sliced fresh fruit

Directions:

1. Make the crust: In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter for about 1 minute on medium speed. Get it nice and smooth, then add the sugar on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Beat in egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cornstarch. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 different parts. Once completely combined, cover the dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes and up to 1 day. Without chilling, your cookie dough may spread over the sides of the pan.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 12-inch pizza pan with cooking spray. Remove chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator and press onto the pizza pan in an even flat circle, as pictured above. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned. Overbaking will lend a hard crust. Allow crust to cool completely before decorating. I put the crust in the refrigerator after 10 minutes of cooling at room temperature – this sped up the process.
4. I usually use this time (as the crust cools) to chop the fruit.
5. Make the frosting: In a medium bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar and 1 Tbsp cream. Beat for 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and 1 more Tbsp cream if needed to thin out. Beat for 1 minute. Spread in a thick layer over the cooled sugar cookie crust. Decorate with fruit.
6. Cut into slices and serve. Fruit pizza may be made 1 day in advance, covered tightly, and stored in the refrigerator before serving. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.